What is the difference between Scrum and SAFe?
Many enterprises have adopted scaled agile framework models (SAFe) to collectively manage their Scrum teams and projects. Interviewers who ask this question are interested in determining if a candidate understands the gaps the SAFe framework addresses in an enterprise agile development setting.
Avoid vague answers that do not describe the specific gaps the SAFe framework was meant to address. Enterprises rely heavily on concepts such as program management that are not addressed in Scrum. Interviewers want to ensure you understand how to manage a Scrum Team and deliver the necessary information to stakeholders outside of the Scrum Team.
Scrum is a development methodology built upon a limited set of principles and values. Scrum teams are small, and they are concerned mostly with dynamics inside of the team setting. Scrum does not define rules for working with other teams or large or global teams. Additionally, Scrum does not specify how to incorporate concepts like project management. These gaps make it difficult for enterprises to have the proper level of insight into the work of their Scrum teams.
SAFe is a scaled framework that defines the structures needed to adopt agile practices across an enterprise. It is not solely dependent on Scrum and incorporates other models such as Kanban. SAFe defines the communication model between teams and through the hierarchy of an enterprise to the executives. SAFe is more costly and can be difficult to implement, but it promotes collaboration and quality standards, which are necessary within enterprises that rely on reuse and optimization opportunities.
