Organizing Teams and ARTs Around Value Competency
Business Problem
We struggle to organize our workforce effectively around our products to optimize speed and agility.
Business Outcomes
- Minimized handoffs and delays with streamlined value flow, speeding up time-to-market.
- Enhanced adaptability to quickly respond to market changes and emerging customer needs.
- Improved alignment and predictability in executing and delivering your overall solution vision and strategy.
Why is the Organizing Teams and ARTs Around Value Competency important?
Organizing Teams and ARTs Around Value is essential for successfully implementing the SAFe. The SAFe Implementation Roadmap outlines the step-by-step process for identifying how value flows in an organization and organizing ARTs and Agile Teams to align with this flow. This competency covers the steps related to launching Agile Teams and ARTs for the first time and also to reforming Agile Teams or ARTs when needed.
In addition to understanding these steps, successful change leaders must be skilled in communicating the importance and impact of organizing around value to others and influencing organizational change. Implementing this approach effectively requires educating stakeholders about the business rationale behind it and addressing various organizational challenges to foster a culture focused on value delivery.
Value streams, ARTs, and Agile Teams are the foundational structures for this competency. To employ this competency, you must invest time in discovering and improving how value flows throughout the organization. Although identifying these value streams can be time-consuming, this effort is essential for reaping the business benefits of SAFe. Rushing through or skipping this step can hinder progress, much like trying to accelerate while pressing the brake. Well-designed ARTs and Agile Teams based on value streams enable a SAFe organization to achieve its business goals and transformation outcomes.
Which roles would benefit from mastering this competency?
The key roles that need to excel in this competency include existing people managers, SPCs, RTEs, LACEs, and SM/TCs. Individuals in these roles are responsible for forming and launching ARTs and Agile Teams as well as ensuring a smooth and effective implementation of SAFe practices.
Learning about Organizing Teams and ARTs Around Value
The following resources can help you start your learning journey in Organizing Teams and Agile ARTs Around Value.
The SAFe Implementation Roadmap details the strategy and sequence of activities needed for a successful SAFe implementation. The steps shown in Figure 1 below focus on the initial organization of Agile Teams and ARTs around value.
Organize Around Value
Organizing around value requires a new model to facilitate value flow across silos and boundaries. In this article, you will read about the necessary steps to do so.
Create the Implementation Plan
Once you understand the flow of value, your focus will turn to selecting the first value stream and ART and possibly developing a plan for additional ARTs and value streams.
Prepare for ART Launch
After creating an implementation plan, which is essential for launching your first ART, this article outlines the necessary activities to prepare for the ART launch.
Train Teams and Launch the ART
This article explains how you will train teams and launch the ART to achieve real business benefits from the change.
Agile Teams
The Agile Team is the fundamental building block of ARTs; designing them is not an afterthought. Design them with the same care and attention that you give to creating a well-formed ART.
Organizing Portfolios SAFe Summit 2024 presentation
In this video, SAFe Fellow Eric Willeke describes each portfolio organization type. He also walks you through the benefits of organizations that apply different portfolio types. Combined with reading the articles, the video brings together the basic concepts of portfolio design.
Applying the Organizing Teams and ARTs Around Value Competency
As you begin applying the knowledge above to Organizing Teams and ARTs in your organization, consider the following tips:
- Start with Agile Teams – If you don’t have established teams, focus on building them first.
- Utilize SAFe workshops and toolkits – Check out SAFe toolkits and workshops developed from over a decade of experience, aimed at improving your understanding and application of SAFe practices.
- Observe ART launches – Utilize these events to learn from other organizations and expand your network of experienced SAFe change leaders. Consider participating in SAFe Meetup groups and attending industry events to maintain your learning momentum.
- Gather Lessons Learned – Follow SAFe guidance for your initial Agile Release Train (ART) launch. After gaining that experience, assess which elements are most beneficial for your organization and adapt as needed.
Here are some useful resources to apply as you organize Agile Teams and ARTs around Value:
SAFe Value Stream and ART Identification Workshop
The SAFe Value Stream and ART Identification Workshop offers resources for organizing a workshop to define Value Streams and ARTs. You can find this workshop on the Toolkits page of SAFe Studio.
SAFe PI Planning Toolkit
You can find the SAFe PI Planning Toolkit on the Toolkits page of SAFe Studio. After completing the Value Stream and ART Identification Workshop, the toolkit can be used to prepare for the first ART launch.
SAFe Fellow Blog | Five use Cases for an Agile Release Tram
What if your potential ART doesn’t align perfectly with the recommendations of the SAFe framework? Check out this blog post by SAFe Fellow Em Campbell-Pretty, which provides practical advice for an ART that is smaller than the recommended minimum size of five teams and 50 people.
Implementing SAFe certification course
A SAFe Practice Consultant (SPC) is a certified SAFe professional who helps organizations implement SAFe and adopt Lean-Agile practices. SPCs have the training to launch new value streams and organize Agile Teams and ARTs. Upon becoming certified, SPCs have access to the full list of workshops referenced in this article.
Mastering the Organizing Teams and ARTs Around Value Competency
As you and your colleagues in your organization develop the competency of Organizing Teams and ARTs around value, you will see significant improvements in the flow of value throughout your organization. Leaders, stakeholders, and teams will gain a clear understanding of the enterprise’s operational and development value streams. This understanding fosters trust, support, and, ultimately, participation in aligning ARTs and teams to these value streams. Leaders and stakeholders can agree on which priority value stream to focus on, allowing them to prioritize an ART for that focus. This can involve launching a new ART or reorganizing an existing one.
By mastering this competency, you will acquire the skills and confidence to effectively apply the SAFe Implementation Roadmap within your organization. You will utilize proven SAFe resources, such as workshops and toolkits while integrating best practices that are specific to your organization into a cohesive implementation plan. This comprehensive plan will include training—both in SAFe and domain-specific areas—as well as the formation of teams and ARTs. Both ARTs and teams will be well-structured and equipped to deliver significant value to the customer.
When you master and apply this competency, you will unlock substantial advantages for your organization. By structuring your teams and Agile Release Trains (ARTs) for success and utilizing metrics that provide insights for learning and adaptation, you can help them become high performers. With Teams and ARTs aligned to value your organization will maintain a steady and continuous flow of value to your customers. Ultimately, mastering this competency will empower you to leverage your strengths in SAFe practices, leading to measurable business benefits.
Continuing your journey through the Product Development Flow Discipline
Accelerating Product Flow Competency
The Accelerating Product Flow competency involves streamlining and optimizing every stage of the product development process, from ideation to launch. Measuring flow is a great first step for new Agile Teams and ARTs as a first step to this competency.
ART Execution Core Competency (Coming Soon)
This competency helps Agile Teams discover practices that help them work effectively across an ART, delivering integrated value together.
Last Update: 20 March 2026