In SAFe (Scaled Agile Framework), ensuring alignment between architecture and business strategy is a key factor in driving long-term success. One essential component for achieving this alignment is the Architectural Runway—the technical foundation that enables the organization to deliver features quickly and with high quality. But how do you ensure this foundation remains robust over time? The answer lies in Enablers, the technical work items that directly support the creation and expansion of the Architectural Runway.

This post will explore how Enablers are mapped to the Architectural Runway in SAFe portfolios, why it matters, and how this approach facilitates faster and more sustainable product development.

What Are Enablers?

Enablers are work items that support the architecture, infrastructure, compliance, and research needed to deliver high-value business features. These can include:

• Infrastructure work: Setting up servers, cloud environments, or CI/CD pipelines.

• Architecture work: Building frameworks, defining security models, or designing core APIs.

• Compliance and governance: Meeting security or regulatory requirements.

• Exploratory work: Researching new technologies to assess their feasibility.

These Enablers ensure that Agile teams have the right architecture, tools, and environments in place, allowing them to implement business features effectively without being hindered by technical debt or poor infrastructure.

What Is Architectural Runway in SAFe?

The Architectural Runway refers to the foundational technical capabilities that allow a team to build, release, and deploy business features. It's designed to evolve in tandem with the business needs, supporting future development without slowing down delivery. The Architectural Runway enables fast-paced feature delivery by focusing on:

• Scalability: Ensuring the system can scale as needed.

• Faster feature delivery: Allowing new features to be built and deployed quickly.

• Reducing technical debt: Ensuring architecture is clean and maintainable.

This runway should evolve continuously to prevent bottlenecks and facilitate high-quality feature delivery.

How Enablers Map to the Architectural Runway

Enablers and the Architectural Runway are interconnected. Enablers directly influence the creation and maintenance of the runway, ensuring that it can support future development. Here's a breakdown of how Enablers contribute to this process:

1. Enabling Infrastructure and Tools
   One key Enabler is infrastructure work, which lays the groundwork for development and deployment. Enablers like setting up cloud environments, CI/CD pipelines, or deploying testing tools provide the foundation for development teams to work efficiently.

   These infrastructure components are integrated into the Architectural Runway, allowing teams to build, test, and deploy features rapidly and reliably. This infrastructure enables teams to work faster and with fewer disruptions.

   Example: Shifting the software infrastructure to a cloud environment can serve as an Enabler that enhances the Architectural Runway. This technical foundation ensures scalability and supports future feature development.

2. Supporting Design and Architecture
   Another critical role of Enablers is to support architectural work. Enablers that focus on creating design frameworks, defining APIs, and developing core infrastructure ensure that the product can evolve with business requirements.

   These Enablers help teams avoid building features on unstable or inefficient architectures. Without these foundational architectural Enablers, teams would face long-term challenges with feature scalability and maintainability.

   Example: If a team needs to develop a scalable backend architecture to support a new mobile application, the Enabler work related to the architecture becomes crucial for building the runway and enabling seamless feature development.

3. Research and Exploration
   Some Enablers focus on exploratory work, helping teams assess new technologies or approaches. These Enablers ensure that teams stay ahead of industry trends, making informed decisions about the tools and technologies they incorporate into their products.

   When mapped to the Architectural Runway, these exploratory Enablers can introduce new capabilities that keep the architecture fresh and adaptable to changing business needs.

   Example: A team exploring machine learning for product recommendations would map this Enabler to the runway to ensure that the architecture can seamlessly integrate machine learning capabilities without major restructuring.

4. Compliance and Security
   In regulated industries, certain Enablers focus on ensuring that the product complies with security, privacy, and regulatory standards. These work items ensure that the Architectural Runway is robust enough to accommodate compliance and security requirements at scale.

   Example: If a company needs to implement security measures for sensitive data in accordance with GDPR, the related Enabler ensures that the product architecture is built to support these requirements. This Enabler is critical for preventing technical debt and future roadblocks.

5. Managing Technical Debt
   Technical debt occurs when teams cut corners in architecture or infrastructure to meet short-term goals, leading to problems down the line. Enablers that address and manage technical debt can significantly contribute to the Architectural Runway by ensuring that teams build on a solid foundation, reducing future maintenance costs.

   Example: A team may map Enablers focused on refactoring legacy systems to the runway. This helps maintain a clean, efficient architecture, ensuring that features are delivered with fewer performance or scalability issues.

Implementing Enabler Mapping in SAFe

To effectively map Enablers to the Architectural Runway in SAFe, follow this high-level approach:

1. Identify Enablers:
   During PI Planning, identify the Enablers required to support upcoming features and business objectives. This could include infrastructure upgrades, architectural work, or security compliance.

2. Prioritize Enablers:
   Work closely with Product Management and System Architects to prioritize Enablers. These should align with the business goals and immediate needs of the product.

3. Create Enabler Stories:
   Write Enabler User Stories similar to regular User Stories, with clear acceptance criteria. Track them within the SAFe program backlog alongside business features.

4. Allocate Resources:
   Assign team members from the ART or relevant resources to ensure timely delivery of Enablers, ensuring that they contribute directly to the Architectural Runway.

5. Track Progress:
   Continuously track the progress of Enablers, ensuring that the runway evolves with the business needs and no technical debt accumulates over time.

Conclusion

Mapping Enablers to the Architectural Runway in SAFe portfolios is essential for ensuring sustainable and fast-paced product development. By aligning the work needed to support architecture, infrastructure, compliance, and exploratory initiatives, organizations can create a robust foundation that enables them to deliver features quickly and efficiently.

For those interested in mastering Agile Product Ownership and learning how to align business strategy with architectural needs, the SAFe POPM Certification is an excellent step. With this certification, you’ll gain the skills needed to drive product ownership and effectively manage the Architectural Runway.

Learn more about SAFe Product Owner/Manager certification and training at AgileSeekers SAFe POPM Certification.

For further reading on SAFe implementation, we recommend visiting Scaled Agile Framework for additional insights.

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