SAFe Practice Consultant (SPC): Roles and Responsibilities

In today’s fast growing digital world of Agile and lean practices, organizations are more likely to implement SAFe Framework to deliver better business outcomes and increase operational efficiency. SAFe Practice Consultants play a significant role in implementing SAFe across organizations. In this blog, we’ll explore the roles and responsibilities of a SAFe Practice Consultant, the necessary skills and qualifications, and the salary expectations.

Who is a SAFe Practice Consultant (SPC)?

A SPC (SAFe Practice Consultant) is an Agile expert who is mainly responsible for adopting and implementing the SAFe Methodology in the organization. These certified professionals work closely with leaders, team, and stakeholders to make sure that principles of SAFe are executed effectively across the organization. 

Know more about SAFe Practice Consultant.

Why is the Role of SPC Important?

The SPC plays a key role in the organization that needs a transition from traditional project management approaches to Agile methodologies. SAFe framework has become one of the go to framework for adopting Agile methodologies and requires knowledge and skills to execute effectively. As businesses grow, they often face challenges in scaling Agile practices across multiple teams and departments. This is where SPCs come into the picture.

Roles and Responsibilities of a SAFe Practice Consultant

The role of SPC is complex, which requires a deep understanding of Agile principles, leadership, and change management. Here are some of the key roles and responsibilities of SPCs:

1. Leading SAFe Implementation

A SPCs work with executives, managers, and teams to make sure that Agile transformation aligns with the organization objectives. They guide the teams in adopting agile practices and implementing SAFe at scale, helping to define and implement strategic goals, organizational structures, and key performance indicators.

Key Responsibilities:

 Here are some of the key responsibilities:

• Leadership requires knowledge of how SAFe contributes value and what its core principles are.
• Lead the implementation of SAFe throughout multiple organizational departments and teams.
• The team should organize workshops and training sessions with discussions to establish organizational alignment.
• Build transformation plans that lead organizations to smoothly implement SAFe principles.
• The change manager assists teams to overcome resistance and eliminate obstacles which impact the transformation journey.

2. Coaching and Mentoring

The key aspect of SPCs is coaching and mentoring Agile teams, scrum masters, Product Owners, and leaders to effectively implement SAFe principles. They handle teams through challenges, and also ensure that they are continuously improving and evolving.

Key Responsibilities:

Some of the key responsibilities includes:

• Working with individuals to align them with Agile values, principles and practices.
• Help teams to implement Agile practices and methodologies like sprint planning, retrospectives, and daily standups.
• Provides hands-on coaching to the SAFe roles.
• Promotes continuous improvement by teaching teams to organize and focus on delivering values. 

3. Facilitating SAFe Implementation Workshops

A SPC is often tasked with Facilitating and leading different SAFe training sessions, which may include Leading SAFe and SPC certification courses. The workshops are designed to help organizations to build a solid understanding of SAFe.

Key Responsibilities:

Here are some of the key responsibilities:

• The organization should provide lead training to stakeholders who include executives and teams and Scrum Masters and other members.
• SAFe certification programs will be organized by the implementer while delivering the core principles plus practices to all participants.
• The training sessions need adaptation based on the specific requirements of the organization by assessing its size and industry as well as its strategic objectives.
• Participants should receive all necessary tools alongside knowledge needed for sustaining the transformation after the workshop completion.

4. Supporting Continuous Improvement

The role of SPCs is essential to develop Agile practices beyond initial implementation into continuously evolving enhanced structures. These assessments together with retrospective processes supply organizations with essential feedback that directs process enhancement.

Key Responsibilities:

Here are some of the key responsibilities:

• The organization’s current implementation of SAFe requires assessment through matureness testing.
• Acquire team-oriented feedback as well as leader input to determine which sections need improvement.
• Additionally the company must recommend procedural enhancements to sustain continuous Agile practice development.
• Enhancements need to harmonize with the whole business framework of the organization.

5. Building Organizational Alignment

Executing Agile transformations requires successful alignment of multiple teams and business units because it stands among the biggest obstacles. Through SPCs organizations obtain uniform execution and understanding of SAFe practices which leads to steady value delivery throughout the enterprise.

Key Responsibilities:

Here are some of the key responsibilities:

• Agile teams need their objectives to connect with corporate business objectives and strategic vision.
• SPCs need to collaborate with senior leaders to verify how SAFe framework elements reinforce organizational strategy.
• The System Productivity Consultant assists with the definition of Agile organizational structures that include value streams and Agile Release Trains (ARTs) and Portfolio Management.
• The organization should build an environment that promotes teamwork among departments and different teams together with their executive managers.

Check out the steps to become an SPC.

Skills and Qualifications Required for an SPC

Being an SPC is not just about knowledge of the SAFe framework; it also requires strong leadership, coaching, and communication skills. Below are the essential skills for a SPC:

Impact of an SPC on an Organization

An SPC plays a vital role in helping organizations achieve their Agile practice implementation goals across multiple organizational levels. The following points establish the main advantages an SPC delivers to an organization:

1. Improved Agility

Organizations that commit to SAFe adoption along with continuous practice enhancement realize better market responsiveness leading to faster delivery of quality products.

2. Enhanced Collaboration

Through its SPC function the organization connects different teams as well as departments and leadership so they can pursue common goals in a unified direction.

3. Increased Productivity and Quality

Organizations achieve better productivity rates through appropriate implementation of SAFe practices that allow teams to deliver quality products sooner to market.

4. Sustainability of Agile Practices

The implementation of Agile practices by SPCs produces deep organizational cultural change which keeps the transformation active and enduring.

Conclusion

SAFe Practice Consultants (SPCs) play an essential role by leading organizations to accomplish successful SAFe adaptations. SPCs execute multiple duties which involve delivering coaching to teams while providing training along with conducting workshops with responsibility for enterprise-wide alignment. Organizations achieve effective Agile practice scalability through SPCs who understand SAFe principles and lead with strong leadership abilities to create improvements in organization-wide collaboration and product quality and delivery efficiency.
Join Simpliaxis to explore SPC training and certification pathways that can help you implement Agile practices at your organization. Simpliaxis provides everything needed for your Success through SAFe transformation through its expert teaching trainers.