NIX Gets 60 Certified SAFe Experts

The first days of December 2018 were marked by a large event within our company – SAFe 4.5 Training for Product Owners, Product Managers, Scrum Masters, and Project Managers. The training events were organized by the methodology provider Scaled Agile, represented by certified coach Jane Zhitnitsky. She is a professional Agile Program Manager at PAREXEL and an experienced trainer.

On the Training

For 60 specialists from the NIX team, Jane conducted three two-day courses aimed at different audiences. The first class, Leading SAFe Class, was designed for Project Managers. It discussed managing projects according to SAFe methodology. The second class, SAFe Scrum Masters Class, was designed for Scrum Masters. It focused on establishing cooperation among all the teams involved in the development process. The third class, SAFe Product Owners/Product Managers class (POPM), concentrated on Product Owners and Business Analysts who work directly with the end customer, those who will directly use this product.

The course included both theoretical lectures and practical exercises. Participants were given an opportunity to review the real challenges they face in their work. The theoretical part was based on the discussion of the roles of each participant within this methodology. As soon as the analysis of one of the parts was completed, practical exercises that simulated real working situations were proposed. As a result, the participants got a full picture of how each role within the SAFe methodology should most effectively conduct the work.

On the Results of the Training

As soon as the training was completed, those participants approved by the coach were given a chance to take an exam and become certified SAFe experts. We are happy to announce that NIX now has 51 more certified specialists: 15 SAFe 4.5 Project Managers, 17 SAFe 4.5 Scrum Masters, and 19 SAFe 4.5 Product Owners. And this is not all – 9 more specialists are getting ready for the exam. We are now ready to move forward with renewed vigor, implementing all your ideas with better quality.

Background information:

Today Agile is the most popular, modern “family of methods” for software development. Many companies are implementing it. One of the flexible frameworks within this family is the Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe). One main objective of this approach is to simplify interaction within the team as well as between the team and the stakeholders. This allows the team to respond quickly to market changes and project requirements.

Each sprint (2-4 week period), the teams working in SAFe provide the customer with a logically complete part of the product which was developed by several parallel teams. This allows businesses to make corrections on the go. The result is a product that is fully consistent with current market trends and, most importantly, the actual needs of the customer. SAFe is suitable for large teams (from 40 to 120 people) who often work remotely and are engaged in long-term development.