Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe) Tools

Today’s era demands that organizations be quick and well-planned. A few key factors can determine if your business is successful. Few are delivering quality products to customers or clients, running the projects efficiently, fast delivering the products, and their customers are satisfied and happy. Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe) can be a turning point for your business and help you achieve these goals. It is designed as a mouldable framework that can be used as per business requirements. This makes it effortless to execute Lean principles and Agile across businesses.

To implement the Agile methodologies and achieve desired results, organizations have to rely on a bunch of Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe) Tools. These practices will help the enterprise to stand out from their competitors.

Before looking at the SAFe Tools, let us know about the basics of SAFe, how the tools can help the organization, what is the need for the tools, and more.

What is Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe)?

Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe) is a set of tools, principles, practices, and frameworks that guide large-size organizations to scale Agile and Lean practices across different departments, teams, and whole ventures. With the help of Scaled Agile, businesses can plan, coordinate, execute, deliver, and track large and complicated projects.

This approach validates work with increased productivity throughout the team via detailed and flexible planning and reporting. SAFe principles include continuously improved processes and collaboration, alignment and transparency, and delivery of value. Organizations with a Scaled Agile Framework can make corrections in the ongoing projects in response to market requisites.

Top Seven Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe) Tools:

Below are the top seven Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe) Tools commonly used by organizations. 

Jira Align:

Jira Align is one of the important agile tools that supports SAFe implementation in the organization. The tool has some crucial features like:

• Provides advanced reporting and analytics to have better data visuals
• Has an inbuilt dashboard, to access detailed information and reports, making the development process smooth
• Encourage collaboration in the Agile Development team, aligning them with the organizational goals
• Take data-driven decision-making by connecting with all levels of management

Benefits:

• Customizable and flexible to adjust in any agile environment
• Timely improvisation and updates as per the user's feedback
• A powerful tool for features like issue tracking and collaboration
• Comprehensive integration option with the third-party tools

Cons:

• Costlier compared to similar options
• Complicated to set up and supervise
• Self-hosted requires high maintenance

Target Process:

It is an Agile project management tool. This tool is designed for implementing SAFe and metrics like PI planning and dependency visualization using Kanban. Let’s know about the features of this tool:

• Aid for custom workflows, Agile, SAFe, Scrum, Kanban
• Advanced reporting and analytics
• Portfolio management and road mapping features
• Integration with tools for development and collaboration
• Customizable and flexible dashboard as per business requirements

Benefits:

• Plan, record, and anticipate the work, ensuring adjustment with larger business goals
• Helps team to get insights via detailed reports to make better data-driven decisions
• Support tracking progress and performance with strong reporting potentiality
• Time to time updates with new features and improvements
• Has the option of both self-hosted and cloud

Cons:

• The advanced features and customizations are often complicated
• Hefty price for startups and small businesses
• Infrequent performance issues have been reported with large database

Planview Lean Kit:

Planview Lean Kit is an authoritative SAFe and Lean project management tool. Let us look at a few features:

• Plan, and visualize the need for projects with Kanban boards
• Supports Agile, Lean, and SAFe methodologies
• Advanced reporting and analytics
• Integration with various development and collaboration tools
• Customizable workflow patterns and templates
• Draft, adjust, and track the actions, ensuring strategic goals and objectives are met

Benefits:

• Asset for business for SAFe implementation because of its user-friendly interface and powerful functionality
• Analyze and report the risk and performance of project status
• Drafting roadmaps for portfolios and programs to understand dependencies, enhance resources, and make better decisions
• Flexible and adjustable to different SAFe configurations

Cons: 

• Huge investment for small business
• Detailed data entry and specific information of projects are required
• Complex tool for many organizations

Rally Software:

Rally Software is one of the important Scaled Agile Framework Tools. Below are the features:

• Extensive Agile project management platform to scale businesses
• Helps organizations to execute and oversee SAFe, Scrum, Kanban, and hybrid methodologies
• Emphasis on planning and tracking the project progress
• Advanced reporting and analytics
• Effective Collaboration and communication tool
• Integrations with various development and DevOps tools

Benefits:

• Help the team to manage Agile projects smoothly as aligned with the strategic goals 
• Helps with release tracking, portfolio management, backlog prioritization, enabling teams to track and prioritize work
• The team can make data-driven decisions and supervise project changes with real-time reporting and visibility

Cons:

• The tool is complex and not great for small teams or new Agile Users
• The tool is costlier compared to other SAFe tools
• Vast customizations and features are difficult to get through

Spira Plan:

This tool offers portfolio and risk management capabilities for various Agile methodologies. Let's discuss the following features:  

• Support for Scrum, Kanban, SAFe, and Nexus
• Organize and prioritize initiatives with Portfolio management
• Effective collaboration tool for team communication
• Helps in sprint planning with backlog management
• Report and analytics to track progress and performance

Benefits:

• An all-inclusive tool that balances the entire Agile development lifecycle
• An agile environment to manage all baselines, requirements, and tasks
• Allows reporting risk indicators, like, burnup, burndown issues, and velocity
• Adaptable and versatile for large-scale agile transformations and development process
• Provide deep insights into the project status

Cons:

• Difficult for new users to learn advanced features
• The interface is less appealing compared to other tools
• Price is higher than other project management tools

Digital.ai:

This tool offers a consolidated platform that eases the adoption and implementation of SAFe in the organization. Let’s discuss a few features:

• Align with SAFe principles and practices
• Program-level planning and coordination
• Plan and organize work with Agile portfolio management
• Integration with development, and deployment tools.

Benefits:

• Team and Stakeholders can make data-driven decisions with real-time progress and identify blockages
• Helps to analyze whether the business product strategy and project plan go hand in hand or not
• A comprehensive platform for knowledge sharing, task assignment, communication
• Organizations can prioritize, track, and manage multiple projects simultaneously in the SAFe framework
• Figure out and tackle dependencies between teams
• Allows customization for strategies as per the project

Cons:

• Pricing may be an issue for smaller startups or teams.
• Utilization of all features may require training
• Complex setup and configuration for large project database

ServiceNow:

The tool is used during the software development processes by the project teams. let's talk about the features:

• This tool supports Agile and SAFe methodologies
• Agile project management tool with features like sprint planning, backlog grooming, and task tracking
• Integrate with IT Service Management (ITSM)
• Effective collaboration and communication tools for team and knowledge sharing.
• Automation of workflows and processes

Benefits:

• Help team to effectively plan, set up, and trackwork with integration capabilities
• Spontaneous interface and automation potentiality to uplift productivity and efficiency
• Oversee the project performance and progress with the reporting and analytics feature
• The in-exclusive functionalities of ServiceNow make it a valuable SAFe tool

Cons:

• Customization and configuration may require particular knowledge
• The interface can be complex for some users
• Bounded support for advanced Agile practices

Why do you need Scaled Agile Framework Tools?

The need for SAFe tools can vary for each organization and business process. Below are a few pointers that will help you understand why you should consider using these tools:

Risks and Errors:

SAFe Tool will help by producing centralized data management and automating all the manual processes and tasks, this will reduce the errors and risks. It will also make sure that the organization's people are working with the updated information.

Quality: 

SAFe practices help to detect and address the issues at an early stage of any project, which helps to reduce defects and makes rework easier. This will focus on the quality practices of any deliverables.

Compliance and Governance:

This can be said as one of the best tools in the scaled agile framework. It ensures that the business process is aligned with SAFe principles and best practices. This will act as a validation and faithfulness towards compliance and governance to the standards or regulating bodies.

Visibility and Transparency:

The organization can have deep observation with the help of SAFe agile tools. They can provide visual images like dashboards and reports. This will replicate the actual time insights into project progress, team understanding and performance, and level of dependencies. This transparency allows stakeholders to look at the real scenario and make decisions wisely. This will enhance transparency and visibility across the organization.

Complexity and Scalability:

Big giants generally operate with numerous teams working on each of their aspects of a product or service. SAFe provides a well-planned approach to sink and associate the efforts of these teams, ensuring consistency and alignment. 

Collaboration and Communication:

Often SAFe Agile Tools offer features to work in a collaborative environment, this permits us to work on tasks together, have group discussions and share documents within the platform. Also provides everyone with real-time updates and changes in the projects. These practices can enhance communication in a team and the members working in the organization. 

Also, check:Benefits of Scaled Agile Framework

How to Choose the Right Tool for Your Business?

One must observe the organization’s needs before choosing the best-scaled agile framework tools. They must classify the available options, connect end-users, and prioritize factors like scalability, usability, and feedback.

• Prioritize Features: Acknowledge functionalities relevant and important for the business-specific needs.
• Budget: Pre-plan your budget for each tool, which includes the market cost to purchase, licenses involved, implementation cost if any, and maintenance or renewal cost.
• User Experience: Consider how user-friendly the tool is, how well your team can grasp it, and how efficiently it can be used.
•  Assess requirements: Look out for your business requirements, size of the project, complexities, and functionalities.
• Compare Tools: Research among the related SAFe tools with their alternative options, this will help you to get better clarity to choose the best.
• Tools complication: Examine the difficulty level of the tool, do they provide a trial version, the duration, and the training requirements.

Final Thoughts

There are numerous Scaled Agile Framework Tools available in the industry. These tools help organizations enhance their Agile processes, focus on communication and collaboration, and achieve large-scale SAFe transformations. The organizations can choose wisely which tools are useful as per their requirements. This will help them achieve their desired business results.