Common Mistakes Teams Make with Features and Capabilities

Blog Author

Siddharth

Published

8 Jul, 2025

Common Mistakes Teams Make with Features and Capabilities

When you work in a SAFe environment, it’s easy to assume your team is handling features and capabilities the right way. But here’s the thing—most teams fall into the same traps, and these mistakes can wreck predictability, value delivery, and team morale. Let’s break down the most common mistakes and, more importantly, how to sidestep them.

1. Vague or Overly Broad Feature Definitions

What goes wrong:
Teams often write features and capabilities that sound impressive but say almost nothing specific. You’ll see features like “Improve platform performance” or “Enhance user experience.” Everyone nods, but nobody knows what’s actually being built.

Why it happens:

Teams rush through feature writing to get things ‘into the backlog.’
Product Owners/Managers avoid specifics to “stay flexible.”

How to fix it:

Use a consistent, clear template (like “As a [role], I want [something] so that [benefit].”)
Always include acceptance criteria. If you can’t test it, it’s not clear enough.
Validate features with the team before committing. If a developer can’t explain the feature in their own words, it’s not clear.

If you’re serious about getting this right, start by deepening your skills through formal training. Check out Leading SAFe Agilist Certification Training for the foundational mindset.

2. Confusing Features with Stories (or Vice Versa)

What goes wrong:
Features end up at the same level of detail as user stories, or even worse, stories masquerade as features in the backlog. This creates a mess where teams are always working “too small” or “too big.”

Why it happens:

The team hasn’t aligned on the hierarchy: Epic > Capability > Feature > Story.
Pressure to show progress means everything gets broken down too soon.

How to fix it:

Take the time to educate everyone on the SAFe hierarchy.
Make sure each feature provides real value to a business or customer segment, and each story is a step toward delivering that feature.
Use SAFe Product Owner/Product Manager (POPM) Certification as a baseline learning step for your PO/PMs.

3. Features That Don’t Tie to Business Objectives

What goes wrong:
Teams push features into development because they sound useful or someone influential requested them, not because they’re actually linked to the solution’s business goals or customer needs.

Why it happens:

Lack of alignment with Lean Portfolio Management or ART vision.
Features are sometimes written in isolation, without proper context or feedback loops.

How to fix it:

Map each feature to a specific OKR, PI Objective, or Epic.
During PI Planning, always ask, “What business value does this feature drive?”
For teams struggling with alignment, SAFe Scrum Master Certification often provides the structure and techniques to bridge this gap.

4. Gold-Plating and Overengineering Features

What goes wrong:
Teams get carried away trying to build the “perfect” solution and overcomplicate features with unnecessary bells and whistles.

Why it happens:

Developers enjoy solving hard problems and can lose sight of what’s actually needed.
Lack of strong acceptance criteria or definition of done.

How to fix it:

Set “good enough” as the target, not “perfect.”
Prioritize features using WSJF (Weighted Shortest Job First) or similar lean prioritization techniques. Scaled Agile’s guidance on WSJF is a solid external resource for this.
Regularly review features mid-iteration. If something starts ballooning, call it out and refocus on the MVP.

5. Ignoring Non-Functional Requirements

What goes wrong:
Performance, security, scalability—these are often left as afterthoughts. Teams focus on delivering visible functionality, but skip the “invisible” requirements that keep products stable and safe.

Why it happens:

Non-functional requirements (NFRs) aren’t written down.
They’re assumed to be “obvious” or “engineering’s job.”

How to fix it:

Attach relevant NFRs to every feature in the backlog.
Make NFRs part of your Definition of Done.
For advanced approaches, consider SAFe Advanced Scrum Master Certification Training, which digs into managing system qualities.

6. Not Slicing Features for Iterative Delivery

What goes wrong:
Features are written too large to fit in a single PI or iteration, so they end up “in progress” for months. Teams struggle to show real progress, and dependencies multiply.

Why it happens:

Fear of missing out on value if the feature is sliced too small.
Lack of know-how on effective slicing techniques.

How to fix it:

Break features into thin vertical slices—each slice should deliver user-visible value.
Use techniques like workflow steps, personas, or scenarios to create meaningful slices.
Teams on ARTs benefit from SAFe Release Train Engineer Certification Training to improve program-level feature management.

7. Poor Collaboration Across Teams

What goes wrong:
Features and capabilities get tossed over the wall from Product Management to the teams. Feedback is slow, and dependencies turn into blockers.

Why it happens:

Siloed working practices, lack of joint backlog refinement.
Minimal input from developers, testers, and architects during feature definition.

How to fix it:

Co-create features and capabilities in collaborative workshops.
Involve architects and system teams early when capabilities are being defined.
Regular ART syncs help maintain alignment and surface risks early.

Want more practical strategies for team-of-teams collaboration? Start with a SAFe Scrum Master Certification.

8. Capabilities That Are Too High-Level or Abstract

What goes wrong:
Capabilities get written so broadly that they lose practical meaning. Teams don’t know how to decompose them, and they get stuck at the top of the backlog.

Why it happens:

Unclear ownership between Solution Management and ARTs.
Pressure to “think big” without follow-up planning.

How to fix it:

Make sure every capability is actionable and can be split into discrete features.
Set clear ownership and refinement cadence for capabilities.

9. Not Regularly Reviewing and Refining the Backlog

What goes wrong:
Backlogs fill up with old, outdated, or irrelevant features and capabilities. Teams waste time grooming items that should just be deleted.

Why it happens:

Nobody feels responsible for “backlog hygiene.”
Features and capabilities are treated as “write once, never review.”

How to fix it:

Set a regular cadence for backlog review (before each PI Planning session is a good start).
Empower POs and PMs to ruthlessly remove or rework items that no longer add value.

10. Rushing Feature Handoffs and Neglecting Acceptance Criteria

What goes wrong:
Features are handed off with incomplete or missing acceptance criteria, causing confusion and rework.

Why it happens:

Stakeholders are in a hurry to ‘move forward.’
Teams don’t push back on unclear handoffs.

How to fix it:

Never accept a feature into a sprint or PI without clear, agreed-upon acceptance criteria.
Use backlog refinement sessions to get buy-in from the whole team.

Wrapping Up

None of these mistakes are unique. Every mature SAFe organization has battled with at least a few. The trick is to spot them early, make some practical adjustments, and build a culture that values clarity and regular improvement.

If you’re looking to go deeper, invest in professional development. Certifications like Leading SAFe Agilist, SAFe POPM, and SAFe Advanced Scrum Master aren’t just about passing an exam—they’re about building habits that last.

Want more real-world examples or have a specific challenge with features and capabilities? Drop your situation in the comments or reach out directly. No theory—just practical advice, from one team to another.