The Architectural Runway is a key part of the Feasible aspect of the Design Thinking model. The Design Thinking model is a framework that guides the creation of innovative solutions that are desirable, viable, feasible, and sustainable. The Feasible aspect focuses on the technical and operational aspects of the solution, such as the architecture, infrastructure, integration, performance, and security. The Architectural Runway is a concept that describes the existing code, components, and technical infrastructure that enable the development and delivery of near-term features without excessive redesign and delay. The Architectural Runway supports the Feasible aspect by providing the necessary technical foundation and alignment for developing business initiatives and implementing new features and capabilities.

References:

Architectural Runway - Scaled Agile Framework

Design Thinking - Scaled Agile Framework

A product vision is a description of the future state of the product and what problems it tries to solve or what ambitions it tries to fulfill. The most important information to communicate in a product vision is how life/work will improve by using this solution. This information captures the value proposition and the benefit hypothesis of the product, which reflect the needs and expectations of the customers and the stakeholders. This information also inspires and motivates the people who work on the product, as well as the potential users of the product. This information sets the direction and the purpose of the product, and guides the development and delivery of the features and capabilities.

References:

Vision - Scaled Agile Framework

Solution Vision - Scaled Agile Framework

Product Vision | Agile Product Management

The strategic sweet spot of a company is where it meets customer’s needs in a way that rivals can’t, given the context in which it competes12. It is where the company’s capabilities match customer needs in a way that the competition can’t. Finding the strategic sweet spot is a key challenge of strategic thinking and a source of competitive advantage.

References:

How to find your strategic sweet spot and why it matters

The Strategic Sweet Spot - Harvard Business Review

Product strategy is the high-level plan that defines the vision, goals, and direction of a product. Product strategy guides the development and delivery of a product that meets the needs and expectations of the customers and the business. Product strategy is primarily driven by the research activity of understanding Customers and values. This activity involves identifying and segmenting the target market, analyzing the customer needs, problems, and opportunities, defining the value proposition and the benefit hypothesis, and validating the assumptions and hypotheses with customer feedback. Understanding Customers and values helps to align the product strategy with the customer-centric mindset and the business outcomes.

References:

Customer Centricity - Scaled Agile Framework

Product and Solution Management - Scaled Agile Framework

Using Market Research To Drive Business Strategy | PlanBeyond

The PO Sync is an ART event used to gain visibility into the ART’s progress toward meeting its PI objectives and to make any necessary adjustments. The PO Sync is commonly facilitated by the Release Train Engineer (RTE), who is the servant leader and chief Scrum Master for the ART. The RTE helps to coordinate the PO Sync by inviting the Product Owners and Product Management, setting the agenda, managing the timebox, and resolving any impediments or conflicts.

References:

Product Owner (PO) Sync - Scaled Agile Framework

Release Train Engineer and Solution Train Engineer - Scaled Agile Framework

5 Practices to Start Scaling Agile by Mike Hall | Agile Velocity

According to the Scaled Agile Framework, the Portfolio Backlog contains the highest-level portfolio epics, which are large, cross-cutting initiatives that require analysis, approval, and funding by the Lean Portfolio Management (LPM) team1. The ART Backlog contains the features, which are services provided by the system that fulfill stakeholder needs2. Features are derived from epics and are typically implemented by one Agile Release Train (ART) within one Program Increment (PI)3. Therefore, Request 1, which is an incremental innovation that can be done by one ART in one PI, should be added to the ART Backlog as a Feature. Request 2, which is a major opportunity impacting multiple stages of the Value Stream and requiring the participation of two ARTs over multiple PIs, should be added to the Portfolio Backlog as an Epic.

References:

Portfolio Backlog: This article from the Scaled Agile Framework explains the purpose, structure, and content of the Portfolio Backlog, and how it is managed by the LPM team using the Portfolio Kanban system.

Features: This article from the Scaled Agile Framework defines the concept of features, their attributes, and their relationship with epics and stories.

ART Backlog: This article from the Scaled Agile Framework describes the role, composition, and management of the ART Backlog, and how it supports the PI Planning process.

A milestone is a specific point in time that marks a significant event or achievement for the ART or Solution Train. A milestone can indicate a market window occurrence during a PI, which is a limited period of time in which a product or service can be launched to gain acompetitive advantage or meet a customer demand. A milestone can help the ART or Solution Train align their delivery with the market window, and communicate their progress and readiness to the stakeholders.

References:

Milestones: This article from the Scaled Agile Framework explains the concept and purpose of milestones, and describes the four types of milestones: Program Increment (PI), Fixed-Date, Learning, and Benefits.

ART Planning Board: This article from the Scaled Agile Framework describes the role and structure of the ART Planning Board, and how it supports the PI Planning process and the Program Board.

ART Planning Board - PI Planning: This article from Ivar Jacobson International provides practical advice and examples of how to use the ART Planning Board during the Management Review, and what to look for in terms of market windows, dependencies, risks, and objectives.

According to the SAFe® Agile Product Management APM (6.0) documents and learning resources, innovation context type refers to the level of uncertainty and risk associated with the innovation. There are four types of innovation context: portfolio, solution, feature, and business agility. Solution context type is the most complex and uncertain type, as itinvolves creating integrated, end-to-end products and service offerings that solve complex market problems across trains. Solution context type requires a high degree of collaboration and alignment among multiple teams and stakeholders, as well as frequent experimentation and validation of assumptions.

References:

SAFe Innovation Framework for Lean Enterprises: What to Know

Solution Context - Scaled Agile Framework

The BMC is a strategic management tool that lets you visualize and assess your business idea or concept. It consists of nine boxes that represent different fundamental elements of a business, such as customer segments, value propositions, channels, and cost structure. The BMC helps you to design, analyze, optimize, and communicate your business model, and to test and iterate it as you learn from the market feedback. The BMC can be used for any type of business or product, regardless of whether it generates revenue or not, as long as it delivers value to the customers.

References:

Business Model Canvas - Wikipedia: This article from Wikipedia explains the concept and history of the BMC, and describes its nine building blocks and their relationships.

Business Model Canvas: Explained with Examples | Creately: This article from Creately provides a detailed guide on how to create a BMC, with examples and templates for different types of businesses and products.

Business Model Canvas – Download the Official Template: This website from Strategyzer offers the official template and online courses, books, and webinars to master the BMC.

Design Thinking is a creative process that involves empathizing with customers, defining the problem, ideating possible solutions, prototyping, and testing. Design Thinking can help API design and development by ensuring that the APIs are user-centric, meet the needs and expectations of the customers, and deliver value to the business. Design Thinking can also help API design and development by fostering collaboration, experimentation, and feedback among the stakeholders, such as product managers, developers, and customers.

References:

Design Thinking - Scaled Agile Framework

How to Design an API – Application Programming Interface Best Practices

Best Practices in API Design - Swagger

Segment 1 is the better choice for the next 12 months, because it aligns with the company’s growth strategy to sell to larger organizations, and it offers a higher potential value and lower competitive intensity than segment 2. Segment 1 consists of very large companies that have a need for the new application, but are dissatisfied with the current solutions offered by the large enterprise application vendors. This indicates a market opportunity for the company to provide a better integrated and more satisfying solution that can meet the needs and expectations of these customers. Segment 2, on the other hand, consists of small businesses that are already well-served by the company and its competitors, and may not have a strong demand or willingness to pay for the new application. Therefore, segment 2 offers a lower value and higher competitive intensity than segment 1.

References:

Market Segmentation: Definition, Types, Benefits, & Best Practices: This article from Qualtrics XM provides an overview of market segmentation, and discusses the benefits and best practices of market segmentation for businesses. It also provides some examples and tips on how to segment markets effectively.

Market Segmentation: Definition, Example, Types, Benefits - Investopedia: This article from Investopedia explains the concept and purpose of market segmentation, and describes the four primary types of market segmentation: demographic, geographic, psychographic, and behavioral.

Market Segmentation: Definition, Criteria and Other Details: This article from Your Article Library provides a comprehensive guide on market segmentation, including its definition, criteria, process, levels, and bases. It also discusses the advantages and limitations of market segmentation.

A roadmap is an artifact that shows the planned features and milestones for a solution over a timeline. It helps Product Managers communicate the vision and strategy to Product Owners and other stakeholders, and align them on the priorities and dependencies of the work. A roadmap also provides a feedback loop for validating assumptions and adapting to changing customer needs and market conditions.

References:

SAFe Roadmap

Product and Solution Management

Product Owner

Designing a data strategy is the process of defining the vision, goals, principles, and governance of data and analytics in an organization. A data strategy should align with the business strategy and enable the delivery of value from data and AI initiatives. Designing a data strategy requires collaboration between Product Managers and their Customers, as they are the ones who understand the needs, problems, and opportunities of the market and the users. Product Managers and Customers should work together to identify the data sources, use cases, metrics, and feedback loops that will inform the data strategy and drive the data-driven decision making.

References:

Design your data strategy in six steps | IBM

How to build and deliver an effective data strategy: part 1 - Microsoft UK Blog

Crafting Your Data Strategy - data.org

Designing Data Strategies - Development Gateway: An IREX Venture

A portfolio canvas is a visual tool that defines and communicates the value streams, solutions, customers, budgets, and key activities and events of a SAFe portfolio. It describes how a solution fits into the overall strategy by showing the value proposition, the customer segments and relationships, the key performance indicators, and the alignment with the strategic themes and the portfolio vision. A portfolio canvas provides business context by helping the portfolio stakeholders understand and align on the portfolio strategy, and by guiding the Agile teams and ARTs in delivering value to the customers and the enterprise.

References:

Portfolio Canvas: This article from the Scaled Agile Framework explains the concept and purpose of the portfolio canvas, and how it can be used to define and manage the portfolio strategy and execution.

What is SAFe Portfolio Canvas : What are its Sections and Blocks: This article from StarAgile provides a detailed guide on how to create and use a portfolio canvas, with examples and templates for different types of portfolios.

A successful minimum viable product (MVP) that has value in the market reveals that the Epic hypothesis has been validated and that development should continue. An MVP is an early and minimal version of a new product or solution that is used to test the assumptions and hypotheses behind an Epic. An MVP provides the fastest and cheapest way tolearn from real customers and to measure the impact and value of the Epic. A successful MVP means that the Epic has proven its desirability, viability, feasibility, and sustainability, and that there is still more value to be delivered by implementing additional features and capabilities. Therefore, development should continue until the Epic is completed or the value hypothesis changes.

References:

Epic - Scaled Agile Framework

Minimum Viable Product (MVP) - Scaled Agile Framework

Innovation Accounting in SAFe - Scaled Agile Framework