The Next Chapter in SAFe: Purposeful Configuration, Not Rigid Implementation

One of the Biggest Takeaways from Sorrento: SAFe is Entering a New Era of Customization and Specialization.

The State of SAFe report confirmed what many of us in the trenches already feel—organizations are no longer questioning whether to scale Agile, but how to do it meaningfully.

What’s becoming clearer is that reimagining SAFe isn’t about stripping it down. It’s about configuring with purpose—tailoring the competencies that solve real business problems while preserving the system's integrity.

Key Themes from the Summit and Stats:

• Start with problems, not practices. Your roadmap should reflect which competencies solve your business challenges—not a cookie-cutter implementation.

• Competency matters more than ceremony. True SAFe success requires mastery—not just knowledge or partial adoption.

• Lean-Agile Procurement is leading the way. With results like 800% faster sourcing and 80% cost savings, this specialization is proof that custom roles and domains like Procurement and HR are becoming essential SAFe building blocks.

• Beware the risks of superficial configuration. The biggest danger? Removing what’s hard—like leadership, alignment, and learning—in favor of short-term convenience.

• Customization isn’t the enemy of standardization. When done right, it ensures clarity, consistency, and context-relevance.

Where We’re Headed:

SAFe is evolving into a modular, configurable ecosystem—with embedded expertise for key domains like:

• SAFe for Government

• SAFe HR

• SAFe Procurement

• SAFe for Hardware

• AI-integrated Product Models

This isn’t about watering SAFe down—it’s about making it relevant, resilient, and real for every enterprise.

So here's the real question:
How are you customizing SAFe to solve your biggest challenges—without losing what makes it powerful?