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title: SAFe
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## SAFe
SAFe stands for "Scaled Agile Framework" and is an agile software development framework that is designed for large-scale agile development involving many teams.
The main website (http://www.scaledagileframework.com/) is an freely available online knowledge base on implementing SAFe.
## Principles
There are nine, underlying principles for SAFe
1. **Take an economic view** - evaluate economic costs of decisions, developments, and risks
2. **Apply systems thinking** - development processes are interactions among the systems used by workers and thus need to view progress with systems thinking
3. **Assume variability; preserve options** - requirements change, be flexible, and use empirical data to narrow focus
4. **Build incrementally with fast, integrated learning cycles** - fast, incremental builds allow rapid feedback in order to change the project if necessary
5. **Base milestones on objective evaluation on working systems** - objective evaluation provides important information such as financials and governance as feedback
6. **Visualize and limit WIP, reduce batch sizes, and manage queue lengths** - do these to achieve continuous flow to move quickly and visualize progress; WIP = work-in-progress
7. **Apply cadence, synchronize with cross-domain planning** - cadence is setting dates when certain events happen (e.g. release weekly) and synchronizing makes sure everyone has the same goals in mind
8. **Unlock the intrinsic motivation of knowledge workers** - people work better when you make use of their personal motivations
9. **Decentralize decision-making** - allows faster action, which may be not the best solution, but allows faster communication among teams; centralized decision-making may be necessary for more strategic or global decisions
## Configurations
There are four variations of SAFe, varying in complexity and needs of your project:
1. Essential SAFe
- It’s the basic building block for all other SAFe configurations and describes the most critical elements needed to realize the majority of the Framework’s benefits.
2. Portfolio SAFe
- It’s for developing the largest and most complex solutions that typically require multiple Agile release trains and Suppliers, but do not require portfolio-level considerations. This is common for industries like aerospace and defense, automotive, and government, where the large solution—not portfolio governance—is the primary concern.
3. Large Solution SAFe
- Helps align portfolio execution to the enterprise strategy, by organizing Agile development around the flow of value, through one or more value streams. It provides business agility through principles and practices for portfolio strategy and investment funding, Agile portfolio operations, and Lean governance.
4. Full SAFe
- Supports enterprises that build and maintain large integrated solutions. Usually requiring hundreds of people.
#### More Information:
- Scaled Agile Framework
- What is SAFe?
- The Ten Essential Elements
- SAFe Principles