Understanding the SAFe Measure and Grow Assessment Areas

Blog Author

Siddharth

Published

21 Jul, 2025

Understanding the SAFe Measure and Grow Assessment Areas

If you’re serious about making your SAFe implementation work—not just on paper, but in practice—you need more than rituals and ceremonies. You need to know if your teams, trains, and entire organization are truly progressing. That’s where the SAFe Measure and Grow assessment areas come in.

Measure and Grow isn’t just another survey or checklist. It’s a structured way to look under the hood of your Lean-Agile transformation and spot what’s actually driving results—and what’s quietly holding you back.

Let’s break down what these assessment areas are, why they matter, and how you can use them to steer real improvement.

What Is the SAFe Measure and Grow Assessment?

The Measure and Grow approach in SAFe helps organizations check their progress along the Lean-Agile journey. SAFe splits this assessment into distinct areas, each mapped to real capabilities that fuel business agility.

Think of these areas as diagnostic tools for your transformation engine. Each area uncovers different strengths, bottlenecks, and growth opportunities, giving you practical data—not just opinions.

Here’s how SAFe groups them:

SAFe Business Agility Assessment (Organization-level)
SAFe Core Competency Assessments (Team/Train-level)
Team and Technical Agility Assessments (Team-level)

We’ll unpack each one.

The Three Major SAFe Measure and Grow Assessment Areas

1. Business Agility Assessment

This one is big-picture. The Business Agility Assessment looks at how quickly and effectively your entire organization can respond to market changes, customer demands, and internal feedback.

Key focus areas include:

Leadership’s role in fostering agility
Lean Portfolio Management
Agile Product Delivery
Enterprise Solution Delivery
Continuous Learning Culture
Organizational Agility

Why it matters:
If you only measure team-level progress, you might miss the bigger organizational blockers. Business agility is about connecting strategy to execution, and removing the friction that slows everyone down.

Curious about how leaders set the pace for change? Here’s a solid resource from Scaled Agile on business agility.

Want to level up your leadership game?
Check out the Leading SAFe Agilist Certification Training for a practical deep dive.

2. SAFe Core Competency Assessments

SAFe defines seven core competencies that organizations need for real, sustainable agility. Each competency has its own set of assessment questions—so you get a clear readout on where you’re solid and where you’re shaky.

The seven competencies are:

Lean-Agile Leadership: Are leaders modeling Lean-Agile thinking, or just talking about it?
Team and Technical Agility: Are teams self-organizing and delivering quality work at speed?
Agile Product Delivery: Is customer value at the heart of delivery, or is it just process for process’s sake?
Enterprise Solution Delivery: Can you coordinate delivery across complex systems and teams?
Lean Portfolio Management: Is funding tied to outcomes, or just locked into annual plans?
Organizational Agility: Are business and technology aligned, or is there a gap?
Continuous Learning Culture: Is learning a habit, or an afterthought?

Why these matter:
If your organization has a weak spot in any competency, your transformation will stall there. That’s why these assessments aren’t about ‘checking a box’—they’re about targeting real capability gaps.

Want to understand how these competencies play out on the ground?
The SAFe Scrum Master Certification is a strong place to see how these competencies show up at the team level.

3. Team and Technical Agility Assessments

At the team level, Measure and Grow looks at how each Agile team is working together, building quality in, and delivering value.

Key assessment questions cover:

Team self-management and empowerment
Technical practices (TDD, refactoring, CI/CD)
Flow of work (WIP limits, bottlenecks)
Continuous improvement

Why it matters:
Your Agile Release Train is only as strong as its teams. Teams that can’t deliver, inspect, and adapt quickly will slow down even the best strategy.

If you want to see this in action across an entire train, check out the SAFe Release Train Engineer Certification Training.

And for those aiming to master advanced practices, the SAFe Advanced Scrum Master Certification Training dives deep into optimizing team and technical agility.

What Does a Measure and Grow Assessment Look Like in Practice?

Here’s how it usually unfolds:

Set the Context
Decide if you’re assessing a team, train, or the entire organization. Communicate why you’re doing it and how the results will be used.
Self-Assessment
Teams or leaders answer a structured set of questions tied to the assessment area. These are scored on a maturity scale (e.g., 1-5).
Group Review
The results aren’t hidden away—they’re discussed openly. The group surfaces patterns, debates differences, and aligns on where to focus improvement.
Targeted Action
The data leads to action plans, not just PowerPoint slides. The best teams use assessment insights to pick one or two high-leverage improvements at a time.

Pro tip:
SAFe recommends running these assessments regularly—typically at PI boundaries—so you’re always working off fresh, relevant data.

For more details on how to structure these assessments, see Scaled Agile’s official Measure and Grow resource.

The Real Value: Turning Data Into Outcomes

Let’s be honest—there’s a temptation to treat assessments as a compliance activity. But that’s a missed opportunity. When you approach Measure and Grow as a real feedback loop, it does a few important things:

Busts myths: Teams often think they’re doing better (or worse) than they are. Data clarifies reality.
Targets effort: Instead of spreading improvement energy thin, you know exactly where to focus.
Creates momentum: Small wins build trust. When teams see progress, engagement goes up.

Common Pitfalls and How to Avoid Them

1. Assessment Fatigue:
Don’t run assessments for the sake of it. Connect them to tangible improvement efforts.

2. Lack of Follow-Through:
Assessment results are useless if they’re not acted on. Leaders must ensure outcomes drive the backlog.

3. Over-Complicating It:
Keep the assessment process simple and focused on discussion, not just numbers.

Who Should Care About Each Assessment Area?

Executives and Portfolio Managers:
Business Agility and Lean Portfolio Management assessments will highlight big, strategic bottlenecks.
Product Owners and Product Managers:
The Agile Product Delivery assessment helps them focus on delivering customer value. For a deep dive, see SAFe Product Owner Product Manager POPM Certification.
Scrum Masters and Coaches:
Team and Technical Agility assessments are essential for those guiding team improvement.
Release Train Engineers:
RTEs should look at both team-level and train-level assessments for a holistic view. More on that in SAFe Release Train Engineer Certification Training.

How to Start With Measure and Grow

If your organization is new to Measure and Grow, start with these steps:

Pick One Area:
Don’t try to assess everything at once. Start where you feel the most pain (e.g., Team Agility or Portfolio Management).
Run a Pilot:
Choose a single train or group of teams. Make it a safe space—no blame, just learning.
Act on Insights:
Pick 1-2 actions based on the assessment and track results. Show that the assessment leads to real change.
Scale Gradually:
As teams get comfortable, scale the assessment to more areas or groups.

Harvard Business Review’s article on continuous improvement backs up the importance of feedback loops in real business transformation.

Final Thoughts: Measure What Matters

SAFe Measure and Grow isn’t about ticking boxes. It’s a chance to have honest conversations, break down stubborn barriers, and build a real Lean-Agile culture that doesn’t stall when things get hard.

If you use the assessment areas as intended—honestly, consistently, and as fuel for improvement—you’ll see stronger teams, better alignment, and faster value delivery. That’s what agility looks like in the real world.

Relevant Certifications to Deepen Your Understanding: