A Dual Operating System
One of the major criticisms of SAFe is its Dual Operating System. The fact that it retains a hierarchy is seen as being anti-Agile and hence this makes SAFe not Agile. Well, this notion is very wrong, and we will be discussing this today. One of the first points SAFe critics fail to note is that, while there are some prescribed and very effective Agile roles such as the Scrum Master and the Product Owner, there is still a need for roles that would handle such responsibilities as HR, finance, accounts, marketing etc., and for those roles to exist, since they are not Agile roles, an Agile enterprise will have to be configured to make allowance for these critical roles. As a response to this dilemma, John Kotter says, “the solution is not to trash what we know and start over but instead to reintroduce a second system – one which would be familiar to most successful entrepreneurs. You need a Dual Operating System.” You would agree with me that no matter how effective Agile roles are, they are not designed to handle other responsibilities beyond their scope and skillset, e.g., a Product Owner cannot handle legal services, and multiple teams will require a level of oversight that a Scrum Master cannot provide.
SAFe’s Dual Operating System is a way of organizing an enterprise that balances the needs of efficiency and innovation. It consists of two parts: a hierarchy that provides stability and scale, and a network that provides Agility and customer-centricity. The network is composed of Value Streams that deliver solutions to customers, while the hierarchy is composed of functions that support the network. The Dual Operating System is based on the principle of organizing around value, which means aligning the enterprise to the flow of value from concept to cash. The Dual Operating System is one of the key elements of Business Agility, Business Agility being the ability to compete and thrive in the digital age.
The Dual Operating System design acknowledges that both stability (provided by traditional hierarchies) and Agility (provided by Agile practices) are necessary for sustained success in a rapidly changing business environment. It’s important to note that the specifics of the Dual Operating System may vary from one organization to another.
Each part of the Dual Operating System must fulfill a distinct set of responsibilities to work effectively. The network’s commitment is to improve business outcomes by providing new and improved solutions. The hierarchy’s responsibility is to sustain and grow current operations and to provide a stable platform for long-term success.
Responsibilities of the Network:
- Product Research
- Development
- Delivery, support & evolution (innovation)
Responsibilities of the Hierarchy:
- Revenue & cost
- Finance & Accounting
- Sales and Marketing
- Legal & Governance
- People and Careers
- Production of goods & services
- Facilities
This operating model balances two needs:
A dynamic network of people focused on changing the business – developing, evolving, and maintaining new and innovative business solutions.
A stable, functional hierarchy focused on operating and growing a successful, sustainable business that legally and profitably delivers these solutions to the market.
SAFe’s focus is to provide the enterprise with the support people need to build the innovative, digitally-enabled products and services businesses need to thrive in the digital age. But there is far more to an enterprise than developing such solutions. Enterprises have to take care of customers, partner with suppliers, compensate and develop their people, manage funding and expenses, & operate by industry regulations and the laws of the land. This doesn’t even include overseeing sales, HR, legal, finance, marketing, health and safety, facilities, administration, manufacturing, production… These ongoing responsibilities require building a long-lived, persistent, and reliable organization that has clear lines of accountability for all these functions, pays its bills on time, and fosters an environment for the growth of its people. So, going Agile does not mean you can discard these operational roles, or does it?
According to Bpifrance “Today, we are a dual organization, with a SAFe model: we are hyper-agile on the organization, but hyper-stable on the hierarchy.”
In summary, SAFe organizes operations as an Operational Value Stream, which is the “hierarchy” and SAFe also organizes development into a Development Value Stream, which is the “network” and delivers the Solution.
For more information on SAFe’s Dual Operating System, please visit