SAFe for Government is a set of success “designs” that help public division organizations execute Lean-Agile practices in a government context. The foundations of Lean and Agile thinking have prompted higher achievement rates versus waterfall strategies in software and systems development in the private sector.
Government programs are starting to experience comparable outcomes utilizing these same patterns, hence government organizations must address remarkable challenges in Lean-Agile transformations. The suggestions and best practices in SAFe for Government provides specific direction to address these concerns.
Progressing to Lean-Agile practices for building digital services is particularly challenging in the government context. For example, issues of legacy governance, contracting, and authoritative obstructions can be overcome with the correct data and systems.
During this two-day course, participants will learn the principles and practices of the Scaled Agile Framework®(SAFe®), how to execute and release a value through Agile Release Trains, and leading a Lean-Agile transformation of a program within a government organization.
Participants will gain an understanding of the Lean-Agile outlook and why it’s a fundamental for transformation. They’ll likewise get practical guidance on building high performing, multi-vendor Agile teams and projects, overseeing technology investments in Lean flow, procuring solutions with Agile contracting, launching the program, planning, and delivering value utilizing SAFe. Participants will also learn how specific leadership practices can drive effective organizational change, even in government.
Learning Goals
To perform the role of a SAFe® Government leader, participants should have the capacity to:

Transition government programs from traditional software and systems development models to Lean-Agile and DevOps mind-set, principles, and practices on utilizing SAFe.
Adapt technology-strategy, budgeting and anticipating, obtaining, compliance, and government procedures to flow-based practices on utilizing developing government guidelines.
Organize government programs into at least one Agile Release Trains (ARTs) and execute in Program Increments (PIs)
Explore Large Solution coordination in a government and multi-seller environment.
Distinguish and internalize the outlook and leader behaviours fundamental to successful Lean-Agile transformation.
Follow success patterns for SAFe usage adapted to the government context
Build a fundamental layout of following steps to start as well as to quicken the SAFe usage in your program or organizations concerning the government sector.
Topics Covered
Advancing Lean-Agile in government
Embracing a Lean-Agile outlook
Understanding SAFe principles
Creating high-performing Agile teams and projects
Planning with cadence and synchronization
Supporting program execution
Mapping the path to organization and program agility
Leading successful change
What Attendees Get
The class registration includes:

Attendee workbook
One-year membership to the SAFe Community Platform
Course Certificate of completion
One Certification exam attempt upon General Availability of the course
Background of Agile Adoption in the U.S. Federal Government
Since 2012, as a matter of fact, interest in Lean-Agile techniques for government technology development programs have been expanding exponentially in the United States. In July of that year, the U.S. General Accounting Office (GAO) issued a report recommending specific practices for Agile development, alongside 14 one of a unique challenge to Agile adoption in government.
That equivalent year, the U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) directed organizations to change their procurement practices from long-term projects to an increasingly modular contracting approach that aligned with an iterative development model. Although these were good signs that the decades-old commitment to waterfall processes was relenting, offices were still with ease to embrace an alternate method of working.
The troubled launch of the U.S. Healthcare.gov website in the latter part of 2013 increased the interest for embracing agile medium-term. This site was built to allow citizens to acquire health insurance as a feature of the Affordable Care Act (ACA).
For weeks, the website’s challenges were featured in the national news, exposing huge numbers of the shortcomings in the traditional development practices common to government technology programs. The public focus these events put around government IT programs drove increased openness to receive progressively modern development practices.
In an analysis of agile adoption in the U.S. Federal Government published by Deloitte in 2017, the percentage of IT projects that report using Agile or iterative procedures has increased significantly since 2012.
The increased interest for Lean, Agile, and DevOps quickened when two new U.S. government agencies, 18F and U.S. Digital Service, were created to attract talent from industry to help bring modern, Silicon Valley-like practices to government IT programs. The Digital Services Playbook and the TechFAR Handbook were two early resources to help leaders in government programs understand how to modernize development practices and adjust the procuring process to help agile contracts.
The number of additional government-authored resources on Agile adoption has grown significantly, as with the number of published stories of federal programs showing signs of improvement after their transformation to Lean-Agile practices. One agency, the Department of Homeland Security, has made Agile the formal standard for software development. Both GAO and OMB are publishing audit and budgeting regulations to govern Agile programs.
Agile Adoption in the Global Governments
Similar trends are being acknowledged about the development of systems for state and local governments, and in addition, governments in countries across the globe. The UK government has engaged with agile transformation effort that traverses several development teams over its numerous departments and agencies.

Pole employ, the Dutch Tax Authority, and the Australian Post are examples of global government agencies that have used SAFe to guide their transformations to Lean-Agile at scale.

Government as a Lean Enterprise
Increasingly, government organizations are being challenged by similar forces of change that are driving their commercial counterparts to quicken Lean-Agile transformations. Digital disruption, globalization, ever-increasing cyber threats, aging legacy systems, and increasing dependency on technology for business and mission success are only a few of the factors that are similarly concerning for both government and industry.

The hallmark of a Lean Enterprise is the capacity to deliver the best quality and value in the economically briefest lead time. SAFe gives direction by describing the success patterns that help organizations accomplish these competencies. The evidence offered by the many conceptual analyses of SAFe implementations in government agencies recommends that these competencies are as applicable to public sector organizations as for commercial enterprises.

Summary
Government adoption of Lean-Agile has quickened to the point where most projects (80%+ in the U.S. as per a Deloitte examine) are using some form of Agile or iterative development. Nonetheless, Agile practices are frequently constrained to development teams and don’t address the program and portfolio challenges of strategy alignment, budgeting, project-centric planning, acquisitions, governance, compliance, and more.

Agencies likewise come up short on a typical dialect and set of big enterprise practices to create energies among programs and practitioners. With the release of SAFe for Government guidance, upheld by the corresponding SAFe for Government course, agency leaders will have the tools to overcome normal barriers to SAFe adoption and Lean-Agile practices on, empowering better results.

Author's Bio: 

Government adoption of Lean-Agile has quickened to the point where most projects are using some form of Agile or iterative development. Nonetheless, Agile practices are frequently constrained to development teams and don’t address the program and portfolio challenges of strategy alignment, budgeting, project-centric planning, acquisitions, governance, compliance, and more.