We’ve got you hooked and you’re keen to do a SAFe certification course at the Nerd Republic, but you don’t know exactly which one? No problem! You have come to the right place. It can honestly be a bit confusing with the variety of courses on offer. Especially if you already have previous experience, such as in the form of a Scrum Master course. After all, you want to get the most out of your SAFe course and not spend two days listening to familiar content.
In this article, we want to give you some help with choosing a SAFe course based on our experience. To do this, we have sorted the courses into three categories for you and presented them in an overview. You will also find our tips and experiences for each course.
Our overview of SAFe course selection
We are conceptually quite comfortable with this representation in the course structure. On the X-axis, you can position yourself based on your experience with topics like Lean and Agile. Above that, you’ll see the “string of pearls” representing the courses. You’ll notice that courses like Leading SAFe, Product Owner/Product Manager, and SAFe for Teams are the classic entry-level courses. These provide a gentle introduction to the topic.
The Lean Portfolio Management course or the Advanced Scrum Master course, for example, are classified as “Advanced” courses by Scaled Agile Inc. These delve deeper into the subject, and you’ll only truly enjoy them if you’re already familiar with the framework.
Along the Y-axis, you’ll find the three categories: “People,” “Roles,” and “Functions.” This division is meant to provide you with some guidance when searching for courses. In the “Roles” swimlane, for instance, you’ll find courses aimed at specific roles, such as Scrum Master or Product Owner. The “Functions” swimlane, on the other hand, includes courses that are not tied to a role but rather to a function. Makes sense, right?
These courses are designed for functional and task areas that involve multiple roles or for individuals who do not have a specific role in SAFe (for example, our “old” PMO). The third category is the “People” swimlane. These courses are aimed at a broader audience and focus on foundational skills. Let’s take a closer look at the individual courses:
Leading SAFe
This course is ideal for getting started with the framework and provides a concise, comprehensive overview. It’s helpful if you already have basic knowledge of Agility and Lean. In the Leading SAFe course, the ten SAFe principles are discussed in detail. The course also includes a brief side-step into Lean Portfolio Management. For a long time, the course was overloaded with information, but it has since been streamlined and is now more digestible.
SAFe for Teams
This course is designed for team members, particularly when it’s immediately followed by the joint ART launch and the first PI Planning session. The goal is for teams to experience and practice the mechanisms of agile collaboration together. For this reason, it’s also the only course that can be conducted with up to 125 participants. However, not every team member is required to take this course.
If you haven’t specifically planned the ART launch within the organization, the SAFe for Teams course might not be the best option for team members. This course doesn’t go into sufficient depth on individual topics. For a general introduction to SAFe for a team member, the Leading SAFe or POPM course might also be helpful. This is especially true for non-developer teams, where elements like TDD and BDD can feel somewhat out of place.
Product Owner/Product Manager
This course places a stronger focus on the role of the Product Owner, while the role of the Product Manager is only touched upon.
The POPM course provides a general overview of the framework and the individual events within iterations. Tools and techniques specific to Product Managers are primarily covered in the APM course (which, in turn, focuses less on the framework). Due to its broad perspective, the POPM course is also an excellent entry point into SAFe—even for non-Product Owners. There’s no need to feel intimidated here!
Unlike Leading SAFe (our second “entry-level tip”), the principles are not covered in as much depth, and it lacks a brief look into Lean Portfolio Management (LPM). However, it places greater emphasis on Scrum and the events within iterations.
By the way, you don’t need a Product Owner course from Scrum.org to navigate this course effectively. However, taking one isn’t a bad idea, as the POPM course focuses more on SAFe as a whole rather than the specifics and techniques of the Product Owner role.
Agile Product Management
This course offers less general information about SAFe but significantly more on tools and techniques in the area of product management (for PMs). The content is also relevant for Product Owners. For a long time, the course felt somewhat like the “neglected child” of SAFe. In the “Product” series, it hasn’t been able to deliver the depth and added value that colleagues in the product management field need.
Creating a persona is not always sufficient in this context. With SAFe 6.0, the course has received an update, and some of the outdated elements have been streamlined. However, for seasoned PMs, it might feel a bit too superficial. For someone just starting with SAFe, this course is less suitable due to its niche focus and deep dive approach.
SAFe Scrum Master
The SAFe Scrum Master course can be difficult to grasp. If you’ve never worked with Scrum before, it might not be the best course to introduce you to the Scrum Master role. However, you don’t necessarily need to have already completed a Scrum Master course with Scrum.org or Scrum Alliance.
Spending some time in a Scrum team will have provided you with the basic knowledge, and now your next step might be to become a Scrum Master in a SAFe environment. Since this course focuses a lot on team development and the do’s and don’ts of being a Scrum Master during iterations, we believe it’s not the best entry point into SAFe for a general audience. The Leading SAFe or POPM courses are better positioned for that. The exception, of course, is if you want to become a Scrum Master in a team or are already in that role. In that case, you’ll learn a lot about SAFe here and can combine it with interactive discussions on Scrum.
SAFe DevOps
DevOps is not a new framework for IT professionals. It’s about adopting a mindset, culture, and a set of practices and tools successfully. Therefore, DevOps is a fundamental topic for everyone in a SAFe organization. The course also has a strong focus on Lean. Overall, it is (unfortunately) still considered quite niche and is relatively rarely booked or offered. However, it can definitely be very helpful and expand your personal skill set in a valuable way. In general, it’s a good course.
SAFe for Architect
This role-based course, as the name suggests, has a strong focus on architects. You won’t be learning about classic IT architecture, such as security, technology, or information here. Instead, it focuses on how SAFe principles can help in building your architecture. You’ll learn what an Architectural Runway is and how it can support the Agile Release Train. Additionally, you’ll understand how architects collaborate across the different levels of SAFe.
Lean Portfolio Management
The SAFe LPM course goes into great depth. Essentially, it starts at the top left of the SAFe framework map in LPM and then progresses horizontally to the right. This course delves deeply into business agility and agile portfolio management. Broad content on SAFe is not typically covered here. It’s extremely helpful if you have prior SAFe experience and have acquired foundational knowledge about an Agile Release Train or PI Planning through a POPM or Leading SAFe course.
We also have positive examples of participants who jumped directly into the LPM course. However, it requires a certain level of frustration tolerance to cope with a lack of knowledge about a few things. In our LPM Academy course, we’ve included some refresher topics to help address this challenge.
Starting with LPM is possible, especially if you come from another course or bring some experience with you, but it’s certainly better if you have that foundation. Overall, the SAFe LPM course is very refreshing and is usually conducted in a smaller group.
SAFe Advanced Scrum Master
This course thrives on group dialogue and experience sharing. At this point, it’s only marginally about SAFe or Scrum in general. In the SAFe Advanced Scrum Master course, we focus on your experiences with team metrics, discuss Scrum antipatterns, and provide tips on how to create an environment for a high-performance team.
This course is also well-suited if you’ve already completed a Scrum Master certification and have solid SAFe experience in your organization. In the basic SAFe Scrum Master course, you might find yourself “bored.” If your SAFe experience isn’t yet solid, it’s also an option to take Leading SAFe followed by the Advanced Scrum Master course. This approach, with the brief dive into LPM and the principles from Leading SAFe, will provide significant added value and broaden your perspective. It also helps move you out of the Scrum-focused area where you may already have enough knowledge and gives you more SAFe-specific insights.
Isn’t there something missing?
Yes! A few courses are missing from our overview. Here you’ll find our information on these.
?? Agile Software Engineering (ASE) ??
As of today (Jan 24), the Agile Software Engineering (ASE) course doesn’t have a clear update perspective for SAFe 6.0. Let’s see what Scaled Agile Inc. has planned in that regard. The ASE training is implemented well in-house. Here, you won’t learn the basics of coding (please bring that knowledge with you!), but rather how agile methods approach the entire process. Topics include Test-Driven Development (TDD) and Behavior-Driven Development (BDD). Additionally, the course links these topics with architecture and DevOps. The course doesn’t go deeply into the fundamentals of SAFe, so it’s often paired with a SAFe for Teams course. If you’re not involved in the software field, this course probably won’t be your favorite.
?? Release Train Engineer (RTE) ??
No Release Train Engineer course at Nerd Republic? According to Scaled Agile Inc.’s regulations, the RTE course can only be offered publicly by Gold SPCT partners. Gold partners are allowed to offer the course in-house (plus a few additional details). In a previous life, we conducted the course several times.
We’ve decided against the Gold partnership for now, which is why the course isn’t available. HOWEVER, while it is a role-based course, its design is meant for experienced RTEs to engage in content exchange. If only new RTEs without role experience are present, it can be a bit underwhelming. If you’re new to the role, the SAFe Advanced Scrum Master course can offer significant added value. The RTE course is best suited if you’ve already been in the role for at least a year. At that point, you’ll bring a lot of experience to the table and can benefit from others’ insights as well.
?? SAFe Practice Consultant (SPC) ??
Like the RTE, the SPC (SAFe Program Consultant) course can only be conducted by Gold SPCT partners (the “T” stands for Trainer). In Germany, there are a few providers with different reputations. Just see which one suits you best. A remote course abroad could also be an option.
The course is a four-day course, but depending on the provider, it is sometimes extended to five days remotely – it can be quite intensive. The first two days (out of the four total) essentially cover the Leading SAFe course. While trainers will certainly focus on the SPC perspective and provide guidance on how to deliver the course, if you already have Leading SAFe, it might feel a bit repetitive. And no, you can’t credit an existing Leading SAFe course for this. In our view, the SAFe system falls a bit short here.
Do you have your SAFe course?
Has this overview helped you, and have you found your perfect SAFe course? Perfect! You can find our SAFe certification courses at our Nerd Academy. We offer the courses as open training sessions both onsite and remotely. Of course, all courses can also be booked as in-house training.
All courses on the Nerd Academy come with plenty of information, additional bonus material, and exciting self-learning formats.
If something is missing or you have any other questions, feel free to send us a message. You can reach us at: hello@nerdrepublic.de
We hope this overview has helped clarify your SAFe course selection.