Leading SAFe vs SAFe Advanced Scrum Master

Agile certifications have transformed the method of handling software development in enterprises. Companies now develop better products by upgrading with specific adjustments, developing testing methods and considering customer feedback. Agile provides problem-solving and adds value to the methodology. Agile certification courses often train you to optimize performance by implementing various concepts. 

Working professionals often get confused between leading SAFe and SAFe Advanced Scrum Master courses since both of them come with their benefits. Thus, working professionals can not decide which course will provide them with the best competitive edge. Leading SAFe introduces you to the basic foundations of SAFe and teaches you the practices and principles to help you drive Lean-Agile transformation with expertise. On the other hand, the Advanced Scrum Master course enables you to find out how to facilitate success for your team and organization. This article will provide detailed information about both courses to help you settle for the right one to secure professional advancement. 

What is Leading SAFe?

The Leading SAFe certification poses as a benchmark for enterprises following Lean-Agile methods. It ensures that your career scope in terms of opportunities and value broadens. According to various surveys, the SAFe or Scaled Agile Framework is the most popularly adopted enterprise agile perspective. Agile methodologies mostly work well in small teams. However, various organizations nowadays work across combined teams, complex geographies and systems. Thus Agile methodology is required to ensure faster delivery service, better quality creations and quick response to consumer queries. However, such large-scale transformation has a high risk of failure due to improper structure and procedures, resulting in not fulfilling the expected impact. 

SAFe ensures that a large-scale Agile team carries out Agile transformation seamlessly. The framework synchronizes collaboration, alignment and delivery of more than one agile team to pave the way for success. The upgraded version of SAFe offers business agility with advancements in strategy, implementation and leadership competencies to help organizations and individuals deliver effective business solutions and substitute the competitors. 

The demand for leading SAFe is rising as most top-rated companies employ SAFe in their teams. Earning SAFe course certifications gives you a leg up over your peers, and a Leading SAFe certification will raise your salary and provide other benefits. 

Organizational benefits include 

• Applying the SAFe knowledge in enterprise circumstances 
• Offers more worth 
• Improves communication and partnership across all assignments 
• Familiarizes Agile with your IT delivery unit and the whole enterprise 

Individual benefits include 

• Lead modification in Scrum units 
• Monetary benefits as a Scrum professional 
• Expands your career opportunities 
• Keeps up with the market trends 

The average salary of a SAFe Agilist professional can range up to $98k per annum. However, it is dependent upon the skills, work experience and the organization. As top enterprises are resorting to Agile, the number of jobs for Agile professionals to scale Agile and Lean approaches at diverse levels has also increased. 

SAFe Advanced Scrum Master 

As a scrum master professional in a SAFe enterprise, you will get the practical skills to train Agile crews in providing business significance. You will be provided with the tools and guidance to work efficiently in remote surroundings with dispersed units. 

The SAFe Advanced Scrum Master program or SASM training provides the right tools to improve any individual’s coaching and assistance skills, encourage continuous progress and dodge typical missteps. You will also learn to apply Kanban, Lean, DevOps, and SAFe regulations to improve the team and probable business results. You will upgrade your facilitation dexterities for key Agile and SAFe throughout teams and timezones. 

Equipping yourself with Scrum Master skills can help you deliver maximum worth at scale. You can learn how to plan and perform the Program Increment, the preliminary enabler to align the SAFe throughout all industry levels. Master the main elements of Agile in hierarchy development, learn how Scrum is fostered throughout the company, and build increased-performing Agile crews by becoming a trainer. The SAFe Scrum Master certification is a higher designation facilitated by Scaled Agile for professionals who can complete a two-day apprenticeship by a SAFe Program Advisor and exemplify their understanding of the same by passing the SAFe Advanced Scrum Master certification test. 

SAFe Scrum Masters assist agile development unit events by using Kanban and Scrum. You can also learn the method of assisting program execution. You will be equipped with the skills of coaching and helping Agile teams. The attendees of this course learn- 

• How to implement SAFe guidelines to enable and coach in a multi-crew environment 
• Improving facilitation skills to guide their team 
• Advancing your assisting skills for ART and execution and delivery of end-to-end value in group event planning 
• Adopting scalable engineering practices and DevOps, Kanban and Agile Architecture to help optimize the flow 
• Building communities to support and assist in ART efficiency and high-performing teams. 
• Leading distributed teams in remote areas with expertise. 

Leading SAFe vs SAFe Advanced Scrum Master   

The discussion over leading SAFe vs SAFe Advanced Scrum Master will help you decide which certification will give you the professional edge. 

Features	Certified SAFe Agilist	Certified SAFe Scrum Master
Certification	Leading SAFe Certification	SAFe Scrum Master
Attendees	Executives and Leaders  Development and QA  Managers, VPs, CIOs and Directors  Program and project managers  Infrastructure Management workforce  Product Line Managers  Enterprise, solution and system architects  PMO, Portfolio Managers and Process Lead	Program or Project Managers  Team Leads  Scrum Masters  Business Analysts  Release Train Engineers  Portfolio Managers  Agile Coaches  Consultants  Engineers  Architects  Developers  Quality Managers  Directors  Product Managers  Delivery Manager  Product Owner  Program Manager
Level	Foundational	Intermediate
Topics Covered	Becoming a lean-agile trainer  Thriving with Business Agility in the digital era  Establishing technical agility and team  Leading the change  Discovering Lean Portfolio management  Building solutions with the help of Agile Product Delivery	Introducing Scrum section in SAFe  Characterizing the significance of the Scrum Master  Finishing the PI  Experiencing PI arrangement  Assisting Iteration implementation
Eligibility	At least 5 years of job experience in software development, business analysis, testing, project or product management  Previous working experience in Scrum	Familiarity with principles and concepts of Agile, awareness of Kanban, Scrum and XP and working knowledge of hardware and software development processes  Experience of working in Lean-Agile surroundings
Exam Details	Total Questions: 45  Duration: 90 minutes  Passing Score: 77%	Total Questions: 45  Duration: 90 Minutes  Passing Score: 73%

Leading SAFe vs SAFe Advanced Scrum Master: Course Content  

The leading SAFe course introduces you to the scaled agile framework and helps you gain insights on creating a persisted delivery pipeline and establishing a DevOps organizational culture. The topics included are- 

• Introduction to the SAFe 
• Demonstrating technical and team agility 
• Becoming a Lean-Agile authority 
• Experiencing PI planning 
• Releasing on-market with the help of DevOps 
• Implementation of lean portfolio administration 
• Building lean systems and business solutions 
• Leading enterprise modification. 

On the other hand, SAFe Scrum master helps you understand the method of supporting rigorous improvement across the company and exploring the duty of the coach of agile teams. The topics included are- 

• Introduction of Scrum in SAFe 
• Characterization of the role of the scrum coach 
• Experiencing PI planning 
• Finishing PI 
• Enabling iteration execution 
• Training the agile team. 

Therefore both courses are significantly distinct from each other. 

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When Should You Go for These?  

You should opt for Leading SAFe if you are a product manager or product owner or have experience managing teams for a particular project. Once you have gained the necessary experience, you can take the course to manage projects and lead teams more efficiently. As you develop SAFe knowledge, you can next try for the SAFe advanced scrum management course to level yourself up and find more suitable jobs for your expertise. 

Which Certification is the Best?  

As we can confer from the previous demonstration on leading SAFe vs SAFe advanced scrum master program, both courses come in distinctive features. If you aim to have a broader understanding of the SAFe framework, then you should enroll in Leading SAFe or Agile Management Certification. But suppose you already have some knowledge of SAFe and want to advance your Scrum Master profession and apply for higher-paying on-demand jobs. In that case, you should opt for SAFe Scrum Master Certification via KnowledgeHut SASM training. So the choice is entirely dependent upon your professional goals and aspirations. 

Conclusion  

Leading SAFe and SAFe Scrum Master courses is an ideal program to follow the working methodologies of any organization. KnowledgeHut provides the training by an Agile authorized trainer who will help you go through the 16-hour training and guide you with the chapters where you would get stuck. You can then attend the 90-minute online exam and answer 45 MCQ questions. Once you successfully pass the exam, you can become a certified professional and apply for your dream job.