The Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe) is a powerful framework that enables Lean-Agile and DevOps teams to increase efficiency, improve customer satisfaction, and create organizational change at scale. By leveraging the core values of SAFe – Alignment, Transparency, Respect for People and Relentless Improvement – organizations can build the beliefs that SAFe’s practices depend on. In this blog post, we’ll dive into each of these core values and how they can empower your organization to implement SAFe successfully.
Four Scaled Agile Framework core values
SAFe’s four core values are Alignment, Transparency, Respect for People, and Relentless Improvement. According to the SAFe framework site, they are the foundational beliefs behind SAFe’s effectiveness. They guide the behaviour of everyone in a SAFe portfolio, and leaders help the organization adopt them by modeling them in their words and actions. The framework draws on Agile, Lean, systems thinking, DevOps and value stream management, but these four beliefs come first. Without them, SAFe’s practices are unlikely to deliver the business results that motivated adopting it.
The values published in earlier SAFe releases were Alignment, Built-in Quality, Transparency and Program Execution. Alignment and Transparency carry over. Built-in Quality and Program Execution are not among the four core values listed on the framework site today.
Alignment
Alignment is the first of the four core values. On the SAFe site, the full description of each value sits behind a login, so this post does not expand on it beyond the value’s name.
Transparency
Transparency is the second core value. See the SAFe framework site for the official description.
Respect for People
Respect for People is the third core value. See the SAFe framework site for the official description.
Relentless Improvement
Relentless Improvement is the fourth core value. See the SAFe framework site for the official description.
Where the Core Values Fit in SAFe
On the framework site, the core values appear alongside the Lean-Agile mindset and the SAFe principles as the base of the Big Picture, labelled “Mindset, Values, and Principles”. They are the starting point for the five Disciplines, and the Leadership and Culture Discipline is where they are put into practice.
That Discipline expects leaders to embody the Lean-Agile mindset, demonstrate the core values consistently and apply the SAFe principles. Their behaviour is meant to guide the organization toward a culture that is more generative and focused on performance. The Discipline lists four main elements:
- Become Lean-Agile leaders: leaders model the mindset and behaviours that business agility needs.
- Build an adaptive operating model with SAFe: leaders move the organization from siloed departments to value streams and Agile Release Trains (ARTs), and tailor SAFe to their context.
- Empower a continuous learning culture: shared knowledge, quick experiments, Communities of Practice and data-driven improvement help the organization adapt.
- Build a guiding coalition: a group of respected leaders, supported by SAFe Practice Consultants, a Lean-Agile Center of Excellence and local champions, sustains the change.
The Lean-Agile Mindset
SAFe describes the Lean-Agile mindset as the beliefs, attitudes and actions of leaders and practitioners who embrace Lean thinking and the Agile Manifesto. Its argument is that agility depends more on mindset than on practices. Mindsets act as lenses shaped by experience, education and work culture, and they can help or hinder people without their noticing. People therefore need to understand the ideas behind Lean and Agile, not only follow their rules, so that the workplace keeps improving and stays open to change.
The Ten SAFe Principles
The principles turn the values into guidance for everyday decisions. Scaled Agile lists ten:
- Take an economic view: weigh risk, cost of delay and development and operational costs.
- Apply systems thinking: improving one part does not improve the whole, so keep the larger system’s aim in view.
- Assume variability; preserve options: keep several designs open longer and let evidence narrow the choice.
- Build incrementally with fast, integrated learning cycles: short iterations give quick feedback and reduce risk.
- Base milestones on objective evaluation of working systems: measure progress by evaluating working solutions at integration points.
- Make value flow without interruptions: remove the obstacles that slow value delivery.
- Apply cadence, synchronize with cross-domain planning: regular rhythms and coordinated planning help handle uncertainty.
- Unlock the intrinsic motivation of knowledge workers: use autonomy and purpose rather than individual incentives, which can cause internal competition.
- Decentralize decision-making: let people closest to the work decide, and keep strategic decisions central.
- Organize around value: structure teams around value rather than functional silos, and reorganize as value needs change.
Putting the Values to Work
The full description of each value is behind the SAFe login, so these steps rest on what the framework site shows publicly: leaders carry the values by modeling them, and the Leadership and Culture Discipline is where that is organised.
- Name the four values in your transformation case and make clear that leaders are expected to model them in what they say and do.
- Check your operating model against the Disciplines: are teams organised around value streams and ARTs, or still in functional silos?
- Use the ten principles as a checklist when reviewing a decision, for example whether it takes an economic view or keeps value flowing without interruption.
- Build a guiding coalition of respected leaders, and bring in SAFe Practice Consultants, a Lean-Agile Center of Excellence and local champions to support it.
- Make learning routine through Communities of Practice and quick experiments.
Learning the Values in a Course
The SAFe Agilist exam gives the mindset, values and principles area (including using AI) 18-21% of its weighting, according to Scaled Agile. You can study it in the two-day Leading SAFe course. For the Scrum Master view of how these values show up in team practice, see the SAFe Scrum Master course. Additional discounts are available. Contact us to know more.
Best Courses to Learn the Scaled Agile Framework
The Scaled Agile Framework offers organizations looking to streamline their methods an effective and reliable model for increased agility. There are many online courses available that can give you an understanding of how it works. In particular, the SAFe Practice Consultant (SPC) course offered by Scaled Agile Academy provides a comprehensive introduction to the framework, with industry experts providing guidance on its implementation and application.
Additionally, organizations can also benefit hugely from attending expert-led workshops on the topic or seeking advice from specialized consultants. With so many resources available to facilitate learning, organizations have plenty of options when it comes to getting up to speed on the Scaled Agile Framework. At AgileFever, we provide the following courses to teach the scaled agile framework.
Updated October 2026: Scaled Agile has dropped version numbers from course and certification names, and its courses are now AI-Empowered SAFe courses. Certified professionals get the SAFe CoPilot AI assistant, and certifications renew every year. If you are new to SAFe, start with Leading SAFe (SAFe Agilist).
- Implementing SAFe® (SPC Certification): It provides a comprehensive roadmap for scaling Agile and DevOps best practices, enabling customers to deliver effective solutions and accelerate enterprise transformations.
- SAFe® Release Train Engineer Training (RTE Certification): Obtaining a SAFe® Release Train Engineer (RTE) Certification helps professionals become accomplished in the full range of RTE responsibilities, including guiding Agile teams, helping manage an Agile Release Train, collaborating with key stakeholders, and delivering value.
- SAFe Scrum Master Training (SSM Certification): The SAFe Scrum Master Certification program is an immersive learning experience, delivering a comprehensive overview of the most effective frameworks and techniques employed in Agile project management.
- SAFe For Government Certification Training: It combines theoretical instruction and learning materials with hands-on labs for an interactive learning experience that provides users with the agile project management skills necessary for success.
- SAFe® DevOps Certification Training: This is an essential course for professionals looking to decrease cycle time and maximize value creation. Participants will work in a small group environment, enabling them to gain practical experience through simulations of real-world situations.
- SAFe Advanced Scrum Master Certification Training: It is a comprehensive certification course designed to equip individuals with the advanced skills and understanding required to become an effective Safe Agile practitioner.
- Lean Portfolio Management Training (LPM Certification): LPM certification helps build a process that is flexible and responsive and delivers value by enabling an enterprise to quickly adapt to changing market demands and customer expectations in real time.
Conclusion
We’ve looked at some of the best courses to learn the Scaled Agile Framework. The important thing is that you find a course or program that fits your needs and helps you understand the principles behind this growing methodology. With so many benefits, it’s worth taking the time to learn and implement the Scaled Agile Framework in your business.
