Actual is a relative term when it comes to business value delivered by a SAFe PI Objective. In this talk we will explore techniques for validating the actual value delivered by SAFe Teams and ARTs based on real-world outcomes that can be evaluated post-release. RTEs, Product Management and Lean/Agile Leaders will be able to assess their current ability to validate value and learn specific practices they could add to their artifacts and events. Finally, we will take a deeper look at optionality and hypothesis-driven thinking in SAFe and challenge the comfort zone on how to properly use some of SAFe’s essential elements in this context. Learning Objectives: Assess their competency level of their ART/Program when it comes to ability to validate value Evolve their Inspect and Adapt events to enable validation value based on real outcomes Extend their Program and Portfolio Kanbans to help manage the flow of learning and validation.

1. 1
Validating Delivered Business
Value
Going Beyond “Actual Business Value”

2. 22
Yuval Yeret
SPCT | PST
AgileSparks North America

3. 3
PI Objectives – a PITA?

4. 44

5. 5
Self assess: Are we using PI Objectives?
1
min
1. Sit PI Objectives aren’t in use
2. Crawl We use the Features as PI Objectives
3. Walk PI Objectives are created
4. Run PI Objectives are SMART
5. Fly
PI Objectives are considered a key way to
achieve alignment and we’re finding creative
ways to use the concept outside of the ART and
the Program level.

6. 66

7. 7
Self assess: Are we assigning Business Value to PI
Objectives?
1
min
1. Sit We don’t even have PI Objectives, remember?
2. Crawl
No we don’t see the value in it and our business owners don’t have time
for it.
3. Walk Yes, but we don’t really see what’s the value in it. It’s a PITA.
4. Run
Yes, and it helps us achieve better alignment between Agile Teams and
the Business Owners/Product Management
5. Fly
We can quantify the business benefit of assigning business value and the
alignment discussion that results out of it.

8. 8
War is Chaos – replace with GoT,
EndGame, etc.
How did that plan work out ?

9. 9http://www.stephenbungay.com/Books.ink

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Bungay’s Friction Model
OUTCOMES
PLANSACTIONS
Knowledge Gap:
the difference between what
we would like to know and
what we actually know
Effects Gap:
the difference between what we
expect our actions to achieve and what
they actually achieve
Alignment Gap:
the difference between what we want
people to do and what they actually do

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Bungay’s Friction Model
OUTCOMES
PLANSACTIONS
Knowledge Gap:
Do not command more than is
necessary, or plan beyond the
circumstances you can foresee
Effects Gap:
Everyone retains freedom of
decision and action within
bound
Alignment Gap:
Communicate to every unit
as much of the higher
intent as necessary to
achieve the purpose
“Briefing and back-
briefing”
“A good decision is a
decision which is about
right now”
Senior officers must on
no account go into details
It is necessary that a subordinate
leader, or even a common
soldier, has to fully understand
the commander’s intent, also to
the next higher level of
command, and the purpose of
the mission. If he does not
understand, then he has the
obligation to ask

12. 1212
6-6
© Scaled Agile, Inc.
Quantitative measurements
As part of the System Demo, teams
compare planned vs. actual PI Objectives.
4Teams meet with their Business
Owners to self-assess the business
value they achieved for each objective
4Each team’s planned vs. actual
business value is then rolled up to the
Program Level in the Program
Predictability Measure
2

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Self assess: Are we assigning Actual PI Objective
Business Value?
1
min
1. Sit We don’t even have PI Objectives, remember?
2. Crawl No - We don’t see the point
3. Walk
Business Owners and Product Managers do it based on the PI System
Demo
4. Run
Business Owners and Product Managers do it continuously based on
System Demos
5. Fly
Business Owners and Product Managers do it based on actual outcomes
in production

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DevOps Second Way – Amplify Feedback Loops
https://itrevolution.com/the-three-ways-principles-underpinning-devops/

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#3 Assume variability; preserve options
4Is the benefit a hypothesis or is it a fact?
4What’s the level of business/requirements uncertainty for this
Epic/Feature/Program?

16. 1616© Scaled Agile, Inc.
Where’s the feature on the Program Kanban at this point?

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Actual Value?

18. 18
Bungay’s Friction Model
OUTCOMES
PLANSACTIONS
Knowledge Gap:
the difference between what
we would like to know and
what we actually know
Effects Gap:
the difference between what we
expect our actions to achieve and what
they actually achieve
Alignment Gap:
the difference between what we want
people to do and what they actually do

19. 19
Self assess: Are we validating Value delivered/outcomes
achieved?
1
min
1. Sit We don’t even have PI Objectives, remember?
2. Crawl We use the Actual PI Objective Business Value at our PI System Demos
3. Walk
Some real value validation happens but we don’t have a consistent
process for this
4. Run
We have a consistent process for validating real value realized and see it
as key to “objective evaluation of working systems”
5. Fly
Our value validation process leverages both qualitative and
quantitative inputs (CALMR)

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Try this in your next Inspect and Adapt Quantitative
Measurement session:

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Make sure Learning/Validating is part of the Definition of Done!
Validate/Learn
as part of the
DoD
Limit WIP of
unvalidated
released
features!
Be explicit on
“How we will
validate the
benefit
hypothesis”

22. 2222© Scaled Agile, Inc.
An exercise you might want to try …
http://yuvalyeret.com/learning-done-agile-marketing-exercise/

23. 2323© Scaled Agile, Inc.
4What are some of the key challenges with validating real business value?
4What can we do about them?

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OUTCOMES
PLANSACTIONS
Knowledge Gap:
the difference between what
we would like to know and
what we actually know
Effects Gap:
the difference between what we
expect our actions to achieve and what
they actually achieve
Alignment Gap:
the difference between what we want
people to do and what they actually do
We can’t really resolve these frictions that every
business struggles with. We CAN do some things to
MITIGATE them.
Driving towards Business Agility is about:
Tightening end-to-end feedback loops…
Aligning on business intent rather than detailed specs…
striving for real validation…

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Questions
#SAFeSummit

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Thank you!
Coming soon – presentation downloads at
global.safesummit.com/presentations
#SAFeSummit

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References
4http://blogs.hbr.org/frontline-leadership/2010/11/mission-
command---an-organizat.html
4http://www.stephenbungay.com/Books.ink
4http://yuvalyeret.com/learning-done-agile-marketing-
exercise/
4https://itrevolution.com/the-three-ways-principles-
underpinning-devops/