Top-paying Scrum Certifications to Consider in 2019
9K- by KnowledgeHut
- 31st May, 2019
- Last updated on 31st Jul, 2019
- 25 mins read
Scrum Certification is a course and a series of exams that professionals undertake to validate their knowledge, skills and aptitude in Scrum, as well as Agile methodology and framework for managing complex projects.
There are numerous accreditation bodies around the globe which provide Scrum training and certification programs, most of which are widely accepted and recognized.
This article discusses a few top Scrum Training and Certification options which are available, starting right from the basics. Read along to know more!
Benefits of Scrum Certification
Here is a quick list of what benefits can be attained by a Scrum Certification.
- Get in-depth knowledge about Scrum: Having a Scrum certification will help you attain a solid base of Scrum knowledge as well as train you with the required skills to utilize it in an effective manner.
- Change your mindset to think the Scrum way: It is necessary to develop an Agile mindset to work with Scrum effectively. This will help you to have a better team collaboration, make your projects more successful, and will lead to a decrease in disagreements.
- Scrum Artifacts: Scrum concepts like product backlog, sprint backlog, burndown, etc. act as a pillar in a Scrum project, which help organisations to deliver the project in iterations.
- Become more relevant and marketable: Scrum certification will provide you with an in-depth practical knowledge, which will help you become more marketable and relevant in your field or in an industry which engages with Agile values. This certification will act as a validation that you have the knowledge of Agile concepts and that you have an Agile mindset.
- Scrum Certification benefits your organisation: Scrum Certification trains you to use the latest tools, technologies as well as resources, which leads to business processes and a better-organised team which costs less time and money.
- Influence your organisation to adopt Agile methodology: Adopting Agile methodologies will help your organisation as it will ensure better yields, lesser time to the market, timely insights, improved productivity, better ROI, sellable products after each sprint and much more.
- Better interaction with your peers: Having a Scrum certification will help you to build a better understanding of Scrum while working with your colleagues. It helps to promote productivity while at the same time it helps you communicate and collaborate with your peers in a better manner.
- Prove and put Scrum knowledge into practice: The process to earn Scrum Certification requires you to go through a rigorous agile scrum master training, which helps you get a better job and career opportunities.
- Join the community of Scrum experts: With a Scrum Certification, you can connect with various professionals. This ensures continuous improvements that you will learn and achieve with an Agile approach.
- Enhance sale: Make your Scrum teamwork in a more flexible manner, ensure fast delivery and quick releases. Being Scrum Certified enables you to make this difference for your organisation.
How does Scrum work?
The Scrum Framework comprises of three categories, which are Scrum Roles, Scrum Events and Scrum Artifacts. The following discusses, in brief, the mentioned three categories.
Scrum Roles
The Scrum framework is defined by three core roles: Development team, Scrum Master and Product Owner.
Development Team: The Development team is a group of self-organised, cross-functional people, who work together to create products as well as test the incremental releases of the products at the end of each sprint.
Scrum Master: The Scrum Master serves as a facilitator for his team members. It is his responsibility to ensure that the Team adheres to the Scrum practices and rules. He acts as a coach to the development team, product owner and stakeholders, and works towards removing the impediments that the team faces.
Product Owner: A Product Owner is responsible for conveying the vision of the project to his team members who are building it. He is accountable for managing the product backlog and testing the increment work that is completed.
Scrum Events![]()
The Scrum Events consists of five components, namely Sprint, Sprint Planning, Daily Stand-up, Sprint Review, Retrospective.
Sprint: A Sprint is a fixed time period, that is, it is a time-boxed period within which a Scrum Team completes a specific work so that it can be ready for a review. A Sprint can be as short as one week.
Sprint Planning: During a Sprint Planning meeting, the tasks which have to be accomplished during a Sprint is decided upon. It discusses the product backlogs which are needed to be delivered and how it can be achieved.
Daily Stand-up: It is a short meeting of 15-minutes duration which is conducted on an everyday basis. The main objective behind this short meeting is to make sure that the whole team is on the same page and is aligned to the sprint goal. The tasks covered in the previous 24 hours is discussed and the tasks to be carried out during the next 24 hours is planned out.
Sprint Review: A Sprint Review is conducted after Sprint ends. The increment completed and the tasks that have not been completed are discussed during the Sprint Review.
Sprint Retrospective: During a Sprint Retrospective, the whole team comes together and reflects on the Sprint process, that is, discuss what tasks were completed and what problems they faced. The main motive behind this is continuous improvement.
According to The 13th Annual State of Agile Report, the top 5 Agile Techniques are:
- Daily standup
- Sprint/Iteration Planning
- Retrospectives
- Sprint/Iteration Review
- Short Iterations
Scrum Artifacts
Scrum Artifacts include product backlog, sprint backlog and product increment.
Product Backlog:
It is a document which consists of an ordered list of all the product requirements. The Product Owner looks after the Product Backlog, who prioritises them as per the requirement.
Sprint Backlog:
The Sprint Backlog is a specific list of all the items from the Product Backlog which are to be worked on in a sprint.
Product Increment:
A product increment is the sum of all the completed product backlogs since the software release.
Top Scrum Certifications
1. Certified Scrum Master (CSM):
CSM is modestly the most used Scrum Master Certification. With the help of this certification process, you can learn about the Scrum framework and get a better understanding of team events, roles and artifacts.
Accreditation body: Scrum Alliance
Prerequisites: The CSM® course can be taken by any professional who wants to deepen their Scrum understanding. CSM® course is usually taken up by the professionals working in IT and Non-IT industries. Therefore, it is recommended to become familiar with the basics of Scrum to understand the overall framework perfectly in less time.
Who can take up this certification?
The following individuals can take this course:
- Anyone who would like to build a career as a Scrum Master
- Teams transitioning to Scrum
- Managers of Scrum teams
- Scrum team members such as product owners and developers
If you are already working as a Scrum Master, then taking this course will help you to strengthen your Scrum knowledge and skills.
Certification Procedure: You will have to attend a training of two days duration, after which you will be required to take an online test. The two-day training is conducted by a Certified Scrum Trainer who has been authorised by the Scrum Alliance.
The CSM certification has to be renewed every two years by paying a fee of $100 without any additional examination or training.
Job opportunities after Scrum Master Certification:
After attaining your Scrum Master Certification, you can act as a Scrum Master. Scrum Masters can opt to become mentors, coaches, managers, product owners or continue being a Scrum Master in more challenging situations.
Cost: Depending on factors like location and trainer, the cost of Scrum Master Certification comes approximately between $700 to $1500. The price bracket of the CSM certification varies across the globe, click here to know more.
Average Salary: The average salary of a Certified Scrum Master ranges between $100,00 to $130,000 across the United States.
| Certification | Scrum Master Certification |
| Accreditation Body | Scrum Alliance |
| Prerequisites | Basics of Scrum to understand the overall framework perfectly in less time. |
| Exam Information | Answer a set of 50 within an hour; out of which 37 should be answered correctly. |
| Career Path | Scrum Master, Mentor, Coach, Manager, Product Owner. |
| Average Salary | $100,00 to $130,000 |
| Training Cost | $1000 |
| Cost of Certification | $700 to $1500. |
| Average Salary | $100,00 to $130,000 |
| Renewal Cost | $100 |
2. Advanced CSM:
If you are a Certified Scrum Master and have a working experience of minimum one year as a Scrum Master, then you can apply for this course. This course will help you get a deeper insight of Scrum along with its practical usage and learns multiple ways to coach the Product owner and the team members.
Accreditation Body: Scrum Alliance
Prerequisites: As a certified Scrum Master, you should have a minimum of twelve months of working experience to become an Advanced CSM. You should also have a basic understanding of Scrum along with its usage and implementation.
Who can take up this certification?
The following individuals can take this course:
- Anyone who would like to build a career as a Scrum Master after completing the CSM course
- Scrum Team managers
- Teams which are transitioning to Scrum
- Scrum team members such as product owners and developers
- Anyone who wishes to distinguish himself in the global market.
Certification Procedure: You will have to attend an education offering of certified ACSM to learn techniques and skills which go beyond the basics of Scrum, like interaction, coaching, facilitation and team dynamics. Also, you will be required to have an experience of 12 months as a working Scrum Master in the last five years.
The certification has to be renewed every two years by paying a fee of $175 without any additional examination or training.
Job opportunities after Advanced Scrum Master Certification:
Work towards becoming a more professional practitioner of Scrum Master, learn how to untap the underlying potential of your team. Work as a Scrum Master, coach, mentor or a Product Owner.
Cost: Depending on different factors like location and trainer, the cost of Scrum Master Certification ranges approximately between $1295 to $1495.
Average Salary: The average salary of an Advance Certified Scrum Master ranges between $100,00 to $130,000 across the United States.
| Certification | Advanced Scrum Master Certification |
| Accreditation Body | Scrum Alliance |
| Prerequisites |
|
| Career Path | Scrum Master, Mentor, Coach, Manager, Product Owner. |
| Average Salary | $100,00 to $130,000 |
| Cost of Certification | $1295 to $1495 |
| Renewal Cost | $175 |
3. Certified Scrum Professional (CSP-SM)
This course focuses on topics like lean concepts, system thinking, coaching, emotional intelligence, facilitation, deeper understanding of the Scrum Framework and scaling Scrum to big organizations.
Accreditation Body: Scrum Alliance
Prerequisites:
- An active A-CSM certification
- 24 months of experience as a Scrum Master in the last five years
- Attend a CSP-SM workshop which is conducted by the Scrum Alliance approved ‘Path to CSP Educator’.
Who can take up this certification?
The following individuals can take this course:
- Scrum team members such as developers
- Teams transitioning to Scrum
- Managers of Scrum teams
Job opportunities after Certified Scrum Professional (CSP-SM) Certification:
Work towards becoming a more professional practitioner of Scrum Master for big organisations, learn how to un-tap the underlying potential of different teams. Work as a Scrum Master, coach, mentor or a Product Owner. Get various opportunities to attend exclusive CSP events along with many other leaders in Scrum and Agile
Cost: Depending on various factors, the cost of the certification costs around $1295.
Average Salary: The average salary of a Certified Scrum Professional (CSP-SM)
is calculated to be approximately $115,000 across the United States.
| Certification | Certified Scrum Professional (CSP-SM) |
| Accreditation Body | Scrum Alliance |
| Prerequisites |
|
| Career Path | Scrum Master, Mentor, Coach, Manager, Product Owner for big organisations. |
| Average Salary | $115,000 |
| Cost of Certification | $1295 |
| Renewal Cost | $250 |
4. Professional Scrum Master (PSM)
Professional Scrum Master Training (PSM), is a two-day course which covers the theory and principles of the Scrum Framework and the roles of a Scrum Master. This course combines team-based exercises with instructions in order to teach the heart of the Scrum and Agile movement.
Accreditation Body: Scrum.org
Prerequisites: The PSM course can be taken by any professional who wants to deepen their Scrum understanding. It is recommended to familiarize with the basics of Scrum to understand the overall framework perfectly in a shorter course of time.
Who can take up this certification?
This course is apt for professionals who are involved in product delivery using the Scrum Framework. It is particularly most beneficial for Scrum Master, Team members and managers, that is, those people who are accountable for getting the most out of Scrum.
Job opportunities after Professional Scrum Master Training (PSM):
After being a certified Professional Scrum Master, the candidate can apply for various fields, to name a few:
- Scrum Master
- Associate Scrum Master
- Product Owner
- Coach
- Mentor
Cost: Starts from $150.
Average Salary: $100,500
| Certification | Professional Scrum Master Training (PSM) |
| Accreditation Body | Scrum.org |
| Prerequisites | Basics of Scrum to understand the overall framework perfectly in less time. |
| Exam Information |
|
| Career Path | Scrum Master, Mentor, Coach, Manager, Product Owner for big organisations. |
| Average Salary | $100,500 |
| Cost of Certification | $150 |
5. SAFe 4.0 Scrum Master (SSM)
It is a two-day course, during which the attendees gain a proper understanding of the roles of a Scrum Master in the context of SAFe enterprise while at the same time, prepare them to plan and execute the Program Increment(PI) successfully. PI is an enabler of alignment for all the levels of a SAFe organisation, which includes the facilitation of Scrum in the enterprise and executing the Iteration Planning.
This course will validate that you can now perform the role of a Scrum Master in a SAFe environment, which will help you increase your value to organisations and teams which are implementing SAFe.
Accreditation Body: Scaled Agile.
Prerequisites:Regardless of experience, this course can be attended by anyone. But it is recommended to have the following prerequisites for the ones who intend to take the SAFe® Scrum Master (SSM) certification exam:
- They should be familiar with Agile concepts and practices.
- Basic knowledge and awareness of Scrum, eXtreme Programming (XP) and Kanban.
- Proper working knowledge of hardware as well as software development processes.
Who can take up this certification?
This course can be taken up by Scrum Master who are new to this and need to perform the role. While this course can also be taken up by the existing Scrum Masters who wish to know about their role as a Scrum Master in a SAFe environment.
Other than them, Team leads who wish to understand the roles of Scrum Master can also take up this course.
Job opportunities after SAFe 4.0 Scrum Master (SSM):
Based on the candidates' experience, the candidate can apply for various roles. To name a few:
- Scrum Master
- Senior Scrum Master
- Agile Scrum Master
- Agile Project Manager
- Agile Project Director
- Agile Coach
- Product Owner
Cost: The first attempt of the exam is included in the course registration fee, provided the exam is taken within 30 days after completing the course. After that, each retake costs $50.
Average Salary: $114,546
| Certification | SAFe 4.0 Scrum Master (SSM) |
| Accreditation Body | Scaled Agile |
| Prerequisites |
|
| Exam Information | Answer a set of 45 questions within a duration of 90 minutes; out of which 33 should be answered correctly. |
| Career Path |
|
| Average Salary | $114,546 |
| Cost of Certification | The first attempt of the exam is included in the course registration fee, provided the exam is taken within 30 days after completing the course. After that, each retake costs $50. |
| Renewal Cost | $100; Every one year from the date of certification earned. |
6. Scrum Master Certified (SMC)
The professionals who are certified as Scrum Master Certified (SMC) ensure that the Scrum team is working in an environment which helps them in completing their project successfully. The Scrum Master has the responsibility to ensure that the Scrum process is being followed. He guides the Scrum practices to everyone who is involved in the project.
Accreditation Body: SCRUMstudy
Prerequisites:There are no particular prerequisites for this certification, but a SDC™certified professional is more preferred.
Who can take up this certification?
This course is apt for professionals who are involved in product delivery using the Scrum Framework. It is particularly most beneficial for Scrum Master, Team members and managers, that is, those people who are accountable for getting the most out of Scrum.
Job opportunities after Scrum Master Certified (SMC):
After completion of the course, you can opt for the following job opportunities:
- Scrum Master
- Associate Scrum Master
- Senior Scrum Master
- Coach Scrum Master
- Product Owner/Manager
Cost: $450 USD
Average Salary: The average salary for a Scrum Master Certified professional ranges between $100,00 to $130,00 USD.
| Certification | Scrum Master Certified (SMC) |
| Accreditation Body | SCRUMstudy |
| Prerequisites | There are no particular prerequisites for this certification, but a SDC™certified professional is more preferred. |
| Exam Information | Answer a set of 100 questions within a duration of two hours. |
| Career Path |
|
| Average Salary | $100,00 to $130,00 USD |
| Cost of Certification | $450 USD |
| Renewal Cost | Earn 40 recertification credits every three years. |
7. Agile Scrum Master (ASM)
The Agile Scrum Master certification combines scrum practices and agile methodologies with practical assignments. It tests the ability of the professional that is required to facilitate, enable and coach a cross-functional Scrum Team as a Scrum Master.
Accreditation Body: Exin.
Prerequisites: You are required to have successfully completed an EXIN Accredited Agile Scrum Master Training, which is mandatory.
Who can take up this certification?
This certification aims the managerial professionals who are in the fields of IT project management, business management, software development, and IT service management.
Job opportunities after Agile Scrum Master (ASM):
The professional can look forward to the following job opportunities after completing the Agile Scrum Master course:
- Scrum Master
- Agile Coach
- Associate Scrum Master
- Program Manager
Cost: $260 USD
Average Salary: The average salary of an Agile Scrum Master ranges between $100,00 to $130,000 across the United States.
| Certification | Agile Scrum Master (ASM) |
| Accreditation Body | EXIN |
| Prerequisites | The candidate is required to have successfully completed an EXIN Accredited Agile Scrum Master Training, which is mandatory. |
| Exam Information | Answer a set of 40 questions within a duration of 90 minutes; Pass mark being 65%. |
| Career Path |
|
| Average Salary | $100,00 to $130,00 USD |
| Cost of Certification | $260 USD |
What is Scrum?
Scrum is a lightweight framework with the help of which people can address complex problems to deliver projects of the highest possible value. It is primarily used for software development processes by using iterative and incremental practices to work towards a well-defined goal.
It is a subset of Agile as it follows the Agile Manifesto, which expresses a set of values and principles to help make decisions on how to develop higher-quality software in a quicker and better manner. Organisations have benefitted by Agile Scrum process as:
- It increases the productivity of the team.
- It increases the quality of deliverable products.
- Helps in getting a better grip of the project schedule.
- It provides a better estimate while less time is spent on creating them
- It keeps the stakeholders and customers satisfied.
How are Scrum and Agile related
Scrum and Agile are related, but distinctly. Agile is a methodology that describes a set of guiding principles to build software through iterative development, which is described in the Agile Manifesto.
Scrum follows a set of rules while practising agile software development. Even though these two models look similar and function in a similar manner, there are differences as well. Scrum aims for a product team with firm rules and guidelines. It is an incremental and iterative development methodology of Agile, that is, it can be said that it is an agile framework for developing software. Scrum does not state any detailed description or template of the process of software development, unlike many other software development methodologies. It states the desired outcome that is required, leaving it on the agile scrum team to determine the solutions to the problems that they are facing or will come across. It may be used for software maintenance projects or software development. Scrum increases the flexibility and speed of the process of product development. Organisations which have switched to agile processes like Scrum have experienced many benefits like higher stakeholder satisfaction, higher productivity, etc. The benefits experienced are further discussed in detail.
Scrum Certifying Accreditation Bodies
The following is a list of a few Scrum Certifying Bodies.
- Scrum Alliance
- Scrum.org
- Scaled Agile
- APM Group International
- SCRUMstudy
1. Scrum Alliance:
Scrum Alliance was founded in the year 2011. Being a globally renowned organisation, it supports Scrum adoption, research and networking, focusing on organisational transformations. It is the largest, most established organisation for Agile membership and certification that has trained more than 750,000 professionals worldwide.
2. Scrum.org:
Scrum.org provides training, assessments and certifications based on the principles of Scrum and Agile manifesto in order to improve software delivery. They empower people and organisations all around the world to achieve agility through Scrum. The global organisation was found in the year 2009 by Ken Schwaber.
3. Scaled Agile, Inc. (SAI):
Scaled Agile, Inc. (SAI) is the leading provider of SAFe® courses. Being a knowledge base for enterprises to adopt Agile, it uplifts the career growth of an individual as it offers various role-based courses and certifications.
4. SCRUMstudy:
SCRUMstudy is a globally acknowledged accreditation body for Agile and Scrum certifications. It has a large global partner network of ATPs, Authorized Training Providers, delivering training and certifications. The SBOK™ Guide has been authored by the SCRUMstudy, which is a comprehensive guide to deliver projects successfully using Scrum.
5. EXIN:
EXIN offers professionals certifications in a wide range of exams in the field of IT qualifications. It innovates in a continuous manner by developing exams in-house. They developed exams are both independent and with partners, which is done in order to enhance its portfolio as well as broaden the scope of the exams that are offered.
Summary:
Various accreditation bodies provide various Scrum Certifications around the globe. The main objective behind all the Scrum Certifications being making of a Scrum Master which will help his/her organisation achieve the goals following the Scrum framework. Choose the best certification course according to your requirements and make the best out of it!
KnowledgeHut
KnowledgeHut is a fast growing Management Consulting and Training firm that is a source of Intelligent Information support for businesses and professionals across the globe.
Website : https://www.knowledgehut.com/
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SAFe® Agilist Certification Vs PMI-ACP®: Which Certification Should You Choose?
By KnowledgeHut
The competition for jobs is getting tough in today’s world. Whether you are a job seeker, corporate employee, or a consultant, you should keep your skills up to date in a fast-paced, online world. Agile has become the standard of project management very fast in today’s world, specifically in the IT and service field. Most of the project management professionals have adopted Agile techniques, tools, and concepts to deliver the projects successfully that has never been seen before.If you want to make a career in Agile or want to make a career shift then Agile certification can be an added advantage. You might be in confusion as to which certification you should do, as there are different types of Agile certifications available. SAFe® Agilist and PMI-ACP® are the two most in-demand IT certifications today that will increase your career growth and salary. In this post, we will discuss both the certifications and help to choose a career that best suits you.SAFe® AgilistLarger organizations are struggling with Agile, especially the well-established enterprises who are trying to adopt Agile and shift their way of doing things. SAFe® is one such example that provides best practices for adopting Agile at an organizational level and SAFe® certification covers every aspect of Agile from architecture, governance, funding, integration, and roles. Holding a SAFe® certification proves your proficiency and hands-on experience and shows your knowledge and skills in real-time implementations.SAFe® Agilist could be a perfect choice for you if you want to be part of different teams in the adoption of SAFe® and willing to be part of enterprise Agile. Scaled Agile is something different to standard Agile knowledge which is required for Agile change agents, managers, and executives for leading a lean-agile change initiative in large-scale enterprises. This is also essential for those executives who have already implemented Agile principles and practices at small-scale enterprises and now want to take it to the next level.Leaders of Lean-Agile change initiative can learn how to build a Lean-Agile Mindset and implement the SAFe® principles and practices to support Agile Teams, Program Portfolio Management, and Teams from this SAFe® 4 Agilist (SA) course. SAFe® Agilist certification demonstrates your efficiency of leading the Scaled Agile Framework adoption in an enterprise context.PMI-ACPPMI-ACP® certification could be an ideal choice for those who have been applying Agile values and principles in their day-to-day project work and who want to shift to a leadership role. To apply for the PMI-ACP® certification, applicants must have at least 2,000 hours of working experience on project teams and 1,500 hours of working experience with Agile methodologies or on Agile project teams. Applicants should also complete 21 hours of Agile training and need to pass the exam.The PMI-ACP® is close to the mid-level CSP that is offered by the Scrum Alliance. Enterprises that are shifting to an Agile context and applying different Agile techniques are more interested in recruiting individuals with PMI-ACP® certification.PMI-ACP® could be a right choice if your enterprise is looking forward to adopting Agile framework in order to achieve high-end project goals. It not only covers Scrum framework but also includes XP, Kanban, Lean, and other frameworks. The PMI-ACP® certification exam is more difficult when compared to the basic Scrum Master certifications and individuals must take online or classroom training before going to attempt the exam.Let’s see the key differences between SAFe® Agilist and PMI-ACP®:It is important to look at the career opportunities before selecting the particular course. Think of various factors such as job security, responsibility, stress, income, and other benefits while choosing a profession.Just choosing a certification that is best for you doesn’t lead to the success you deserve. Choosing the best training provider will have a huge impact on the effectiveness of a course. Compare course outlines of different institutes and find the best training provider that will guide you in the right direction of the particular course chosen. You can also visit the institutes and attend some of the demo sessions to understand their approach to training. KnowledgeHut is a Registered Education Provider and offers both SAFe® Agilist and PMI-ACP® training classes across the country by experts who have years of industry experience.
- by KnowledgeHut
- 25 May 2018
- 4 mins read
The competition for jobs is getting tough in today... Read More
Reasons to Get Updated to Leading SAFe® 4.6 Certification in 2019
By Deepti Sinha
SAFe®️ is an agile framework for software development which encourages alignment, collaboration, and delivery across large numbers of agile teams. It was developed by Dean Leffingwell, leveraging three major bodies of knowledge: agile software development, lean product development, and systems thinking. It offers a simple, lightweight experience for the development team. The entire framework is distributed into four sections Team, Program Level, Large Solution, and Portfolio. The scalability and configurability provided by SAFe®️ framework support organizations to deliver new products, services, and solutions in the shortest sustainable lead time, along with the best potential quality. It orchestrates alignment, collaboration, and delivery for various Agile teams ensuring every team is focused on the same goal.With the increase in success rate for the organizations turning towards scaling, the need for them to equip themselves with the right tools, techniques, and people became their top priority. As we all know, from our experience, ‘people’ parameter is crucial for the success of any project or any organization. There has been a sharp upswing in the demand of certified professionals with the needed skills. The organizations are now turning to people who can demonstrate skills and qualities that can help them adopt the change smoothly. They are now looking into specific areas such as SAFe®️ Agilist who can understand the whole system, who can work with the teams and help out at the different levels in delivering a quality product that can add value to the customer. Most of us have already seen how SAFe®️ 4.5 works and its benefits, a good part is, now we have SAFe®️ 4.6 which highlights the introduction of the Five Core Competencies of the Lean Enterprise. Before looking at the advantages of Leading SAFe®️ 4.6, we will see the new features in Leading SAFe®️ 4.6.In addition to the core competencies, this updated version in Leading SAFe®️ includes new government guidance, which describes a set of success patterns that help public sector organizations implement Lean-Agile practices. Mastering the core competencies enables enterprises to successfully respond to volatile market conditions, changing customer needs, and emerging technologies. Let’s look at the advanced topics in SAFe®️ 4.6:Source Lean-Agile LeadershipLean-Agile Leadership lies at the very foundation of the framework defining how the Lean-Agile leaders will go about and endure the organizational transformation, to achieve this, they might need to create an environment of learning, exhibiting, teaching, and coaching SAFe®️’s Lean-Agile Mindset, values, principles, and practices. Among the five competencies being introduced, Lean-Agile Leadership forms the root of the framework. The lean-agile leadership comprises of managers, leaders, and executives who can drive the change and also to continuously work around the improvement needed. These leaders will base their working model on the core values as stated by the scaled agile framework which is alignment, built-in quality, transparency, and program execution. The leaders embrace the SAFe®️ Lean-Agile mindset which is the combination of beliefs, assumptions, and actions of leaders and practitioners who embrace the concepts in the Agile Manifesto and the SAFe®️ House of Lean. These leaders are the torch-bearers for the organizations in the transformation journey, making it clear where they are and where they need to go.Team and Technical Agility“Continuous attention to technical excellence and good design enhances agility.”—Agile ManifestoWhen we talk of making a team the high-performing, we need to understand what all is required in their transition, maybe some critical skills, principles, and practices to support current and future business needs. Let’s first understand what is team agility - cross-functional, responsible, and dedicated to collective goals, they have all the skills necessary to define, build, test, and deploy value in short iterations. Now, talking about it in terms of scaling, these teams become part of Agile Release Train (ART), these trains have necessary people to drive towards the solution. They plan, integrate, demo, deploy, release, and learn together.This was about the team functioning, now let’s move to technical agility, which is, “defines the Agile software engineering principles and practices teams use to deliver solutions quickly and reliably. This includes the Lean-Agile values and principles, eXtreme Programming (XP) practices, Behavior-driven Development (BDD), Agile modeling, built-in quality, proven approaches and patterns for object-oriented software design, and more” – Scaled Agile.DevOps and Release on Demand“It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.” —Charles DarwinDevOps is the recipe of traditional values, practices, and tools that upsurges an organization’s capability to provide product and services at high velocity: progressing and refining products at a quicker speed as compared to organizations using traditional software development and infrastructure management processes. This swiftness permits organizations to better help their clients and compete more successfully in the market. The benefits of DevOps include speed, rapid delivery, reliability, scaling, improved collaboration, and security. SAFe®️ talk about the ‘CALMR’ approach and is grounded in five concepts - Culture, Automation, Lean flow, Measurement, and Recovery. Each concept serve as the foundation pillar for DevOps and in turn, helps with the continuous delivery pipeline. Release on demand is the method through which new functionality is deployed into production and released immediately or incrementally to Customers based on demand. ARTs and Solution Trains can continuously explore user value, integrate and demo value, deploy to production, and release value whenever the business needs it.“Showing a strong success and visible benefits is key to getting others to agree to try your way of doing things.”—Frederic Rivain Business Solutions and Lean Software EngineeringDefinition as per Scaledagile – “The Business Solutions and Lean Systems Engineering competency describes how to apply Lean-Agile principles and practices to the specification, development, deployment, and evolution of large, complex software applications and cyber-physical systems.”Earlier when the organizations followed the traditional approach, the cycle time from the birth of an idea to its delivery took enormous time, most of the times the originator of the idea or the teams working on it went for a complete change, it even sometimes took a lifetime(Phew). Now, we can understand why there were late deployments, budget going over the bounds and issues with quality. This typically consequences in higher than expected maintenance and operations expense, poorer returns, and other business complications.To deal with it, Scaled Agile Framework gives the direction of building up large-scale solutions in a flow-based, value delivery-focused model, driven by Lean and Agile principles. The principles provided by Scaled Agile Framework relate directly to the development of all kinds of large and complex systems. They have embedded Lean-Agile values and principles to make sure the customer gets the right value at the right time with the best quality.Lean Portfolio Management“We don’t have to be smarter than the rest. We have to be more disciplined than the rest.” – Warren BuffettLean Portfolio Management (LPM) is one of the Five Core Competencies of the Lean Enterprise and it rests at the Portfolio level. This area focuses on how an organization can embrace Lean approaches at the strategic, financial level, Agile portfolio operations, and Lean governance. The Lean Portfolio Management function carves out its way through a series of three collaborations—strategy and investment funding, Agile portfolio operations, and Lean governance— this enables the organization’s ability to accomplish current obligations consistently and enable innovation by building on the foundation of the four other core competencies. LPM is the process of running a program and product portfolios by applying the concept of lean thinking. This result-oriented method delivers high-quality work by prioritizing and managing the work in the Lean portfolio. It increases the speed of planning and reporting processes and eliminates the time-consuming governance.Features of LPM include:Prioritization of the most valuable and critical activitiesTimely inspections and validation of workQuick delivery of high-value work without interruptionsTask alignment with the company's objectivesIn my point of view, this is one of the finest framework developed so far which takes care of the components that other frameworks missed incorporating. It truly focuses on people and product, bringing both of them to rise in terms of skills or qualifications. With this new addition, the agile teams can enhance the way they work and also THEMSELVES. It takes care of all the levels in the framework, enriching every stage with the refined thought process and Lean-Agile way of working. Starting at the team level and working up towards the Portfolio is truly amazing, along with an emphasis on a value being delivered, it also works on creating a healthy environment for the agile teams to deliver the best of quality. It has the best practices embedded with the framework to support both the stakeholders and the teams by building a Continuous Delivery Pipeline and DevOps culture. Scaled Agile Framework is a large knowledge base of demonstrated principles, competencies and practices, that are assimilated together to help bring about cultural change in organizations, which means the teams will deliver faster, more frequently, on time and on budget. Whether you believe it or not, SAFe®️ has some truly convincing case studies which prove its claims!!I have experienced how SAFe®️ helps organizations scale tremendously, I have witnessed the culture shift and the mindset change and with this new version, I can say, go for it, it will really benefit the way you think and the way you work. With the refined version, you will get to see a new way of delivering the best quality.This upgrade is the need of time! I would like to end this with a lovely quote,“Quality debt focuses on the impact of implementation and quality decisions on the end user and business; how those decisions affect their ability to do their day-to day-job.”— Jordan Setters
- by Deepti Sinha
- 11 Feb 2019
- 10 mins read
SAFe®️ is an agile framework for software devel... Read More
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