Scrum
Scrum is a framework designed to develop, deliver, and support complex products. It works effectively within a single team, but problems can arise when scaling. Is the project too big and the product owner is having trouble managing the backlog? Are there many teams working on the project and problems with integrating individual solutions appear? Systematicity and synchronization between teams is lacking? Then you should consider SAFe or LeSS.
According to 13th Annual State of Agile Report from VersionOne, SAFe is the most popular framework for scrum scaling – 30% of companies use it. LeSS is only used in 3% of cases.
This article will discuss the differences in scrum, LeSS and SAFe frameworks.
LeSS
LeSS (Large-Scale Scrum) means “scrum on a large scale”. It is a framework that allows you to apply the principles of scrum to large projects. Depending on the number of teams, either LeSS (2-8 teams) or LeSS Huge (more than 8 teams) is used.
One of the principles of LeSS is “get more with less”, which means no bureaucracy and no unnecessary roles, processes and artifacts.
Table 1: Differences between LeSS and Scrum
| Cycle Stage | Distinctions |
| Sprint Planning | There are two phases: overall and team planning (if teams have linked backlog items, then inter-team) |
| Inter-team solution design session | Held by teams with related tasks to think through the architecture of the solution |
| Coordination and integration | Each team member synchronizes data several times a day and reviews whether there are any changes related to their work |
| Daily scrum may include representatives from other teams | |
| Online communities are created to bring together people working on the same product components at the same time | |
| To refine the product backlog | Common and team (cross-team if necessary) refinement is performed to separate and detail large backlog elements |
| Sprint Retrospective | Comes in two phases: a general and a team sprint retrospective |
When the number of teams exceeds 8, an additional structure is required, LeSS Huge is used:
Table 2. Differences between LeSS Huge and Less
| Novation | Description |
| Requirements | A grouped set of requirements for functionality. Within each requirements area, the work is organized by LeSS: there should be no more than 8 teams, its own backlog, sprint, etc. |
| A team of assistants to the product owner | There is only one product owner, but now he has a team of assistants, each responsible for one area of requirements |
SAFe
While LeSS is a scaled version of Scrum, SAFe is a combination of Lean, Agile, and DevOps. SAFe stands for Scaled Agile Framework, or scaled agile framework. It is an open database, on the official website you can find detailed information on each element of SAFe – the roles, responsibilities, artifacts, and events needed to implement the Lean-Agile framework at enterprise scale.
The framework contains four configurations. The more people working in an organization, the more complex the product, the more tools are required to effectively organize work and, accordingly, a more complex configuration is chosen.
- Essential SAFe
This is the foundation of the framework, which is the minimum set of tools needed to produce a result. All others are based on this basic configuration. It is suitable for organizations that work on a single product of medium to high complexity.
- Portfolio SAFe
In this configuration, several products of medium or high complexity are being developed. There is a need for portfolio management, where decisions are made on budget allocation between streams, decisions on buying or merging with other companies, creating new business lines and closing old ones.
- Large Solution SAFe
Suitable for organizations developing one large, complex solution by multiple teams of teams. Work plans for 12-36 months are created and the economic feasibility of changes is analyzed.
- Full SAFe
Within this configuration several complex and sophisticated solutions are being developed. All levels are involved.
The basic configuration consists of two levels – team level and program level. At the team level the work is carried out according to Scrum, Kanban, XP.
At the program level, new roles are introduced.
Table 3: SAFe roles at the program level
| Role | Description |
| Product Management | One or more people who determine the direction of the product are responsible for the product backlog |
| RTE (Release Train Engineer) | Analog to the role of a scrum master.
Responsible for coordinating and organizing the process of the program |
| ART (Agile Release Train) | A team of teams (50-125 people) that incrementally develops and delivers solutions in a value stream |
| System Architect / Engineer | The person responsible for the overall technical and architectural vision for product development. There is no equivalent, as in scrum the team itself is responsible for the architecture |
A lot of train-related terminology is used: ART (Agile Release Train), RTE (Release Train Engineer). This is because the work of teams is somewhat like that of a train – there is a stable schedule. If you don’t catch one train, you can always catch the next one. If you can’t fit some goals into the current increment, you can put them into the next one.
The organization of program-level work in SAFe is similar to the organization of scrum work, only on a larger scale, with planning for a longer period.
Table 4. Comparison of program-level work stages in Scrum and SAFe
| Scrum | SAFe Program Level |
| Sprint (1-4 weeks) | Incremental Program (8-12 weeks) |
| Sprint Planning | Program Incremental Planning |
| Everyday Scrum | Additional meetings to synchronize teams, owners, and product management |
| Sprint Overview | System Demo |
| Sprint Retrospective | Inspection and adaptation |
Conclusion
In this article, the main differences between LeSS and SAFe and scrum have been discussed. Each framework has its own features.
LeSS is simpler and more straightforward. It doesn’t require as much modification as SAFe.
SAFe offers a more comprehensive approach. Additional roles, artifacts, and events appear. Implementation requires more resources.
It is impossible to say unequivocally which approach is better. It all depends on the specifics of your company’s work. If you have a small number of teams working on a single product, LeSS implementation can help you increase efficiency at a lower cost. When the scale increases, confusion arises and more systematic approach is required, it is worth paying attention to SAFe.
