How does the SAFe approach to scaling differ from traditional project management?

The SAFe approach to scaling differs from traditional project management primarily through its adoption of Agile practices and decentralized decision-making. In traditional project management, decision-making is often centralized, which can create bottlenecks and slow down the responsiveness to change. In contrast, SAFe encourages teams to be self-organizing and empowers individuals at various levels to make decisions that affect their work. This decentralized approach promotes faster decision-making and enables teams to be more adaptive to changing requirements and environments.

Furthermore, SAFe incorporates Agile principles such as iterative development, continuous delivery, and an emphasis on customer feedback, which helps to shorten development cycles and improve product quality. This is fundamentally different from traditional project management methods that typically rely on rigid planning and waterfall-like processes, which can hinder flexibility and responsiveness.

By supporting decentralized decision-making, SAFe fosters a culture of collaboration and accountability, where team members feel empowered to take initiative and innovate. This is key to achieving the agility necessary for successful scaling in complex environments.