I am excited to announce the availability of support for SAFe 4.0 in IBM Collaborative Lifecycle Management 6.0.1 and later. You can find all of the SAFe 4.0 assets related to our support on the SAFe landing page on jazz.net by following the link under Documentation located at the bottom of the page. Today, we announce the availability of the SAFe 4.0 overview, the domain models, and the beta templates.

In SAFe 4.0, the concept of Value Streams is expanded such that robust governance, including elaboration of Solution Intent and Solution Context, is available if you choose to implement 4-level SAFe. Three-level SAFe is an option as well for smaller, less complex organizations.

Let’s explore the components we are delivering today.

SAFe 4.0 for ALM Overview

This presentation provides an overview of the SAFe 4.0 methodology, with details specifically around Value Streams and ARTs and the relationship between them. The Kanban is applied at all levels of SAFe now and there are some changes in the Kanban flow, as described. Also included are the details about how our SAFe 3.0 templates are enhanced to support 4.0.

ALM SAFe 4.0 Domain Models

In developing our tooling support, we first identified the artifacts and then gained an understanding about how they worked together through modeling. As a result, we are publishing the set of domain models that explain all of the artifacts that comprise our SAFe tooling support and how those artifacts “hang” together, as well as the attributes that are included.

“Beta” Templates

To help you get started with a SAFe transformation based on 4.0, we are providing “beta” templates for each of the CLM applications to support SAFe 4.0 in the same way that we delivered SAFe 3.0 support in CLM 6.0.1. These templates were developed using the step-by-step guidance documented in Configuring SAFe V4.0 in CLM, so you can create your own templates or configure SAFe 4.0 in existing CLM environments if you wish.

“Beta” templates are provided for:

• Rational Team Concert: SAFe 4.0 Portfolio and Program process templates
  • Establishes SAFe Portfolio/Value Stream and Program/Team RTC project areas out of the box with support for the typical artifacts and activities, including Kanban planning and economic prioritization via WSJF
  • These templates can be used in a CLM 6.0.1 environment or later
• Rational Quality Manager: SAFe 4.0 Portfolio process template
  • Establishes a SAFe Portfolio project area out of the box, expanded to support the Value Stream layer
  • This template can be used in a CLM 6.0.2 environment or later; optionally, you can apply the set of changes yourself in a 6.0.1 environment with ease by following the guidelines referenced above
• Rational DOORS Next Generation: SAFe 4.0 Portfolio project template
  
  • Establishes a SAFe Portfolio project area with extensive support for elaboration of the Value Stream Solution Intent and Solution Context, with additional requirements artifacts and templates
  • This template can be used in a CLM 6.0.1 environment or later

The “beta” templates are provided by IBM as-is with no implied support. You can use them to explore SAFe 4.0 tooling support and provide feedback.

As always, we are here to help you with your SAFe transformation, so don’t hesitate to reach out. And, of course, your feedback is welcomed and appreciated!

The IBM SAFe Team (safeinfo@bg.vnet.ibm.com)