How to get started with SAFe

Scaled Agile Framework has been around since the 2010s and it's only grown in popularity ever since. The framework that gave the world the Agile Release Train has been adopted by more than 20 000 businesses and has a growing community of over 1M SAFe practitioners around the globe.

If you would like to get certified in one of the SAFe roles or just get a basic understanding of the framework, here's how to get started.

STEP 1: Become a SAFe member

While the SAFe framework is freely available, the learning journey is supported by the SAFe Studio. In late 2023 the framework and studio were integrated, forming the SAFe system.

Becoming a member of the SAFe studio costs around 200$ per year (Foundational membership), and it comes with a lot of benefits. Also, being a SAFe member is the pre-requisite for enrolling in any certification class .

There are 3 membership tiers:

• Foundational membership - for those who are just starting out or are already holders of foundational certifications. This type of membership will automatically renew certifications such as SAFe Scrum Master, SAFe Agilist, Product Owner / Product Manager and a few others. It will allow you access to basic content and assets.

• Advanced membership - it will give you some advanced content, along with basic, and will automatically renew advanced certifications, such as SAFe Advanced Scrum Master, RTE or LPM.

• Expert membership - is reserved for SAFe consultants (SPCs and SPCTs), and it renews all certifications.

You can find out more here.

STEP 2: Start your learning journey

Once you are a SAFe member, you are granted access to a vast library of learning materials and tools, while you also become a member of the SAFe community of practitioners.

Here's what you will find in your SAFe Studio account:

Learning Materials

If you are completely new to SAFe, you should probably start with the dedicated learning path for beginners - "Introduction to SAFe". Next, you can delve into more than 350 short videos, explaining SAFe roles on both team and ART level, notions related to the Portfolio level of the framework, webinars and more.

There is also a vast selection of podcasts, a collection of videos from past SAFe summits and you can refer to the "Recommended reading" section for further development.

Tools

It's time to put learning into practice, and in this section you'll find all the tools you need.

You will have access to toolkits and templates for all ART and Team Events, as well as extended resources for planning and running the main SAFe event - PI Planning.

Other tooling resources include the online collaboration platform by SAFe - Collaborate, online agile assessments and role specific resources for everyday activities.

Community

This is where more than 400K practitioners get together, from Agile coaches to SAFe practitioners, experienced RTEs or new joiners. There are forums you can join, discussion boards, articles and you can always ask a question or start a topic of your own.

STEP 3: Get certified

SAFe offers 14 training paths and certifications, tailored to all needs and roles.

There are role-dedicated certifications, such as Release Train Engineer, SAFe Scrum and SAFe Advanced Scrum Master, but there are also trainings available for entire teams or functions, like SAFe for Teams, SAFe for Architects or SAFe DevOps.

If you are a complete beginner in SAFe, I would recommend you start with Leading SAFe training, which will award you the title of "SAFe Agilist". This is the training that gives you an introduction to SAFe foundations, explains principles, practices and values, and gives you a solid base on which to build all other knowledge and certifications.

Why should you get started with SAFe?

According to the latest State of Agile Report, Scaled Agile Framework is still leading the charts on enterprise-level Agile frameworks. 

It would also get you through the right corporate doors: according to the same report, 34% of large companies are likely to adopt SAFe as their framework of choice for scaling Agile, as opposed to just 15% of small companies.