SAFe Principles

The fundamentals of the Scaled Agile Framework®

We recognize that every organization has its own context. You have different products with diverse organizational structures and unique operational constraints. A prescriptive approach won’t accommodate every situation. That’s why the Scaled Agile Framework® provides 10 SAFe® principles to guide your implementation in any context.

SAFe principles are grounded in the immutable, underlying tenets of Agile, Lean, systems thinking, and product development flow. These fundamental tenets inspire and inform SAFe’s mindset, roles, and practices.

Why are SAFe principles and practices important?

SAFe principles provide context for SAFe practices.

Understanding the underpinnings of these principles helps you apply SAFe practices in your own business context and unlock the value of SAFe. When encountering a situation that seems unique or not fully covered in SAFe guidance, turning to these principles will help you ensure the “shortest sustainable lead time, with best quality and value to people and society.”

SAFe Principles

Tools to help your organization focus on benefits of SAFe

Watch Audrey Boydston, SPCT and SAFe Fellow, discuss the benefits of revisiting the SAFe principles.

“Going to work is more fun when there’s less confusion and less waste. And motivated people do better work, so it’s a positive cycle! Another impact we’ve seen is that other parts of LEGO visit the meeting, get super inspired, and start exploring how to implement some of these principles and practices in their own department.”

—Henrik Kniberg and Eik Thyrsted, Agile coaches at LEGO

Identify solutions to complex problems

Though SAFe’s system of integrated and proven practices synthesizes a large body of knowledge and hundreds of deployments, not every practice will apply to you. That’s why it’s important to look to SAFe principles as a guide. They can help you identify solutions to complex problems, apply them in your own unique circumstances, and stay on the path of continuous improvement.

Scaled Agile courses provide in-depth coverage of the SAFe principles, and SAFe Enterprise gives you the tools you need to apply the principles to your context. To learn more about each of the 10 principles, visit the SAFe Principles page at the Scaled Agile Framework website.

Back to: SAFe and Agile

In today’s world, Agile development teams aren’t enough. SAFe provides a system for implementing Agile at scale.

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Next to: Why SAFe

Discover why global enterprises and public-sector organizations are choosing SAFe to thrive in a world of change.

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The products we’re developing are bigger than one Agile team. For the teams to interact and plan together, we really needed SAFe as the foundation. It brings the practices and methodologies to coordinate multiple teams working on the same product at the same time.”

—Mike Eason, CIO, Commercial Banking