Leading SAFe® with SA Certification

During this two-day course, attendees learn the importance of mastering Business Agility in order to thrive in the digital age and gain insights they can use to lead a Lean-Agile enterprise by leveraging the Scaled Agile Framework® (SAFe®).

The course begins by exploring the SAFe principles, derived from Lean product development, Agile development, DevOps and systems thinking. Following this, the attendees will discuss how to establish Team and Technical Agility and organize around the flow of value. The course then focuses on the importance of adopting a customer-centric mindset and applying Design Thinking as part of the Agile Product Delivery core competency, and provides an opportunity to experience a PI Planning event.

Attendees also gain insights and recommendations for building a Continuous Delivery Pipeline and instilling a DevOps culture. Finally, the attendees will gain an understanding of Lean Portfolio Management and the steps needed for implementing this function in their Enterprise.

FAQs

COVID-19

On 3 March 2020, Scaled Agile announced it would allow requests for remote course delivery for all SAFe courses. Additional guidance from their team effective from 9 June 2020 allows the remote delivery of SAFe classes on an on-going basis if required. Radtac is planning to to facilitate many of our scheduled training via our Live-Online virtual classroom. We are continually reviewing this decision based on advice from the local authorities in the region of delivery to ensure the safety of our clients. team and partners. For further information please see our policy here.

What is a Live-Online course?

Live-Online courses are those delivered via our virtual (online) classroom. You will collaborate and interact with your course tutor and participants in real-time via video conferencing and our our digital workspace. You can read more about our Live-Online courses, tools and watch a short video on what to expect here. For public scheduled Live-Online courses you should for look for the dates with a location set as Live-Online <city>. The city is used to highlight the timezone the class will be set in but can be joined by anyone who can be present during the duration of the course.

Is Leading SAFe® required before taking an Implementing SAFe® class?

You may already be thinking about SAFe® Program Consultant (SPC) certification or evaluating which certification right for you. This is an important question and is frequently asked. It's so frequently asked we have put together a short article to answer this burning question.

How do I reserve my place on a public course?

Simply click on the blue button on this page titled ‘Book Course’ to reserve your place today. This is a very popular course, spaces fill quickly and it is recommended that you book your course as soon as practicable. We always ensure our pricing is competitive and offers real value for money.

How do I book a number of employees for private a course?

If you would like one of our qualified trainers to host to your organisation, simply click the button on this page titled ‘Virtual Enquiry’ for remote courses or "on-site enquiry' for face-to-face classroom delivery, fill in the details and we will be in touch within 24hrs. We can then personalise the program to fit your specific needs, tailored to your specific business outcomes and budget.

Blogs, articles & resources

• Diving into Leading SAFe Training: What is a course really like?
• Is Leading SAFe® required before taking an Implementing SAFe® class?

• Thriving in the Digital Age with Business Agility
• Becoming a Lean-Agile Leader
• Establishing Team and Technical Agility
• Building Solutions with Agile Product Delivery
• Exploring Lean Portfolio Management
• Leading the Change
• Practicing SAFe

• Lead the transformation to Business Agility with SAFe
• Become a Lean-Agile Leader
• Understand customer needs with Design Thinking
• Enable Agile Product Delivery
• Implement Lean Portfolio Management

The following individuals will benefit from this course:

• Executives and Leaders, Managers, Directors, CIOs, and VPs
• Development, QA, and Infrastructure Management
• Program and Project Managers
• Product and Product Line Management
• Portfolio Managers, PMO, and Process Leads
• Enterprise, System, and Solution Architects

All are welcome to attend the course, regardless of experience. However, the following prerequisites are highly recommended for those who intend to take the SAFe® 5 Agilist (SA) certification exam:

• 5+ years’ experience in software development, testing, business analysis, product, or project management
• Experience in Scrum

We'd suggest in advance of the course participants explore the Full SAFe Configuration at the Scaled Agile Framework website: https://www.scaledagileframework.com/. The icons are clickable, and they will take you to the relevant article.

The following articles are recommended reading for this course:

• Business Agility: https://www.scaledagileframework.com/business-agility/
• Lean-Agile Mindset: https://www.scaledagileframework.com/lean-agile-mindset/
• Team and Technical Agility: https://www.scaledagileframework.com/team-and-technical-agility/
• Agile Product Delivery: https://www.scaledagileframework.com/agile-product-delivery/
• Lean Portfolio Management: https://www.scaledagileframework.com/lean-portfolio-management/
• Lean-Agile Leadership: Lean-Agile Leadership: https://www.scaledagileframework.com/lean-agile-leadership/

Exam requirements

The first step toward becoming a Certified SAFe professional is to attend this course. This is a requirement because attending the course provides access to all the study materials and the exam. Note that attending the course does not guarantee passing the exam.

Exam prerequisite skills

• 5+ years of experience in software development, testing, business analysis, product or project management
• Experience in Scrum

Exam details

• Exam name – SAFe® 5 Agilist Exam
• Exam format – Multiple choice
• Exam delivery – Web-based (single-browser), closed book, no outside assistance, timed
• Exam access – Candidates can access the exam within the SAFe Community Platform upon completion of your course
• Exam duration – Once the exam begins, candidates have 90 minutes (1.5 hours) to complete the exam
• Number of questions: 45
• Passing score – 35 out of 45 (77%)
• Language – English
• Exam cost – First exam attempt is included as part of the course registration fee if the exam is taken within 30 days of course completion. Each retake attempt costs $50.
• Retake policy – Second attempt on exam (first retake) can be done immediately after first attempt. Third attempt requires a 10-day wait. Fourth attempt requires a 30-day wait.

Exam study materials

The exam is designed to measure knowledge and skill related to the job role. We highly recommend candidates use a variety of resources to prepare for this exam including:

• Course materials – The course materials are an essential artifact from the course and can be downloaded from the SAFe Community Platform. These materials can be used to refer back to the content that was presented during the class.
• Study guide – This comprehensive guide details the job role and all resources related to the exam, including a detailed reading list. Access is available through the Learning Plan in the SAFe Community Platform upon course completion.
• Practice test – The practice test is designed to be predictive of success on the certification exam,* and it has the same number of questions, level of difficulty, and time duration. It is part of the Learning Plan in the SAFe Community Platform and can be taken an unlimited number of times at no cost. *This is not the actual exam, and passing it does not guarantee success on the certification exam.
• Sample Questions – A web-enabled, flashcard style version of the sample questions can be found online and in the study guide.

• Workbook
• Preparation and eligibility to take the SAFe® 5 Agilist exam
• One year membership to the SAFe Community Platform
• Course certificate of completion

Attendees must attend both days of the course in order to be eligible for the exam.

Attendees who pass the certification exam will receive:

• Certified SAFe® Agilist PDF certificate
• Certified SAFe® Agilist digital badge to promote your accomplishment online
• One-year membership to the SAFe Community Platform, which includes access to the SA Community of Practice
• Access to Meetup groups and events that connect you with other SAFe certified professionals
• A variety of learning resources to support you during your SAFe journey

We use Zoom video conferencing to host our live online courses via a virtual classroom. We recommend that before registering participants run a zoom test meeting and check system requirements to ensure they are able to connect. Participants will also use our digital workspace, Mural and our Agile Tools Mobile app for collaboration with the class and completing exercises for the duration of the course. You’ll find links below to test and explain requirements for each of these tools.

Zoom requirements

https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/201362023-System-Requirements-for-PC-Mac-and-Linux

Zoom test meeting

https://zoom.us/test

Mural requirements (if relevant)

https://support.mural.co/en/articles/2113688-technical-requirements-to-run-mural

Miro requirements (if relevant)

https://help.miro.com/hc/en-us/articles/360017731553-System-requirements

Agile Tools Mobile App

https://www.radtac.com/resources/agile-tools-mobile-app/

On registration full information will be provided via joining instructions to each partcipant with instructions on how to acess the virtual classroom and additional tools.

Still unsure? Talk to our team of friendly learning advisors, they are here to assist before, during and after your class if you have any questions.