Among various software development methodologies, Agile, including Agile testing, stands out for its iterative style of development, accelerated testing and delivery, and collaboration across cross-functional teams. It allows the development of better quality products and allows companies to have a greater appetite for change. By fostering teamwork, responsibility, and self-organization, Agile facilitates the rapid delivery of high-quality software solutions aligned with customer needs and organizational goals. It’s no surprise that business enterprises have embraced Agile to jump-start digital transformation.
With Agile comes scrum, which organizations can use to manage the development of high-quality software solutions. As a subset of Agile and a project management framework, scrum helps disparate teams work together by breaking down silos and continually improving through better learning experiences. It enables teams to build, test, deliver, and maintain complex software solutions. By understanding team meetings, selecting and executing roles, and using tools, scrum facilitates effective project management.
Until methodologies like Agile and Scrum are used at a single team level, they are manageable and deliver the desired results. However, challenges arise when teams and the scale of projects grow. It’s at those times that new Agile approaches are needed, including adopting an Agile test-to-scale approach: SAFe, SoS, or LeSS.
What are SAFe, SoS and LeSS?
SURE: Known as the Scaled Agile Framework, SAFe happens to be the world’s leading framework for scaling Agile in an organization. It helps organizations deliver value continuously and on a predictable schedule through proven principles, rules, and practices. SAFe promotes collaboration, alignment, and product delivery among agile teams. It defines a culture, which management and other stakeholders must follow effectively to achieve organizational goals. SAFe’s core values are Alignment, Transparency, Integrated Quality and Program Execution. Fosters better lean-based decision making across organizational and functional boundaries.
Call for help: Scrum of Scrums happens to be the oldest agile scaling framework for integrating the work of multiple Scrum Teams working on a single project. Facilitates communication between teams to ensure each team’s delivery result is aligned with other teams’ results, even when there is an overlap in the sequence of events. The actual coordination between the teams takes place in a meeting where each team is represented by a designated scrum master. In case the material under discussion is very technical, the scrum master together with a technically qualified team member can attend the meeting. The goal of Scrum of Scrums is to ensure that individual teams achieve their sprint goals aligned with the overall goal of the organization.
Less: Large Scaled Scrum is a multi-team framework that works on a single project. It begins with the formation of a Scrum team and is gradually applied to multiple teams working on the same project. The LeSS framework enables the application of scrum-based principles and ideals to a large enterprise using proven rules. LeSS is concerned with creating responsible teams that have greater collaboration between them and better customer orientation. It highlights attributes like customer-centric learning, transparency, and value offerings to help organizations remain responsive, agile, and competitive.
SAFe, SoS and LeSS: the difference
The differences between the three frameworks can be explained in terms of the following set of parameters:
Methodology in use: LeSS and SoS are based solely on the scrum methodology and apply its approaches, practices, and roles to a large number of teams working on a single project. Therefore, teams already working in Scrum find it easy to use these two frameworks without having to undergo a reorganization.
However, SAFe builds on Agile as a whole and tailors its values to a large enterprise. It allows multiple teams in an organization to choose their methods, such as an agile testing framework for scaling: Scrum, Kanban, and others. It takes more effort to implement, but gives teams the freedom to choose their frameworks.
Size of the company: For companies with fewer Scrum teams, SoS is a better option for coordinating work, as it ensures everyone is on the same page. LeSS and SAFe are the ideal frameworks for scaling Agile for a large organization.
Company structure: SoS allows for better coordination between teams and defines the team structure, but does not offer coverage for all levels of the portfolio. This makes it ideal for managing day-to-day operations on a smaller scale, but fails when it comes to bringing the long-term vision to life. LeSS increases portfolio levels and facilitates a better understanding of the company structure. However, SAFe allows for a full set of rules defined for the enterprise structure and creates an environment for Agile adoption.
Cost: Both SoS and LeSS cost less, as they are derived from scrum and require little training or restructuring of teams. Here, the teams have the knowledge and need to add a few layers to their daily routines. On the other hand, SAFe requires restructuring of the organization and is more expensive.
conclusion
Regardless of the approach to Agile testing that is taken, the three frameworks of SAFe, SoS, and LeSS provide scalability solutions for digital transformation in large, medium, and small enterprises, respectively. Therefore, it is important that organizations understand their needs and choose the Agile testing framework that is effective, for now and for the future.