SPC Advisor - Everything About SAFe Practice Consultants

SAFe® Practice Consultants (SPCs) are change agents who deliver transformational results to companies by integrating their technical expertise with their inherent interest in improving their software and systems development processes. They play an essential role in the successful implementation of SAFe. 

An SPC can have a range of responsibilities, from being a business and technology leader to being a portfolio leader, program leader, project manager, process leader, architect, analyst, and consultant. Discover how  SPC Certification helps IT teams collaborate to deliver value across the business with a common language and tools.

With the help of SPC certification, Large teams are encouraged to align, be transparent, collaborate, and deliver results using SAFe. Identified as four areas of knowledge, SAFe is built on agile software development, lean product development, systems thinking, and DevOps.  

Due to SAFe's four core values, it can achieve business agility 

• Alignment- A single goal is attained by aligning the entire organization. Market forces that disrupt and compete negatively affect organizations that diverge from their original goals. A remote workforce that is misaligned won't perform well. Working with geographically dispersed teams is challenging when departments work in silos.
• Built-In Quality refers to the requirement to build superior quality products from the start. The ability to add quality later cannot be achieved. Lean-Agile emphasizes the quality of products. 
• Transparency- Developing products is never easy. Being closed does not allow facts to be revealed, which leads to assumptions being formed. Transparency comes before trust. Organizations and teams that perform well do not exist without trust. 
• Program Execution- Worked products confirm the progress made. Delivering business value to customers should be the goal of every business.

With Agile Release Trains (ARTs) made possible by SAFe, businesses can have working systems and meaningful outcomes. The SAFe framework has been around for a decade and is now the most popular tool for building enterprise-level products.

What is SPC - SAFe Practice Consultant 

The success of large-scale organizational changes depends on having a clear vision for the future and having broad internal support. The SAFe implementation will succeed only if there is sufficient participation and collaboration among participants, as per SAFe's principles.

The SAFe Practice Consultant (SPC) plays the leading role in this transformation. As an SPC, you have the responsibility of establishing the new organization. During SAFe training, you assist colleagues in finding their way in their new roles. Having started the process, SPC then ensures that everyone continues in the right direction and maintains the momentum that they have initiated.

SAFe® 6.0 Certified Practice Consultant 

Certified SAFe® 6 Practice Consultants (SPCs) train leaders, change agents, consultants, and team members to implement Lean-Agile transformations at the enterprise scale. This professional’s capabilities are designing SAFe implementations, launching and facilitating Agile Release Trains (ARTs), and expanding the Lean-Agile portfolio.

Profile of an SPC - Roles & Responsibilities 

Roles 

According to the Implementation Roadmap series, changes in development practices and behaviours are among the most challenging issues enterprises face. A powerful and effective coalition of stakeholders is essential to achieving meaningful and long-lasting change. Several of these attributes are associated with experienced and trained SPCs in a news organization implementing SAFe.

In order to implement SAFe effectively in an enterprise, it is necessary to:

• Business leaders who have a vision are able to lead by example and remove obstacles.
• Change agents, executives, managers, and practitioners responsible for implementing specific process improvements.
• For an organization to be taken seriously, it must be credible.
• Experts who can provide the required expertise.

Responsibilities 

The SPCs are responsible for many of the activities identified in the ten critical moves in the SAFe Implementation Roadmap as knowledgeable change agents. Their responsibilities include:

1. Achieving the tipping point - They convey the business requirement, the urgency, and the vision for change.

2. Train executives, managers, and leaders - They introduce new concepts and provide orientation and overview training. Leading SAFe and modules from the Leading in the Digital Age series are taught by SPCs to executives, managers, and stakeholders.

3. Team training and launching ART - SPCs typically direct or support the steps of a "quickstart" or another rollout strategy. They train teams or supply them with training and participate in the initial, critical events such as Program Increment Planning and Inspection and Adaptation (I&A). The SPCs help establish the launch date of ART and the event calendar for Team and ART events.

4. Establishing a Lean-Agile Center of Excellence (LACE) - SPCs work with the LACE to build and execute a transformation backlog.

5. Executing ART with coaching- The vision, the road map, and the program’s backlog are all created and maintained by stakeholders and coaches. They provide coaching to teams, Product Owners, Architects, Product Managers, and Real-Time Engineers. As well as working on Scrum of Scrums and System Demos, they facilitate I&A and continue to improve items that are identified. Finally, they assist teams in developing DevOps mindsets and cultures, emphasizing heavily on Continuous Delivery Pipelines, infrastructure, and automated testing practices.

6. Added momentum - A SAFe journey doesn't end after launching trains and adopting Lean Portfolio Management. A lean professional must be knowledgeable about all of the seven competencies of the Lean Enterprise to contribute to their company's agility. Utilizing Measure & Grow assessments can help businesses understand where they stand in terms of business agility. The SPCs can help enterprises create action plans for growth across the 21 dimensions of the SAFe competencies, as well as develop action plans for enterprises.

7. Planning the rollout - SPCs create the implementation plan, communicate upcoming changes, and establish metrics.

8.   Portfolio expansion - Lean and Agile practices can then be socialized and guided by portfolio-level SPCs, including Portfolio Vision, Participatory Budgeting and Guardrails, Lean Portfolio Management, leaner approaches to CapEx, and OpEx, and Agile Contracts. In addition, they convey the importance of Strategic Themes.

9. Using Agile Release Trains (ART) to identify value streams - Identifying Operational Value Streams, Development Value Streams, and ARTs are part of SPC's role in working with stakeholders to understand the flow of value and identify launch opportunities.

10.  ART launch preparations - LACE plans and prepares for its ART launch with the help of SPCs. The SPCs provide leadership coaching and facilitate the creation of new Agile Teams. Lastly, they provide training for executives, leaders, Agile teams, and special roles such as Product Owners, Product Managers, Scrum Masters, and Release Train Engineers (RTEs). The team also evaluates and evolves readiness for launches and backlogs.

How to Get SPC Certification?

Now it's easier than ever to earn the SPC certification. The following steps must be followed:  

• Enroll for SPC certification training: The KnowledgeHut offers SPC certification training and Agile courses online with trainers as SAFe Practice Consultant Trainers (SPCTs) lead the course.  
• Taking the exam: The fee is included in the registration fee for those taking the certification exam within 30 days after the course. For retakes or attempts beyond 30 days, there is a $250 fee.  
• Earn your SPC certification: Get your SPC certification from Scaled Agile by scoring at least 75% (45/60).  

Check out expert tips for getting a SAFe certification in your first attempt and more.

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Already An SPC? Here is what's next! 

We look forward to welcoming you to the SAFe community. Learn about the perks of being an Agile coach and a SAFe Practice Consultant and become a member of the SAFe Community. The following SAFe community advantages include: 

• Efficacious SAFe inplementation and transformations require performance toolkits. 
• The performance toolkit and how to teach SAFe certification courses are covered in tutorial videos. 
• Agile Trainer and Coach professional development videos.
• Shared knowledge and ideas with fellow SPCs and members of the community.

Conclusion 

The SAFe Practice Consultant (SPC) certification will enable these skills to be developed: 

• Defining vision, guiding, and removing hurdles are needed.
• Individuals can affect particular processes through their management and leadership.  
• Leaders who possess the highest organizational authority and credibility.
• Knowledgeable decision-makers capable of making quick and smart decisions.

Check KnowledgeHut SPC certification for more info on SPC job roles and skills needed.