Introduction
Organizations are increasingly implementing the Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe) in their business. It is a set of practices that guides how to plan and manage workflow. It promotes collaboration, alignment, and high-quality product delivery and helps with better team management.
SAFe is the need of the hour and this leads to the requirement of well-trained SAFe experts.
There is a huge demand for Agile professionals. Businesses are looking for professionals who have more profound knowledge and understanding of SAFe. A SAFe Agilist certification will provide an edge to the professionals and will open new doors of opportunity. One can enroll for the Leading SAFe training and SAFe Agilist certification, as they are the industry benchmark of certifications and widen the career scope for professionals.
SAFe- certified professionals will have high salary packages and will be hired by leading organizations. Let’s look into the curriculum and the different benefits of Leading SAFe training.
What is Leading SAFe Training?
The most common terms that one will come across are Leading SAFe and SAFe Agilist. Both the terms are used interchangeably, but there is a difference. The Leading SAFe training is a 2 day training program that aims at providing in-depth knowledge and skill of SAFe and how to effectively implement it in day-to-day work. It teaches project management, team leadership, collaboration, teamwork, and continuous improvement in the product. The trainees will get practical knowledge and framework insight that will help in resolving challenges faced by the organizations. This training is important for getting certified as a SAFe Agilist.
After undergoing the Leading SAFe training program, the candidate becomes eligible to appear in the exam. This in turn will make the candidates professional SAFe Agilist.
The Curriculum of Leading SAFe Training
The course will benefit managers, executives, and company leaders who would be heading SAFe implementation across the organization.
The curriculum covers the following topics:
- Establishing the Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe)
- Core Values of SAFe
- Understanding SAFe Principles
- Systems Thinking
- Adopting a Lean-Agile mindset
- Creating high-performing teams and programs
- Implementing Program Increment (PI) Planning
- Exploring, Implementing, and Releasing Value
- Leading the Lean-Agile organization
- Authorizing a Lean portfolio
- Creating large solutions
The Learning Objective of the Leading SAFe Training
The applicant gets hands-on practical training about the SAFe framework and principles. they will learn to:
- How to establish a proactive team and effectively manage a workflow that will provide high-quality products.
- SAFe is customer-centric. By developing, customer-centric mindset professionals will be able to handle problems from the customer’s point of view and would be able to deliver high-quality products.
- Getting practical knowledge and skills that will help in planning and executing multiple Agile release trains.
- An Agile mindset focuses on timely delivery, but it will not ensure meeting business goals. Cost is one of the important factors. The applicants will learn how to implement Agile principles in a cost-effective manner.
- One of the core values applicants will learn is alignment. It is important to have synchronization between business goals and the action of the team. The proper systematic alignment ensures smooth work and information flow within organizations.
- SAFe focuses on the quality of the product. Implementation of Agile principles should not affect quality. Each process should have minimum quality criteria that need to be met. The team is required to ensure built-in quality by keeping in check, the design quality, code quality, system quality, and final product quality.
- Professionals will learn to work in small batches. They will learn skills and techniques that will help them in breaking down a large project into small batches and coordinate each set of work. This will promote transparency and will aid in finding errors or faults at the early stages. This real-time visibility of product development will facilitate inspection and monitoring.
- Focusing on the bigger picture is one of the basic aspects of SAFe. Large projects are executed in different sets of small components. The team members must have the ability to view how their efforts fit into the large projects. The SAFe training will provide the necessary practical experience in program execution.
- The program will train applicants in Lean-Agile leadership. The applicant under their leadership will improve team performance by bringing necessary change, innovation, and modification to the system. The candidates will achieve their goals by applying Lean-Agile mindset values and principles to the team management and unleashing the untapped potential of the team.
- The applicants will learn the art of delegation. The leaders will be required to devote their time to the very crucial aspects of the project.
How to Get a SAFe Agilist Certification?
By following simple steps one can get SAFe certification.
- Step 1: Enroll in the Leading SAFe training.
- Step 2: Take the 2-day Leading SAFe program.
- Step 3: After completion of the training, appear for the exam. The exam consists of 45 Multiple Choice Questions and lasts for 1.5 hours. Score a minimum of 77% to pass the test.
- Step 4: After passing the exam Scaled Agile will update the profile and issue the certificate.
- Step 5: Now you will be a Certified SAFe Agilist along with 1-year membership with Scaled Agile Network.
- Step 6: You have to renew the certification every year by undergoing 10 hours of continuing education. These education sessions maintain the professionals’ quality of knowledge.
What Are the Benefits of Leading SAFe Training?
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Proper Agile Adoption
A well-trained and certified professional will be equipped with the necessary knowledge and skills that will help in the proper adoption of Agile throughout the organization. It is easy to implement in small firms, but experts are required to properly and effectively use Agile in large firms.
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Globally Recognized Certificate
The SAFe Agilist certificate is globally recognized and thus opens a gateway to work in international firms and provides an edge to the resume.
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High Salary
A SAFe Agilist certificate holder’s salary package is much higher than that of a non-certified professional. A new certificate holder with less than one year of experience earns around 76,000 USD to 90,000 USD per annum. The compensation increases according to the work experience. A SAFe Agilist earns 25% more than their contemporaries.
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Increased Networking with One-year Membership
SAFe Agilist professionals get a one-year membership to the SAFe network after qualifying for the exam. It will help in the constant updating of knowledge and skill. It also provides an opportunity to meet and network with other qualified SAFe Agilist and experts.
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Changing Organization Demands
Organizations are working in a dynamic environment and to cope with changes they constantly change their strategies to suit their customer and achieve business goals. A certified professional will better understand the requirement for change and will be able to implement new ideas swiftly.
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Simplifies Project Management
SAFe is used in big, complicated projects. The approach is simple, transparent, and easy for the development of large projects. Proper training is required for effectively utilizing the SAFe approach. The program will train candidates on how to implement Lean Agile methodology.
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Career Growth
A SAFe certification will provide recognition in the global market. As these credentials are acceptable across all industries, the career opportunities are vast and even stand out on your resume. A SAFe trained and certified professional has an edge over other applicants when being hired by the leader of the industry.
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Low Failure in Implementation:
Leading SAFe training will prepare the candidate with all necessary skills and standardized techniques. The expert will be able to guide their team effectively and help in implementing standardized procedures to improve product quality.
Who is Qualified for Leading SAFe Training and Certification?
Any interested individual regardless of experience can enroll and attend the course for Leading SAFe training. But there are prerequisites that one has to fulfill before appearing in the SAFe Agilist certification exam. Those who want to undergo a certification exam should have at least 5 years of work experience. This experience may be in software development, business analysis, testing, and product management. Apart from work experience prior experience in Scrum is a must.
A candidate who has completed Leading SAFe training and has prerequisite experience can appear in the Agilist certification exam. The candidates who qualify for the exam will be awarded the certificate.
Conclusion
Is investing in Leading SAFe training worth it? The Leading SAFe training and Agilist Certification is beneficial for both organizations and professionals. Organizations will need experts for implementing SAFe frameworks and untrained professionals will not be able to properly implement the Agile framework and manage workflow, which will impact the end product’s quality.
For professionals, SAFe Agilist certification will open new horizons in careers. The globally recognized certification and curriculum will train candidates in world-class skills and techniques that differentiate them from the rest of the crowd. The Leading SAFe program provides exceptional training experience.
FAQs
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Are Leading SAFe and SAFe Agilist the same?
No, both are different from each other. Leading SAFe is a 2 day training program whereas the professional who clears the 1.5- hour exam is known as SAFe Agilist.
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Can the candidate retake the SAFe exam?
Yes, a candidate can re-attempt the SAFe exam by paying the requisite fees. Every additional attempt will cost 50 USD.
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When can one take the SAFe exam?
After completion of Leading SAFe training, one will be eligible to appear in the SAFe Agilist exam. The candidate is required to appear in the exam within 30 days from the completion of training.