#44 – The SAFe Requirements Model

Authors’ Comments:

At first sight, the SAFe Requirement Model looks pretty intimidating (and it kinda is!). The purpose of it is to give the full overview of how it all works together, and since SAFe is a comprehensive framework that embraces the development of very large solutions, this overview will be big and complex. What we should remember here is to only look at the portion of the model that is relevant to us; i.e., if you’re working with only Essential SAFe, you can basically ignore everything to the left of the green Feature boxes.

Though the requirement model is great for modeling or configuring your tools to support the SAFe way of working, an even better idea is to really have a think about whether it is possible to simplify your setup. That is, ask yourself whether you really need Epics and/or Capabilities, and whether you can add the same value with proper, vertically sliced features or even just stories. Here, we believe that many companies could benefit from being inspired by the more simplistic approach to product definition and work breakdown from smaller scaling frameworks like LeSS or Nexus while still using core SAFe practices like ARTs and PI Planning. If you can clearly define your product, assign a handful of real feature teams to it and simplify the way the product work is funded, there is no need for intimidating requirement models.