SAFe vs Scrum: Pros, Cons, and When to Use Each

Agile frameworks are everywhere but picking the right one can feel like choosing between coffee and tea - they both energise, but in totally different ways. That’s why SAFe vs Scrum has become a hot topic for teams trying to stay fast, focused, and flexible in today’s demanding work environment. But with so many options, how do you decide which one brews better results for your team?

Whether you're leading a small team with big ideas or managing a large organisation with multiple moving parts, understanding SAFe vs Scrum can make all the difference. In this blog, we’ll break down the pros, cons, and help you know exactly when to use each.

Table of Contents

1) Defining SAFe and Scrum

2) What is Difference Between SAFe and Scrum?

3) Similarities Between SAFe vs Scrum

4) Scrum vs SAFe: What Should Web Developers Choose?

5) Benefits of SAFe

6) Benefits of Scrum

7) Is a Product Owner Higher Than a Scrum Master?

8) What is the SAFe Approach in Scrum?

9) Conclusion

Defining SAFe and Scrum

There are significant differences between Agile SAFe vs Scrum methodologies, making them have their respective use cases. However, they have their fair share of similarities as well. Hence it is always better to understand how both work before adopting either.

While both are Agile methodologies, they have key differences in their principles, practices, and scope.

a) SAFe

Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe) is an Agile framework for managing large-scale projects with multiple teams, stakeholders, and dependencies. It provides a structured and scalable approach for aligning the development efforts of multiple teams towards a common goal while maintaining a continuous delivery pipeline and managing external dependencies.

SAFe is based on three primary pillars: Team, Program, and Portfolio, each with its own set of roles, events and artefacts:

1) At the Team level, SAFe instructs how to organise and manage Agile teams using Scrum, Kanban, or a hybrid approach.

2) At the Program level, SAFe defines a set of practices for managing the flow of work across multiple teams, continuously integrating and validating the solution, and enabling faster feedback loops.

3) At the Portfolio level, SAFe guides how to align business strategy with development efforts, prioritise the work based on economic value and manage investment portfolios.

b) Scrum

Scrum, on the other hand, is relatively lightweight and an iterative framework for managing small to medium-sized Software Development projects. It emphasises teamwork, collaboration, and iterative delivery of working software. Scrum is based on the principles of transparency, inspection and adaption. It also encourages frequent and open communication among team members, stakeholders, and customers.

Scrum consists of three primary roles:

1) The Product Owner prioritises the product backlog and ensures that the team is first working on the highest-value item.

2) The Scrum Master is responsible for facilitating the Scrum events, removing any impediments blocking the team's progress, and ensuring that the team follows the framework created based on Scrum.

3) The Development Team is responsible for delivering a potentially shippable product increment at the end of each sprint, typically lasting up to 4 weeks.

What is the Difference Between SAFe and Scrum?

Elucidating on Scrum vs SAFe:

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Similarities between SAFe vs Scrum

After discussing SAFe vs Scrum, it is key to point out that both methodologies have a fair bit in common. These similarities are:

1) Both are Agile methodologies that prioritise customer satisfaction and respond to change.

2) Both emphasise teamwork, collaboration, improvement and continuous communication.

3) Both seek continuous improvement in an attempt to deliver value incrementally and iteratively.

4) Both use feedback loops to inspect and adapt their processes and products.

5) Both encourage transparency and open communication between team members and stakeholders.

6) Both require active involvement from the Product Manager/Product Owner to ensure the Product Backlog is prioritised and aligned with the business goals.

7) Both focus on delivering a high-quality project/product that meets customer needs and expectations.

8) Both require a dedicated and well-empowered Scrum Master or Release Train Engineer to facilitate the team’s needs and remove obstacles.

9) Both use predefined metrics and measurements to track progress, identify inefficiencies, and improve performance.

10) Both are widely adopted and hailed by a large community of practitioners, trainers, and consultants.

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Scrum vs SAFe: What should web developers choose?

When it comes to choosing between Scrum and SAFe, factors such as the goal of a team and organisation matters a lot. Based upon such factors, one of the two methodologies might be more beneficial to a team than the rest. Some of these factors are as follows:

1) Size of the Project: Size of the project can play a huge factor in deciding which framework is better.

a) Scrum: For relatively smaller web projects, Scrum is almost always considered a better option.

b) SAFe: On the other hand, SAFe is a better choice for large- scale projects, especially one with multiple teams working on it.

2) Team’s Expertise: Teams expertise refers to how experienced the team is, be it in their work or with adaptation of methodologies. As a result, it is important to consider it before deciding on a framework.

a) SAFe: SAFe is well suited for a relatively less experienced team, that doesn’t have much experience with Agile methodologies.

b) Scrum: It is a better choice for an experienced team, who are ok with working by Agile methodologies, because of having done it in past.

3) Model Maturity: Model maturity refers to how well a working model can integrate in a workplace over time.

a) SAFe: It is a complex model that needs a mature Agile environment to work properly, thus requiring time.

b) Scrum: On contrary, Scrum is much more user- friendly, making it more accessible. As a result, it is often considered a better choice for people and organisation new to Agile practices.

4) Delivery Time: Delivery time refers to both established deadlines as well as over all time taken to finish work during a sprint. This makes it an important factor while choosing which methodology is more suited to your business.

a) SAFe: It is better suited for projects that are bound to take time. SAFe has the benefit of giving structure and necessary sustenance for the development taking place over time.

b) Scrum: is a great choice for projects with short deadlines. It is well suited for rapid iterations due to relatively short time boxed sprints.

5) Customers: Customers are the life blood of any organisation and how a methodology prioritises its customer can affect how well it is integrated.

a) SAFe: It prioritises coherent business goals, bringing structure to the business.

b) Scrum: It prioritises collaboration with customers, making it much more adaptable. As a result, it is more likely to respond to the changes in requirements and adapt accordingly if need be.

Benefits of SAFe

The Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe) is designed to help large enterprises adopt Agile at scale. Here are some of its key benefits:

a) Alignment Across Teams: SAFe ensures that every team works towards shared goals, aligning strategy with execution even in large organisations.

b) Faster Time-to-Market: By encouraging cross-functional collaboration and reducing delays, SAFe helps businesses deliver value to customers more quickly.

c) Improved Product Quality: Continuous integration, testing, and built-in quality practices reduce defects and improve reliability across the product lifecycle.

d) Enhanced Transparency and Planning: SAFe introduces program-level visibility and planning cycles like PI (Program Increment) planning, helping teams make data-driven decisions.

e) Scalable Agility: Unlike traditional Agile methods that struggle to scale, SAFe is built to support enterprises with hundreds of teams and complex systems.

Benefits of Scrum

Scrum, a lightweight framework for Agile product development, promotes adaptability, collaboration, and frequent delivery of value. Here are its core advantages:

a) Focus on Customer Value: Scrum encourages frequent delivery of working products, ensuring the customer sees real value throughout the process.

b) Improved Team Collaboration: Daily stand-ups, sprint reviews, and retrospectives foster open communication, trust, and teamwork.

c) Increased Flexibility: Scrum’s iterative approach allows teams to adapt quickly to changes in requirements or market conditions.

d) Quick Feedback Loops: Short sprints and constant feedback help catch issues early and allow for fast course corrections.

e) Higher Productivity and Morale: Scrum empowers teams with ownership and decision-making, often leading to more motivated members and better outcomes.

Is a Product Owner Higher Than a Scrum Master?

No, the Product Owner is not "higher" than the Scrum Master. They have distinct roles and responsibilities. The Product Owner focuses on managing the product backlog and ensuring value delivery, while the Scrum Master facilitates the Scrum process and ensures the team adheres to Scrum principles.

What is the SAFe Approach in Scrum?

The SAFe approach integrates Scrum principles with Lean and Agile practices to scale Agile methodologies across large enterprises. It extends Scrum roles and events to multiple teams, introducing structures like Agile Release Trains and Program Increment (PI) Planning to coordinate work at scale.

Conclusion

Choosing between SAFe vs Scrum isn't about picking a better framework - it's about selecting the one that fits your organisation’s scale, goals, and workflow. Scrum works best for small, cross-functional teams aiming for fast, iterative delivery. On the other hand, SAFe provides the structure and coordination needed to scale Agile across large, complex enterprises. By understanding the strengths and limitations of each, you can adopt the right approach to foster agility, enhance collaboration, and achieve long-term success.

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