Portfolio SAFe

  • Release version: Washingtondc
  • Updated February 1, 2024
  • 2 minutes to read
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    Summary of Portfolio SAFe

    Portfolio SAFe enables organizations to align their goals and strategies with their portfolios while applying lean and agile principles for efficient portfolio management. It functions at three levels: Portfolio, Agile Release Train (ART), and Team, facilitating the management of epics, features, and stories accordingly.

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    Key Features

    • Portfolio Level: Portfolio managers can capture and prioritize epics in a centralized backlog, monitor their progress on a visual task board, and manage activities within the portfolio.
    • ART Level: Product managers can manage the ART backlog, define program increments, and track features transitioning through various states in a visual task board.
    • Team Level: Team members can manage the team backlog, streamline sprint planning, and track stories visually as they progress through their states.

    Key Outcomes

    By implementing Portfolio SAFe through the Agile - Scaled Agile Framework - Portfolio SAFe plugin, organizations can enhance their portfolio management capabilities, ensuring a more streamlined approach to achieving customer requests and business requirements.

    With Portfolio SAFe, you can align your organizational goals and strategies with your portfolios, and apply lean and agile principles to seamlessly manage and deliver your portfolio work.

    Portfolio SAFe works at three levels for portfolio managers, product managers, and team members. At the Portfolio level, portfolio managers can capture and prioritize epics in a centralized backlog, and monitor the progress of epics in a visual task board. An epic is the largest unit of work that has one common objective such as a customer request or business requirement.

    At the ART level, product managers can capture, prioritize, and monitor features that are decomposed from epics. At the Team level, team members can implement stories that are decomposed from features. To learn more about the levels, see the SAFe Board section below.

    To start using the features of Portfolio SAFe, install the Agile - Scaled Agile Framework - Portfolio SAFe plugin (com.snc.sdlc.portfolio_safe).

    Figure 1. How Portfolio SAFe helps you manage your portfolio work better
    Infographic showing how Portfolio SAFe functions in a software development environment

    SAFe Board

    The table below provides an overview of how you can access the key levels of Portfolio SAFe on SAFe Board.
    Level Description
    Portfolio As a portfolio manager, you can plan and monitor activities within a portfolio by accessing the Portfolio level on the Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe) > SAFe Board. In addition, you can:
    • manage the portfolio backlog in a centralized location.
    • track all the epics of the portfolio and view their transition from one state (lane) to another, in a visual task board.
    Agile Release Train (ART) As a product manager, you can plan and monitor activities across teams within an ART by accessing the ART level on the Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe) > SAFe Board. In addition, you can:
    • manage the ART backlog in a centralized location.
    • define a program increment and identify the features to be completed within that program increment.
    • perform big room planning.
    • track all the features of the ART and view their transition from one state (lane) to another, in a visual task board.
    Team As a team member, you can plan and monitor activities within the team by accessing the Team level on the Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe) > SAFe Board. In addition you can:
    • manage the team backlog in a centralized location.
    • streamline sprint planning and completion activities.
    • track all stories and view their transition from one state (lane) to another, in a visual task board.