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SAFe Glossary
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The SAFe glossary is a set of definitions for all SAFe Big Picture elements. The extended glossary provides
definitions for additional terms used in the Framework. Some are unique to SAFe (e.g., PO Sync), while others are
common in Lean-Agile development (e.g., MVP). They are provided here for clarity in their meaning in the context of
SAFe. All extended glossary terms appear in the English configuration and will appear in other language
configurations once translated.
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5 A B C D E F G H I L M N O P R
S T U V W
A
Agile Product Delivery (APD)
The Agile Product Delivery (APD) competency is a customer-centric approach to defining, building, and releasing
products and services in a continuous flow of value to customers and end-users.
Agile Release Train (ART)
The Agile Release Train (ART) is a long-lived team of Agile teams that incrementally develops, delivers, and often
operates one or more solutions in a development value stream.
Agile Teams
An Agile Team is a cross-functional group of typically ten or fewer individuals with all the skills necessary to define,
build, test, and deliver value to their customer.
AI (Artificial Intelligence)
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a term used to describe a wide range of smart machines capable of performing tasks
that typically required human intelligence. AI can be applied at all levels of SAFe to build intelligent customer
solutions, automate value stream activities, and improve customer insights.
Architectural Runway
The Architectural Runway consists of the existing code, components, and technical infrastructure needed to
implement near-term features with minimal redesign and delay.
ART Backlog
The ART Backlog is a Kanban system that is used to capture and manage the features and enablers intended to
enhance the solution and extend its architectural runway.

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ART Flow
ART Flow describes a state where an ART delivers a continuous flow of valuable features to the customer.

B
Big Data
Big Data refers to the roles and practices required to collect, manage, normalize and deliver large datasets that
help enterprises make more informed, fact-based decisions.
Built-In Quality
Built-In Quality is a set of practices to help ensure that the outputs of Agile teams in business and technology
domains meet appropriate quality standards throughout the process of creating customer value.
Business Agility
Business Agility is the ability to compete and thrive in the digital age by quickly responding to market changes and
emerging opportunities with innovative, digitally-enabled business solutions.
Business and Technology
Business and Technology describes the patterns that may be applied to realize Business Agility by applying SAFe
principles and practices across the enterprise.
Business Owners
Business Owners (BOs) are key ART stakeholders who have the primary business and technical responsibility for
return on investment (ROI), governance, and compliance.
Business Value
Business value is a contextual, multi-dimensional concept that reflects what is most important to an organization.
Business value guides decision-making across all levels, from strategy to execution, ensuring alignment with the
organization’s goals and maximizing its unique strengths.

C
CALMR
CALMR is a DevOps mindset that guides the ART toward achieving continuous value delivery by enhancing
culture, automation, lean flow, measurement, and recovery.
Capabilities
A Capability represents large solution functionality whose implementation often spans multiple ARTs and is sized
to be delivered within a PI.
Cloud
The Cloud represents virtual, on-demand processing and storage services used for cost-effective and scalable
infrastructure and operations, implementation of the DevOps toolchain, and development and hosting of AI
applications.
Communities of Practice (CoPs)
Communities of Practice (CoPs) are organized groups of people with a common interest in a specific technical or
business domain. They regularly collaborate to share information, improve their skills, and actively work on
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advancing their knowledge of the domain.
Compliance
Compliance refers to the strategy, activities, and artifacts that allow teams to apply Lean-Agile development
methods to build systems that have the highest possible quality, while simultaneously ensuring they meet
regulatory, industry, and other relevant standards.
Continuous Delivery Pipeline (CDP)
The Continuous Delivery Pipeline (CDP) represents the workflows, activities, and automation needed to guide new
functionality from ideation to an on-demand release of value.
Continuous Deployment (CD)
Continuous Deployment (CD) is an aspect of the Continuous Delivery Pipeline that automates the migration of new
functionality from a staging environment to production, where it is made available for release.
Continuous Exploration (CE)
Continuous Exploration (CE) is an aspect of the Continuous Delivery Pipeline that drives innovation and fosters
alignment on what should be built by continually exploring the market and customer needs, defining a vision,
roadmap, and set of features for a solution.
Continuous Integration (CI)
Continuous Integration (CI) is an aspect of the Continuous Delivery Pipeline in which new functionality is
developed, tested, integrated, and validated in preparation for deployment and release.
Continuous Learning Culture (CLC)
The Continuous Learning Culture (CLC) competency describes a set of values and practices that encourage
individuals—and the enterprise as a whole—to continually increase knowledge, competence, performance, and
innovation.
Coordinate and Deliver
Coordinate and Deliver describes the practices Solution Trains use to maintain the alignment and collaboration
needed to continuously deliver value to large solution customers.
Core Values
The four Core Values of alignment, transparency, respect for people, and relentless improvement represent the
foundational beliefs that are key to SAFe’s effectiveness.
Customer
Customers are the ultimate beneficiaries of the value of the solutions created and maintained by a portfolio’s value
streams.
Customer Centricity
Customer Centricity is a mindset that focuses on creating positive experiences for the customer through the full
set of products and services that the enterprise offers.

D
Design Thinking
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Design Thinking is a customer-centric development process that creates desirable products that are profitable
and sustainable over their lifecycle.
Development Value Streams
A Development Value Stream is the sequence of activities needed to convert a business hypothesis into a digitally-
enabled solution that delivers customer value.
DevOps
DevOps is a mindset, culture, and set of technical practices that supports the integration, automation, and
collaboration needed to effectively develop and operate a solution.

E
Enablers
Enablers are backlog items that extend the architectural runway of the solution under development or improve the
performance of the development value stream.
Enterprise
The Enterprise represents the business entity to which each SAFe portfolio belongs.
Enterprise Architect
The Enterprise Architect is responsible for establishing the portfolio’s technology vision, strategy, and roadmap.
Enterprise Solution Delivery (ESD)
The Enterprise Solution Delivery (ESD) competency describes the practices necessary to apply SAFe principles
and practices to the specification, development, operation, and evolution of the world’s largest and most
sophisticated software applications, networks, and cyber-physical systems.
Epic Owners
The Epic Owner is responsible for coordinating epics through the portfolio Kanban system.
Epics
An Epic is a significant solution development initiative.
Essential SAFe
Essential SAFe provides the minimal elements necessary for Agile Release Trains to deliver solutions and is the
simplest starting point for implementation.

F
Features
A Feature represents solution functionality that delivers business value, fulfills a stakeholder need, and is sized to
be delivered by an Agile Release Train within a PI.
Feedback
Feedback in SAFe includes effective feedback systems that enable the continuous exchange of information to
improve products, services, and processes.
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Innovation and Planning Iteration

The Innovation and Planning (IP) Iteration is a unique, dedicated iteration that occurs every PI. It provides an
estimating buffer for meeting PI Objectives and dedicated time for innovation, continuing education, PI Planning,
and Inspect and Adapt (I&A) events.
Inspect and Adapt
The Inspect and Adapt (I&A) is a significant event held at the end of each PI, where the current state of the
Solution is demonstrated and evaluated. Teams then reflect and identify improvement backlog items via a
structured problem-solving workshop.
Iteration
Iterations are a standard, fixed-duration timebox during which Agile Teams and ARTs individually and collectively
deliver incremental customer value while working towards the PI objectives.
Iteration Planning
Iteration planning is a SAFe Scrum event where all team members determine how much of the Team Backlog they
can commit to delivering during an upcoming Iteration. The team summarizes this work as a set of committed
iteration goals.
Iteration Retrospective
The Iteration Retrospective is a regular event where the team members discuss the results of the iteration, review
their practices, and identify ways to improve.
Iteration Review
The Iteration Review is a regular SAFe Scrum event where the team inspects the iteration increment, assesses
progress, and adjusts the team backlog.

L
Large Solution SAFe
Large Solution SAFe is for enterprises building large and complex solutions that do not require portfolio concerns.
Lean Budget Guardrails
Lean Budget Guardrails describe the policies and practices for budgeting, spending, and governance for a specific
portfolio.
Lean Budgets
Lean Budgets is a financial governance approach that funds value streams instead of projects, accelerating value
delivery and reducing the overhead and costs associated with traditional project cost accounting.
Lean Portfolio Management (LPM)
The Lean Portfolio Management (LPM) competency aligns strategy and execution by applying Lean and systems
thinking approaches to strategy and investment funding, Agile portfolio operations, and governance.
Lean User Experience (Lean UX)
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Lean User Experience (Lean UX) is a team-based approach to building better products by focusing less on
theoretically ideal design and more on iterative learning, overall user experience, and customer outcomes.
Lean-Agile Leadership (LAL)
The Lean-Agile Leadership (LAL) competency describes how leaders drive and sustain organizational change and
operational excellence by empowering individuals and teams to reach their highest potential.
Lean-Agile Mindset
The Lean-Agile Mindset is the combination of beliefs, assumptions, attitudes, and actions of SAFe leaders and
practitioners who embrace the concepts of Lean Thinking and the Agile Manifesto.

M
Measure and Grow
Measure and Grow is an approach SAFe enterprises use to evaluate progress towards Business Agility and
determine improvement actions.
Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE)
Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) is the practice of developing a set of related models that help define,
design, simulate, and document a system under development.

N
Nonfunctional Requirements (NFRs)
Nonfunctional Requirements (NFRs) are system qualities that guide the design of the solution and often serve as
constraints across the relevant backlogs.

O
Objectives and Key Results (OKRs)
Objectives and Key Results (OKRs) is a collaborative framework for establishing clear goals and measurable
outcomes.
Operational Value Streams (OVS)
An Operational Value Stream (OVS) is the sequence of activities needed to deliver a product or service to a
customer.
Organizational Agility (OA)
The Organizational Agility (OA) competency describes how Lean-thinking people and Agile teams across the
enterprise optimize their business processes, evolve strategy with clear and decisive new commitments, and
quickly adapt the organization as needed to capitalize on new opportunities.

P
Participatory Budgeting (PB)
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Participatory Budgeting (PB) is a collaborative process for allocating the portfolio budget to its value streams.
PI Objectives
PI Objectives summarize the business and technical goals that teams and trains intend to achieve in the upcoming
PI and are either committed or uncommitted.
PI Planning
PI Planning is a cadence-based event for the entire ART that aligns teams and stakeholders to a shared mission
and vision.
Planning Interval (PI)
A Planning Interval (PI) is a cadence-based timebox in which Agile Release Trains deliver continuous value to
customers in alignment with PI Objectives.
Portfolio
A SAFe Portfolio is a set of value streams that delivers a continuous flow of valuable solutions to customers within
a common funding and governance model.
Portfolio Backlog
The Portfolio Backlog is a Kanban system that is used to capture and manage the business and enabler epics
intended to create and evolve the portfolio’s products, services, and solutions.
Portfolio Flow
Portfolio Flow describes a state where Lean Portfolio Management provides a continuous flow of new epics to
Solution Trains and ARTs to achieve the portfolio’s vision and strategic themes.
Portfolio Leadership
Portfolio Leadership is the team with the highest level of decision-making and financial accountability for the
products and solutions within a SAFe Portfolio.
Portfolio SAFe
Portfolio SAFe provides strategy and investment funding, Agile portfolio operations, and Lean governance for one
or more value streams.
Portfolio Vision
The Portfolio Vision describes the future state of a portfolio’s value streams and solutions.
Pre-Plan
Pre-Plan describes the activities that align and prepare ARTs within a Solution Train for PI planning.
Product Innovation
Product Innovation is the ongoing process of developing new products or enhancing existing ones to meet
changing customer needs while taking advantage of evolving trends and technologies.
Product Management
Product Management is the function responsible for defining desirable, viable, feasible, and sustainable solutions
that meet customer needs and supporting development across the product life cycle.
Product Owner (PO)
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The Product Owner (PO) is the Agile team member primarily responsible for maximizing the value delivered by the
team by ensuring that the team backlog is aligned with customer and stakeholder needs.

R
Release on Demand
Release on Demand is an aspect of the Continuous Delivery Pipeline that releases new functionality immediately or
incrementally based on business and customer needs.
Release Train Engineer (RTE)
The Release Train Engineer (RTE) is a servant leader and ART coach who facilitates ART events and processes,
and supports teams in delivering value.
Roadmap
The Roadmap is a schedule of events and milestones that forecasts and communicates planned solution
deliverables over a time horizon.

S
SAFe
SAFe is the world’s leading framework for Business Agility. SAFe integrates the power of Lean, Agile, and DevOps
into a comprehensive operating system that helps enterprises thrive in the digital age by delivering innovative
products and services faster, more predictably, and with higher quality.
SAFe for Government
SAFe for Government is a set of success patterns that help public sector organizations achieve better solution
development outcomes by implementing SAFe Lean-Agile values, mindset, principles, and practices.
SAFe Implementation Roadmap
The SAFe Implementation Roadmap consists of an overview graphic and a 14-article series that describes a
strategy and an ordered set of activities for successfully implementing SAFe.
SAFe Lean-Agile Principles
SAFe is based on ten immutable, underlying Lean-Agile principles. These tenets and economic concepts inspire
and inform the roles and practices of SAFe.
SAFe Practice Consultants (SPCs)
SAFe Practice Consultants (SPCs) are certified change agents who combine their technical knowledge of SAFe
with an intrinsic motivation to improve the company’s software, systems, and Agile business processes.
SAFe Scrum
SAFe Scrum is an Agile method used by teams within an ART to deliver customer value in a short time box. SAFe
Scrum teams use iterations, Kanban systems, and Scrum events to plan, execute, demonstrate, and retrospect
their work.
SAFe Team Kanban
SAFe Team Kanban is an Agile method used by teams within an ART to continuously deliver value. SAFe Kanban
teams apply a flow-based process to their daily work and operate within the ART iteration cadence.
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Scrum Master/Team Coach (SM/TC)

The SAFe Scrum Master/Team Coach (SM/TC) is a servant leader and coach for an Agile team who facilitates team
events and processes, and supports teams and ARTs in delivering value.
Set-Based Design
Set-Based Design (SBD) is a Lean development practice that keeps requirements and design options flexible for
as long as possible during the development process.
Shared Services
Shared Services represents the specialty roles, people, and services required for the success of an ART or
Solution Train, but that are not dedicated full-time.
Solution
A Solution is a product, system, or service that provides value to internal or external customers.
Solution Architect
The Solution Architect is responsible for defining and communicating a shared technical and architectural vision
for a Solution Train to help ensure the solution under development will be fit for its intended purpose.
Solution Context
Solution Context identifies the critical aspects of the environment in which a solution operates.
Solution Demo
The Solution Demo provides stakeholders an integrated view of the contributions of multiple ARTs and suppliers to
obtain objective evidence of solution performance and to gather feedback.
Solution Intent
Solution Intent is the repository for storing, managing, and communicating the knowledge of current and intended
solution behavior and design.
Solution Management
Solution Management is the function responsible for defining desirable, viable, feasible, and sustainable large
solutions that meet customer needs and for supporting development across the solution life cycle.
Solution Train
The Solution Train is the organizational construct used to build large solutions that requires the coordination of
multiple ARTs and suppliers.
Solution Train Backlog
The Solution Train Backlog is a Kanban system that is used to capture and manage the capabilities and enablers
intended to enhance the large solution and extend its architectural runway.
Solution Train Engineer (STE)
The Solution Train Engineer (STE) is a servant leader and coach who facilitates Solution Train events and
processes, coordinates the work of ARTs and Suppliers, and supports ARTs in delivering value.
Solution Train Flow

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Solution Train Flow describes a state where a Solution Train delivers a continuous flow of valuable capabilities to
the customer.
Solution Vision
The Solution Vision represents the future state of the solution under development. It serves as a reflection of
customer and stakeholder needs and the proposed product or service to meet those needs.
Stories
Stories are short descriptions of a small piece of desired functionality written from the user’s perspective.
Strategic Themes
Strategic themes are portfolio-level business objectives that provide competitive differentiation and strategic
advantage. They provide business context for portfolio strategy and decision-making, representing aspects of the
enterprise’s strategic intent.
Supplier
A Supplier is an internal or external organization that develops and delivers solution components, subsystems, or
services to ARTs and development value streams.
System Architect
The System Architect is responsible for defining and communicating a shared technical and architectural vision for
the solutions developed by an ART.
System Demo
The System Demo provides stakeholders an integrated view of new features for the most recent iteration delivered
by all the teams on the ART. Each demo provides an objective measure of progress and the opportunity to give
feedback.
System Team
The System Team is a specialized Agile team that assists in building and supporting the Agile development
environment, including developing and maintaining the Continuous Delivery Pipeline. They may also support the
integration of assets, end-to-end solution testing, DevOps mindset and practices, deployment, and release on
demand.

T
Team and Technical Agility (TTA)
The Team and Technical Agility (TTA) competency describes the critical skills, principles, and practices that high-
performing Agile teams on an Agile Release Train use to create high-quality solutions for their customers.
Team Backlog
The Team Backlog is a Kanban system that is used to capture and manage the user stories and enablers intended
to enhance the solution.
Team Flow
Team Flow describes a state in which Agile teams deliver a continuous flow of value to the customer.

V
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Value Stream Coordination

Value Stream Coordination describes how to manage dependencies between value streams and exploit the
opportunities that exist in the interconnections.
Value Stream KPIs
Value Stream Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) are the quantifiable measures used to evaluate how a value
stream performs against its business objectives.
Value Stream Management (VSM)
Value Stream Management (VSM) is a leadership and technical discipline that enables the maximum flow of
business value through the end-to-end solution delivery life cycle.

W
Weighted Shortest Job First (WSJF)
Weighted Shortest Job First (WSJF) is a prioritization model used to sequence work for maximum economic
benefit. In SAFe, WSJF is estimated as the relative cost of delay divided by the relative job duration.

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