Building and maintaining the architectural runway is one of the key factors in successful Agile delivery at scale. The runway provides the foundational technical capabilities needed to support new features, support business objectives, and adapt to emerging needs. In the Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe), enablers play a crucial role in constructing and evolving this runway, ensuring that teams can deliver value efficiently and sustainably.

What Is the Architectural Runway in SAFe?

The architectural runway refers to the existing code, components, technical infrastructure, and tools that allow teams to develop and deliver business features without major redesigns or delays. It’s not a static artifact but a continuously evolving foundation. A robust runway reduces friction, lowers technical risk, and provides the flexibility to respond to changes in strategy or market conditions.

You can think of the architectural runway as the “track” on which new features can be delivered. If the track is incomplete or unstable, development slows down or derails. SAFe recognizes this and integrates runway management into both team-level and program-level planning.

The Role of Enablers in SAFe

In SAFe, enablers are backlog items that support exploration, architecture, infrastructure, and compliance. Unlike business features, which deliver direct user value, enablers provide the underlying capability that makes future features possible or more efficient. They can take the form of:

• Architectural spikes

• Infrastructure build-outs

• Prototypes and research

• Tools and automation scripts

• Exploration of new technologies

Enablers are essential for balancing the need for short-term value with long-term scalability and technical health.

How Enablers Build the Architectural Runway

1. Identifying Gaps and Future Needs

A healthy runway starts with understanding both current and future technical requirements. Enablers give teams structured opportunities to explore new domains, assess gaps, and validate architectural decisions early. For example, an enabler might address an anticipated need for cloud migration, containerization, or compliance with a new security standard.

These enablers are captured in the program and team backlogs, ensuring architectural work receives equal visibility alongside business features. For professionals looking to deepen their understanding of this balance, the Leading SAFe Agilist Certification Training explores how architectural vision aligns with program execution.

2. Supporting Incremental Architecture

SAFe encourages incremental architecture—building just enough runway to support the upcoming set of features without overdesigning. Enablers support this approach by breaking large technical initiatives into smaller, manageable parts that can be delivered and validated iteratively. This helps avoid “big design up front” and allows architectural decisions to evolve based on real feedback.

Teams use enablers to:

• Refactor code for scalability

• Introduce new frameworks or APIs

• Pilot new cloud services or microservices

• Implement security protocols

By incrementally extending the runway, organizations reduce technical debt and keep architecture aligned with business goals.

3. Facilitating Exploration and Innovation

The technology landscape shifts rapidly, and teams must explore new tools, platforms, and patterns. Enablers fund time for experimentation—what SAFe calls exploration enablers. These might include proofs of concept, technology evaluations, or prototyping new user experiences.

This investment enables organizations to try out ideas, fail fast, and select the most promising directions without jeopardizing current delivery. The SAFe Product Owner/Product Manager (POPM) Certification goes deep into how POPMs prioritize these exploratory initiatives to deliver value while mitigating risk.

4. Creating and Upgrading Infrastructure

Many architectural runway gaps relate to infrastructure—CI/CD pipelines, automated testing, deployment environments, and monitoring tools. Infrastructure enablers help establish or upgrade these foundations. For example, setting up a Kubernetes cluster or automating regression tests can be critical enablers for accelerating future delivery.

With the right enablers, teams can reduce manual work, shorten feedback loops, and deliver features more reliably. The importance of DevOps and infrastructure enablers is covered in detail in SAFe Scrum Master Certification training.

5. Ensuring Compliance and Quality

Some industries require strict compliance with regulations, security standards, or performance benchmarks. Compliance enablers ensure that architecture supports these requirements. For example, integrating data encryption or audit logging capabilities early prevents costly rework later.

Making compliance a shared responsibility—by planning enablers for these needs—means less disruption and more predictable delivery. Learn more about scaling quality practices with the SAFe Advanced Scrum Master Certification Training.

Enablers at Every Level of SAFe

SAFe distinguishes between different levels of planning—team, ART (Agile Release Train), Solution Train, and Portfolio. Enablers can exist at each level:

• Team Enablers: Address technical needs at the team level, such as refactoring or introducing automated tests.

• Program Enablers: Focus on architectural or infrastructure needs across the Agile Release Train.

• Solution Enablers: For large systems, support cross-ART architectural work.

• Portfolio Enablers: Address enterprise-wide architectural strategy and governance.

You can read more about these levels and how they interact in the official SAFe Enablers guidance.

Example: Enablers in Action

Suppose a digital banking platform needs to support real-time fraud detection. The architectural runway must include:

• Real-time data streaming capabilities

• Scalable machine learning infrastructure

• Secure APIs for transaction monitoring

These don’t provide direct business value immediately but are critical enablers for delivering future fraud detection features. Teams may plan enablers like setting up event streaming platforms (e.g., Apache Kafka), building out a data science environment, or prototyping a real-time analytics dashboard.

As enablers deliver new capabilities, business features become easier and faster to implement. Without these enablers, the organization would struggle to deliver high-value features at speed.

Prioritizing Enablers in the Backlog

One of the strengths of SAFe is that enablers and features are both visible in the backlog. Product Managers, Product Owners, System Architects, and Release Train Engineers work together to prioritize enablers alongside business work.

During PI Planning, enablers get dedicated capacity—often called “architectural runway budget.” This proactive allocation prevents architecture and infrastructure from becoming an afterthought. The SAFe Release Train Engineer Certification Training details best practices for facilitating these trade-offs and ensuring runway health.

Balancing Short-Term Value with Long-Term Sustainability

Teams sometimes face pressure to focus only on features that deliver immediate business value. Neglecting enablers can lead to a brittle architecture, mounting technical debt, and slower delivery cycles. Organizations that succeed with SAFe treat architectural work as a first-class citizen and invest consistently in their runway.

Regularly reviewing and updating the runway with targeted enablers ensures that future features can be delivered with lower risk and higher quality. SAFe’s principles emphasize building quality in from the start, which relies on strong collaboration between roles.

To see real-world examples of architectural enablers, the Scaled Agile case studies provide detailed stories of organizations scaling their technical foundations.

Metrics: How Do You Know If the Runway Is Healthy?

Key indicators of a healthy architectural runway include:

• Fast lead times for new features

• Low frequency of technical debt spikes

• Consistent deployment frequency

• Low defect rates related to architecture or infrastructure

Measuring these outcomes helps teams adjust the balance of feature and enabler work over time.

Conclusion

Enablers are not just technical chores—they are the strategic investments that keep the architectural runway strong and the organization agile. By making enablers visible, prioritized, and integrated into regular planning, SAFe empowers teams to deliver customer value at scale without sacrificing technical integrity.

Anyone looking to master this balance between architecture and business delivery will find in-depth guidance through certifications like Leading SAFe Agilist Certification Training, SAFe Product Owner/Product Manager Certification, and the SAFe Scrum Master Certification.

For more best practices, visit the official SAFe Enablers documentation and stay current with Scaled Agile’s resource hub.

---

 

Also read - Enablers vs Features in SAFe: What's the Difference?