Clarifying SAFe Roles: What’s Missing and How to Improve
In any Agile organization, clarity in roles and responsibilities is crucial for smooth collaboration and efficient delivery. As part of a recent discussion with my team, we explored what they expect from different SAFe roles. While our list covered a lot of ground, a closer look revealed some key gaps compared to SAFe’s best practices.
What We Identified vs. What’s Missing
Product Manager (PM) – Internal Focus, External Impact
Our team sees the PM as the driver of vision, strategy, and roadmap, ensuring alignment with business needs. They also act as the link between customers and development teams. However, some essential aspects were overlooked:
Alignment with the Train’s Strategic Vision – The PM needs to ensure that their roadmap fits into the bigger picture of the Agile Release Train (ART), not just their immediate team.
Managing Dependencies Proactively – SAFe emphasizes cross-team collaboration, meaning a PM should work closely with other PMs and POs to avoid bottlenecks.
Measuring the Value Delivered – Even for an internal team, it’s crucial to track adoption, impact on efficiency, and overall business value.
Actively Participating in Inspect & Adapt (I&A) – PMs should contribute to retrospective discussions at the ART level to improve planning and execution continuously.
Actions for Improvement
✅ Hold a monthly roadmap sync with other PMs and the RTE to align strategy.
✅ Create and track KPIs for internal adoption and efficiency gains for delivered features.
✅ Define a dependency management process with clear communication channels between teams.
✅ Use I&A sessions not just to review results but to adjust the roadmap based on team feedback.
Product Owner (PO) – Beyond Backlog Management
Our team recognized the PO’s responsibility for translating business needs into actionable user stories and prioritizing the backlog. However, key responsibilities need more emphasis:
Ensuring System Demo Readiness – POs should actively validate increments and ensure they are ready for presentation.
Driving Continuous Improvement – POs must work with the team to refine not just stories but also processes and collaboration methods.
Clarifying Metrics for Success – The impact of delivered features should be tracked beyond just completion, focusing on real user feedback and efficiency gains.
Actions for Improvement
✅ Schedule a pre-demo review with developers to ensure each feature is presentable.
✅ Implement bi-weekly backlog refinement retrospectives to improve story writing and prioritization.
✅ Define clear acceptance criteria for features beyond just "done"—including impact measurement.
Architects – Facilitators, Not Just Gatekeepers
The team sees architects as the technical visionaries, but their role is often misunderstood as simply validating solutions. In reality, they should:
Be More Involved in PI Planning – Ensuring that architectural decisions align with business goals early on.
Collaborate Closely with CI/CD Teams – Architecture should support fast, reliable releases, not create bottlenecks.
Foster Knowledge Sharing – Actively engage with teams to help them understand technical trade-offs and system evolution.
Actions for Improvement
✅ Introduce a dedicated architecture sync with tech leads to anticipate challenges.
✅ Provide technical strategy updates in ART-level meetings to ensure alignment.
✅ Set up architecture office hours where teams can discuss concerns and learn best practices.
Tech Leads – The Glue Between Devs and Architects
Tech Leads are seen as problem-solvers, guiding teams in technical decisions. However, their role should also include:
Mentorship and Coaching – Helping junior developers grow and enforcing best practices.
Owning Technical Debt Management – Raising and addressing tech debt proactively.
Contributing to Architectural Evolution – Ensuring that technical decisions align with long-term system goals.
Actions for Improvement
✅ Set up regular mentoring sessions for knowledge transfer within the team.
✅ Maintain a technical debt backlog and discuss priorities in each PI planning.
✅ Work with architects to create long-term technical roadmaps that align with product goals.
Developers – Owning Quality and Delivery
While developers are expected to write and test code, their role extends beyond just implementing user stories:
Championing Automation – Encouraging test automation and CI/CD adoption.
Being Active in Refinement – Providing input on feasibility and complexity during backlog discussions.
Participating in System Demos – Taking pride in presenting work and gathering feedback directly.
Actions for Improvement
✅ Encourage developers to propose enablers that improve system quality.
✅ Ensure at least one developer participates in backlog refinement to give feasibility input.
✅ Rotate developer presentations in system demos to improve engagement with stakeholders.
Scrum Master / RTE – More Than Just Facilitators
The team values Scrum Masters and RTEs as enablers of agility, but they often focus on ceremonies and process enforcement rather than:
Coaching at All Levels – Helping teams, POs, and PMs adopt better Agile practices.
Driving Data-Driven Improvements – Using flow metrics to optimize team performance.
Resolving Organizational Impediments – Addressing systemic issues that slow down delivery.
Actions for Improvement
✅ Introduce coaching sessions for POs and PMs on Agile best practices.
✅ Track and share flow efficiency metrics with the teams to improve predictability.
✅ Work with leadership to create a structured process for escalating systemic issues.
Bringing It All Together
Our discussion helped highlight role expectations, but also revealed areas where we could better align with SAFe principles. Addressing these gaps isn’t just about process improvement—it’s about ensuring that every role actively contributes to the flow of value within the ART.
By refining our understanding of responsibilities, we can create a more efficient, transparent, and high-performing Agile organization. Now, the next step is to put these insights into action!
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