Each week in SAFe Connect, we share one practical tip from a member of the community to help you apply SAFe in more meaningful ways. This week, Randy Smith shares a practical approach to planning in complex environments: build the plan together, but make room for the reality that things will change.
💡 Tip of the Week: Plan Together, Then Expect Reality to Intervene
I think of planning as an exercise in ordering a backlog together. The collaborative part matters because we’re working through priorities as a group and creating a shared plan for what we intend to accomplish.
But it’s still a plan—and that plan will collide with reality.
That’s why I use Uncommitted Objectives to help manage what might drop out. They give us a practical way to acknowledge uncertainty rather than pretending everything in the plan is guaranteed.
My approach is simple:
- Order the backlog together. Treat planning as a collaborative exercise rather than something handed to the team.
- Expect the plan to change. A useful plan doesn’t require certainty; it needs to help us navigate what happens next.
- Use Uncommitted Objectives intentionally. They can help manage the work that may need to drop out when reality changes the plan.
- Focus on the fundamentals first. For PI Planning, I’ve learned to get the basics right before worrying about making the experience beautiful.
That same focus on what works shapes how I keep learning. I stay current through emails and blog posts, and I recommend XPlane’s change toolkits because, as long as I’ve been doing this work, I’ve found that it’s really about change in the human system.
One of my favorite pieces of advice came from a fortune cookie: “To teach is to learn twice.” Sharing what I know helps reinforce my own learning, too.
For me, effective planning isn’t about creating a perfect prediction. It’s about working together to create a useful plan, acknowledging uncertainty, and staying ready to adapt when reality inevitably arrives.
