Scaled Agile Announces General Availability of SAFe(R) 5.0 With Core Competencies for Enabling Business Agility

Breakthrough Version of Scaled Agile Framework Moves Beyond IT to Align the Entire Enterprise on Strategy and Execution

BOULDER, Colorado, Jan. 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Scaled Agile, Inc., provider of SAFe®, the world's leading framework for business agility, today announced general availability of SAFe® 5.0 for Lean Enterprises. The new version of SAFe features significant advances in strategy, execution, and leadership competencies needed for an organization to deliver innovative business solutions faster than the competition.

Taking the approach that business agility requires everyone involved in delivering solutions—business and technology leaders, development, IT operations, legal, marketing, finance, support, compliance, security, and others—use Lean and Agile practices, SAFe 5.0 provides guidance on how to extend the Lean-Agile mindset into those business areas.

"With the unprecedented pace of technological innovation, it has become increasingly clear that existing business models, organizational hierarchy, and technology infrastructure simply can't keep up with how quickly companies need to adapt in the digital age," said Dean Leffingwell, SAI co-founder and chief methodologist. "SAFe 5.0 helps organizations address technical and agility deficiencies, as well as strategic and tactical incompatibilities between the business and IT, to master the core competencies necessary to achieve true business agility."

Key Highlights of SAFe® 5.0:

• The addition of customer centricity and design thinking enables the organization to better understand the problem and design the right solution
• Measure and Grow guidance helps the organization determine its current state of business agility and identify tactical steps needed to improve
• Continuous Learning Culture competency provides a set of values and practices that encourage everyone in the enterprise to continually learn—and innovate—together
• Organizational Agility competency helps teams optimize their business processes, evolve strategy with clear and decisive new commitments, and quickly adapt to capitalize on new opportunities
• By expanding to include business teams, SAFe 5.0 enables all teams in the organization to participate in creating, delivering, and supporting innovative business solutions
• A new SAFe Principle—Organize Around Value—helps enterprises align their development efforts around the full, end-to-end value flow

"The thing we're so excited about in SAFe 5.0 is that design thinking and customer centricity are in the framework now," said Carmen Farenthold, director of sales technologies at PepsiCo. "We've got to put the end user at the core of what we're doing because it's not about delivering a technology solution just for the sake of a technology solution. It's about that user who is going to leverage that solution."

"Those who master large-scale software delivery will define the economic landscape of the twenty-first century," said Dr. Mik Kersten, CEO of Tasktop and author of the book Project to Product. "SAFe 5.0 is a monumental release that I am convinced will be key in helping countless enterprise organizations succeed in their shift from project to product." 

The SAFe 5.0 website is available at scaledagileframework.com and FAQs about SAFe 5.0 are available at support.scaledagile.com. Key dates surrounding the full release are:

• The SAFe 4.6 website remains available at v46.scaledagileframework.com until January, 2021
• Updated SAFe 5.0 courses providing comprehensive training and certification on SAFe roles and competencies will be available in January, 2020

About Scaled Agile, Inc.

Scaled Agile, Inc., is the provider of SAFe®, the world's leading framework for business agility. Through learning and certification, a global partner network, and a growing community of over 500,000 trained professionals, Scaled Agile helps enterprises build agility into their culture so they can quickly identify and deliver customer value, capitalize on emerging opportunities, and improve business outcomes. Scaled Agile is a contributing member of the Pledge 1% corporate philanthropy and community service movement. Learn more at scaledagile.com.

Resources:

SAFe Case Studies
SAFe in the News

“SAFe 5.0 is a monumental release that I am convinced will be key in helping countless enterprise organizations succeed in their shift from project to product.” —Dr. Mik Kersten, CEO of Tasktop. Learn about SAFe 5.0 and business agility at scaledagileframework.com.

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