Getting Started Guide for SAFe Scrum Masters

Introduction

Welcome to the team! You are now the SAFe® Scrum Master on an Agile Release Train (ART). Congratulations!

You’re probably excited to get started and look forward to being part of something BIG. If the butterflies are setting in, don’t worry, this guide will help you understand the key steps you need to take in the first 30-60 days to be viewed as a capable SAFe Scrum Master.

Before we begin, please note that this guide is a handy checklist of the primary responsibilities and activities expected of you as a Scrum Master. It will set you and your team on a path to success. In many examples, we will use software development teams to explain a concept. However, know that many other types of teams, like marketing, compliance, regulation, training, or other areas of innovation are using SAFe in similar ways.

This guide will not cover the critical values, principles, and key agile mindset training you will need to bring the most value to the ART in your role as a Scrum Master. Refer to the Scaled Agile Website for a review of the Lean-Agile mindset.

The First Days

During your first few days on the ART, you may notice that you are part of a large organization building multi-faceted products with many moving parts. You may see anywhere from 5-12 teams talking to each other, working out dependencies, and negotiating estimates.

What you are witnessing is the proper application of the SAFe framework, a framework designed to help large organizations simplify the process of building complex systems.

You might be wondering how I can add the most value to this organization.

Dive in and download your free copy of The SAFe Scrum Master Starter Guide 2.0 to learn more about how you can contribute to your team and ART!