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.
In this feature, SPCT Alaide Pitombeira shares a vital tactical approach to navigating complex environments by prioritizing cross-team dependencies over plan perfection.
💡 Tip of the Week: Decouple Dependencies Early: Refocusing PI Planning on Value Flow
When applying SAFe in a complex environment, I treat the Program Increment (PI) Planning preparation and cadence as non-negotiable. However, the critical shift I always advocate is moving the primary focus away from building "perfect plans" and toward ruthlessly surfacing and decoupling cross-team dependencies before and during the event.
In complex organizations, plans on paper can easily create an illusion of certainty. What truly determines whether teams can execute smoothly is how cleanly work flows across organizational boundaries. When cross-team dependencies remain hidden or unaddressed, even the most meticulous schedule will break down. By treating dependency visibility and decoupling as the primary objective, you resolve friction before it compounds.
A few practices I rely on to support this approach include:
- Visualizing the work continuously: Whether using roadmaps, boards, or backlog management tools, clear visibility into work in progress helps highlight bottlenecks and dependencies early so we can make better decisions.
- Leveraging structured visibility tools: I frequently recommend Big Picture for day-to-day execution because it provides a clear, structured view that connects strategy, portfolio, program, and team levels in a way stakeholders can readily follow.
- Grounding decisions in foundational principles: For practitioners navigating structural challenges, I recommend Dean Leffingwell’s Agile Software Requirements, which details the core thinking and context behind scaling Agile practices.
Ultimately, my advice is to stop chasing cosmetic plan perfection. Focus your preparation and cadence conversations on identifying where teams intersect, surfacing the friction, and actively decoupling those dependencies so value can flow.
