A Collection of Agile Books and Resources for the SAFe Framework

“Those who master large-scale software delivery will define the economic landscape of the twenty-first century.” - Dr. Mik Kersten

The Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe) is the most widely used approach for scaling agile software practices. This set of principles addresses the most common problems that arise when working on larger products with multiple development teams, multiple tiers of management, and longer timeframes. As such, it’s quickly become a prerequisite for any software company looking for sustained growth.

In this article, we’ve put together a collection of agile books and resources that provide an introduction to agile and the SAFe framework for SaaS founders, executives, and investors who seek to further understand the challenges of scaling a SaaS company and find ways to solve them.

The origins of SAFe

This framework was developed by Dean Leffingwell and Drew Jemilo to help organizations adapt to the changing needs of the market. It operates within the 10 underlying Lean-Agile principles that come from the original Agile Manifesto.

Resources from Scaled Agile Inc.

The founders of the SAFe Framework provide a number of foundational resources to get you started with SAFe.

• SAFe Implementation Roadmap. Work through 12 steps of implementation.
• Case studies. Dozens of examples of SAFe principles applied to high-profile companies.
• Business Agility Assessment. How Agile is your SaaS company?

Agile and SAFe Articles 

The following articles provide a solid base in SAFe and Agile concepts. They are a great place to start before diving into more in-depth resources.

• Principles behind the agile manifesto
• Introducing the scaled agile framework (SAFe)
• What is SAFe?

Agile Books 

Once you’re familiar with the basic concepts of SAFe, here are some options for digging deeper. In the spirit of SAFe, these books prioritize learning the key principles and their applications rather than harking on hard and fast rules. 

• The ART of Avoiding a Train Wreck: Practical Tips and Tricks for Launching and Operating SAFe Agile Release Trains

• Tribal Unity: Getting from Teams to Tribes by Creating a One Team Culture

• The Rollout: A Novel about Leadership and Building a Lean-Agile Enterprise with SAFe®

• Enterprise Agility for Dummies: A basic guide for adopting an enterprise agile framework.

Events 

The Global SAFe Summit could be a great way for SaaS founders, executives, and investors to immerse themselves in SAFe and Agile topics.  It’s an ideal place to meet potential clients, partners, or employees who can help and promote the SAFe framework.

Alternative agile frameworks

Alternative frameworks for scaling agile include Scrum@Scale (S@S), Large-Scale Scrum (LeSS), and Disciplined Agile (DA). Atlassian’s Agile Coach provides an overview of prominent agile frameworks, categorizing them as follows:

• Scrum@Scale (S@S): Adopted to spread a team’s Scrum approach throughout the larger organization.
• Large-Scale Scrum (LeSS): Scrum for large-scale developments, designed with a minimalist philosophy.
• Disciplined Agile (DA): Puts individuals first, with only light guidance to help teams optimize their processes, making the framework highly flexible and scalable.

Does your success depend on scaling software?

If your success over the next 5 years depends on scaling a software product, then you will be well served to study agile methods (including SAFe) and their applications. 

As a first step, bookmark or save this page as you begin collecting resources. Over time, build up your own library of agile materials that can be applied to your company’s specific set of challenges.