SAFe for Hardware: Developing the Certification Course

Over two decades, I have worked with large system builders in Aerospace, Defense, Automotive, and many other industries, supporting leaders in applying Lean-Agile principles to their engineering practices. As a methodologist and a SAFe® Fellow, I speak with organizations daily about using SAFe to build and deliver large, complex systems faster, more predictably, and with higher quality. 

Hardware ≠ Software: Understanding the Evolution of Hardware Development

Hardware and Lean-Agile don’t immediately seem like a perfect fit. Building a hardware system involves a lot of risk and cost, and a huge amount of infrastructure is required to design, verify, validate, and ultimately certify hardware solutions. 

The common approach to hardware development has been to define complete requirements and design specifications prior to implementation. There hasn’t been a mindset of building incrementally or doing tasks in small batches, mainly because of the downstream risk and the costs associated with getting it wrong. Yet the systems we build today have too much market, user, and technical uncertainty to assume we can build them right the first time. 

Over the past decade, we’ve witnessed a real disruption in hardware. New technology has enabled the industry to embrace a more Agile way of working. Digital technology, including digital twins, allows organizations to build an entire digital model of a system to address uncertainty faster and more cost-effectively. While hardware teams may not be able to build a new part every iteration, rapid prototyping and 3D printing mean they can now quickly and cheaply test and iterate at increasing levels of fidelity.  

At Scaled Agile, we saw a clear market need for a course that would support engineering organizations’ adoption of SAFe in the same way that many software organizations have seen tremendous value. 

Supporting Organizations in Implementing Lean-Agile Principles in Hardware

To create SAFe® for Hardware, we worked closely with our customers and the SPCT community, drawing on the conversations I’ve had over the past several years. The content in each module has been tested with multiple customers and reviewed by a community of SPCTs who work with hardware organizations. We landed on the modules that truly support engineering leaders and program managers in accelerating their hardware development and delivery and providing faster feedback and learning on the systems they build. 

We start with a brief introduction to SAFe and Lean-Agile principles to level set the class. Next, we dive into Designing for Change, where we look at how engineering leaders can design their systems to optimize incremental development. A good example is to think about a mobile phone. Pre-smartphone era, mobile phones were fixed logic, while today — a phone is just a platform that can be continually improved. Too often, systems are designed to optimize initial costs over the ability to change, which limits the ability to evolve them over time based on feedback and learning. 

Our next obstacle is the specification process. In Specifying the Solution Incrementally, we show how smaller batches of requirements and design create feedback loops. This requires balancing and connecting traditional formal (‘shall’) specifications with backlog items like features and enablers. We also show how to incorporate nonfunctional requirements (NFRs) into the Agile way of working. 

Variable/Fixed above Solution Intent; Domain Model leads to Design Model and Requirements Model

Less Defined: Solution Roadmap and PI Roadmap; More Defined: PI Plan, Iteration Plan, Daily Plan

A crucial difference between software development and hardware development is dramatically longer lead times needed to manufacture physical parts. Further, these are often significant systems with multi-year and sometimes even multi-decade lifespans. Multiple Horizons of Planning shares best practices on how to plan with both a long-term and near-term perspective. We show how organizations can balance the need to forecast long-term while providing teams with the ability to plan and commit to shorter-term work. 

As we say in SAFe, objective evaluation of working systems is the true measure of progress. Other measures, including phase-gate milestones, too often lead to false positive feasibility and wishful thinking. Being Agile in hardware requires a critical mindset shift. One issue is that teams often work in isolation on their part of a system, and regularly wait until the end to integrate the system. When it doesn’t, rework can be costly and frustrating. During Frequently Integrating the End-to-End Solution, participants will understand how digital technologies described earlier enable more frequent integration and faster, cost-effective learning. 

Continuously hypothesize, build, measure, and learn while continuously exploring, integrating, and deploying = release on demand

Another shift is in the way that engineering leaders look at compliance and regulation. Instead of creating a large bow wave of compliance activities at the end of development, we shift those activities left, building security, compliance, and physical safety into a feedback loop each increment. We discuss how to make this happen during the module Continually Addressing Compliance Concerns. 

Of course, no engineering team is an island. All organizations recognize the need to leverage suppliers whose knowledge and expertise are required to co-develop the solution. As organizations change to Lean-Agile ways of working, they must bring their suppliers along with them to be successful. In Collaborating with Suppliers, engineering leaders will learn how to integrate suppliers into their SAFe practices. They will also understand common contracting challenges and ways to address them. 

"The 8-Step Process for Leading Change" by Kotter, Inc.

Perhaps most crucially of all, our module Leading the Change is a call to action for development managers, program managers, and engineering executives. It’s not enough to agree to a new way of working, leaders need to own it and lead that change.

Built to Reinforce Learning

While the focus of SAFe® for Hardware is on knowledge transfer and education, we purposely designed the course to be 40 percent collaborative, with a lot of hands-on and activity-based sessions where engineering practitioners can learn from one another. Each module provides opportunities for leaders to discuss their current challenges and consider new approaches.

In our testing, I’ve seen leaders who enter the class with such different perspectives and then get in the room and discuss Agile practices with excitement and passion. I had one attendee tell me he would apply the roadmapping workshop the following week. And seeing the excitement and energy while building a marble run exercise is just the icing on the cake! We’ve had feedback that the content in SAFe for Hardware has really helped engineering leaders start thinking differently and understanding what’s possible within hardware development. 

For organizations to change their ways of working, leaders need to see the art of the possible, and to understand that applying Lean-Agile principles and SAFe in hardware is doable. And the need to know that others are already doing it and seeing success. I want people walking out of the course feeling confident that as leaders, if they can take responsibility for applying the mindset and the principles to their specific context and organization, they can find incredible value. 

Visit the SAFe® for Hardware course page for more, or search for upcoming classes via the training calendar.

SAFe for Hardware is currently in Limited Release, with classes available from select partners. A full release is planned for February 2025.

About Harry Koehnemann

Harry Koehnemann

SAFe Methodologist and SAFe Fellow at Scaled Agile, Inc., Harry Koehnemann has worked for over two decades with large system builders in Aerospace, Defense, Automotive, and many other industries, supporting leaders in applying Lean-Agile principles to their engineering practices. Harry speaks with organizations daily about using SAFe to build and deliver large, complex systems faster, more predictably, and with higher quality.

Mercedes-Benz Mobility AG: Global Transformation with SAFe

Quick Facts:

  • 34 global markets
  • 10,000 employees worldwide
  • Started using SAFe in 2017 with customer-facing domains, then scaled and expanded to the portfolio level
  • Has 1,000 tech experts worldwide working in 6 tech hubs, producing 169 global products

Key Outcomes:

  • Six years ago, they had one or two product rollouts a year in just a couple of markets. In 2022, they were able to introduce roughly 40 products in 34 markets.
  • In 2022, reached €130 billion portfolio: €58 billion in new business and €27 billion in revenue
  • Faster application-to-payout times: Reduced time for customers applying for financing from several days to minutes. In China, for example, customers can apply and receive payment in 2.3 minutes. 
  • Moving away from waterfall methods and adopting SAFe, they were able to launch better technology, better operating systems, AI and face recognition, integrate different data sources, and utilize better risk models. 
  • Customer focus: Responded to customer apprehension about electric cars and fear of not having enough range by introducing rental and subscription models. This way, customers can become more familiar with the electric offerings and the charging ecosystem before buying.
  • Increased digitization and automation rate to 90 percent. SAFe allowed Mercedes-Benz to achieve the shift from hardware to software, master the electrification of vehicles, meet requirements for zero emission, and adapt to environmental, geopolitical, and consumer demands. 
  • Created a culture of collaboration. Instead of relying solely on roles like RTE, Scrum Master, and Product Owner, Mercedes-Benz Mobility fosters a culture that prioritizes diversity and uses the best skill sets.

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Designing the Digital Future at Porsche

Learn how the separate worlds of vehicle engineering and IT came together at Porsche to reimagine the sports car of the future

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Revolutionary things can happen when pizza is being served. You’ll find out why when you join Porsche visionaries Mattias Ulbrich and Dr. Oliver Seifert for a candid discussion about transforming one of the world’s most iconic motoring brands into a digital-first pacesetter.

As huge technological advances usher in an automotive renaissance, Porsche is moving at top speed to meet the evolving needs of its customers. They are fully focused on making their cars a central element of their buyers’ lifestyles through digitalization, connectivity, and electromobility. This requires total business agility throughout the enterprise, a new mindset, and a new way of working together closely. It also requires vehicle engineering and software teams to collaborate closely and harmonize the differing speeds at which they traditionally work. This might have been daunting for any company that is as storied and successful as Porsche.

The most important thing is that you shouldn’t underestimate that the digital world is totally different from the physical world,” says Ulbrich.

But Porsche didn’t let this slow them down. To build bridges between the groups, the company created new opportunities for people to talk, learn, and understand each other with the help of SAFe. They created the Porsche “Takt,” the heartbeat that synchronizes the teams. They focus on results and communicate the vision in a way that motivates people to visualize opportunities for change.

Says Ulbrich, “If you look right now in a team, you couldn’t distinguish whether a person is from R&D, IT, sales, or marketing. They work together.

Presented at the 2021 Global SAFe Summit, October 2021 by:

  • Mattias Ulbrich, Chief Information Officer of Porsche AG and CEO of Porsche Digital
  • Dr. Oliver Seifert, Vice President R&D Electric/Electronics /Porsche AG
  • Interviewer: Michael Clarkin, Chief Marketing Officer, Scaled Agile, Inc.SHOW LESS

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Porsche Lean-Agile Transformation Journey

How the legendary automotive brand approached Lean-Agile Transformation by building the Digital Product Organization

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Porsche leverages the power of using one language for roles, routines, and artefacts as they bring Porsche’s experience into the digital age. Porsche experience into the digital age.

In this presentation by Porsche transformation leaders, you will:

  • Get insights about the transformation approach and setup
  • Learn about the critical success factors at the beginning of the transformation
  • Find out more about over one year of a fully remote transformation experience and remote ART Launches
  • Get to know how the LACE Team handles different transformation velocities within the organization
  • Experience “Porsche Takt” as the Heartbeat of the transformation

Presented at the 2021 Global SAFe Summit, October 2021 by:

  • Alena Keck, Senior Manager / MHP – A Porsche Company
  • Jan Burchhardt, Director Digital Transformation /Porsche AG

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