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“SAFe” or “SAMe”? The Fundamental Flaw in SAFe as a Framework
The Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe) has become one of the most popular ways for enterprises to attempt an Agile transformation — in fact, a 2021 survey found SAFe to be the leading choice for scaling Agile (adopted by 37% of organizations.) Executives are drawn to its comprehensive maps of roles, events, and processes that promise to deliver business agility at scale. Yet talk to many Agile practitioners and you’ll hear deep skepticism. In one poll of agilists, SAFe earned an NPS (Net Promoter Score) of -56 — a strikingly low score indicating many more detractors than promoters medium.com.
Agile critics explain SAFe isn’t really a framework at all, but a methodology — meaning its acronym should really be “SAMe” (Scaled Agile Methodology) because, in practice, it often leaves organizations doing the same old things under a new label. SAFe’s fundamental flaws is that it isn’t the flexible framework it claims to be, but a prescriptive methodology that can make “being Agile” harder, not easier. Adopting SAFe frequently means undertaking multiple Agile adoptions at once, why that’s a recipe for trouble, and what it all means for companies seeking true Agility.
