All about SAFe Agilist Certification

Scaled Agile Framework is one of the most evolving Agile frameworks in recent years and has been the second most adopted framework after Scrum, according to the 14th State of Agile. SAFe Agilist Certification is a course that gives a foundation for individuals who are interested in working in multinational corporations that employ SAFe. This course teaches several tools and techniques required by the professional to handle complex projects using SAFe. It is a two-day course that educates participants about Agile Release Trains, Lean-Agile mindset, building an Agile Portfolio, and Lean-Agile transformation. SAFe Agilist is highly demanded by companies with several branches as it becomes easy for organizations to communicate and build products with skilled developers. This course would help the candidates to learn about the Scaled Agile framework, its foundation, values, and principles.

What is the SAFe Agilist Certification course?

Agile Methodology has been adopted by many organizations as it overcomes all the drawbacks of the traditional software methodology. Most businesses use Scrum as it is readily applicable to small teams and easy to understand. However, when it comes to bigger organizations that work across collaborative teams, geographies, and complex systems, Scrum could not be reliable as it is built to support small teams. In these cases, companies prefer another framework called the Scaled Agile Framework which works across enterprises to bring benefits of delivering the products faster, and building products of better quality, and rapid responses to customer queries. Organizations have seen better results with the implementation of SAFe as it contains all the tools for the enterprises to collaborate efficiently.

The SAFe Agilist certification teaches the participants to apply the Lean-Agile principles and practices to the organization and help them with their Agile transformation. It also educates on the alignment, delivery, and collaboration of multiple Agile teams such that the communication could run smoothly. SAFe Agilist certification helps the candidates to learn about full business Agility where the participants learn about significant business strategy, execution, and leadership competencies. This helps the individuals and the organization to build innovative business solutions and compete with the present companies producing similar products. The course also widens your scope in terms of career opportunities, and values in the industry. Hence, SAFe has shown a significant demand in larger organizations and career opportunities in the coming days in SAFe are promising.

How to get the SAFe Agilist Certification?

Individuals who are interested in taking up the SAFe Agilist certification training have no eligibility criteria. However, if one has to get the certification, they must have at least 5 years of experience in Business analysis, product or project management, software development, and testing. Participants who qualify for this criteria should enroll for the SAFe Agilist certification course with registered education providers who are affiliated with Scaled Agile Framework. Following this, they have to attend the two-day leading SAFe 5.0 course which would be taught by SAFe Program Consultants (SPCs). After the completion of the program, Scaled Agile sends the exam information to the registered email address. The link received from the email must be clicked to access the online examination. The SAFe Agilist certification consists of 45 MCQs and the candidate gets 1.5 hours (90 minutes) to complete the exam. To pass the test, the participant should at least score 77% (35 out of 45) questions correctly. After passing the exam, Scaled Agile updates the profile and provides the candidate the SAFe Agilist certification along with one-year membership to the Scaled Agile community. This certification is valid for one year and must be renewed every year.

Important points about the SAFe Agilist Certification

• Training cost: The cost of the training depends on the institute in which the candidate decides to enroll in as each institute has its resources and facilities that they provide. However, the training cost includes the study materials or resources, exam fee, certification fee and the one-year membership with the Scaled Agile community.
• Time for taking the exam: The exam has to be taken within 30-days of completion of the training session. If the exam is taken after 30 days, the candidates have to pay an additional amount of USD 50 to appear for the test.
• Exam Retake policy:  Each retake attempt costs $50. The retakes are possible only if the candidate hasn't cleared the exam. The first retake (second exam) can be done immediately after the first attempt. The third attempt requires a 10-day wait and the fourth retake requires a 30-day wait.
• The pattern of the exam: The SAFe Agilist certification exam contains 45 MCQs which would be covered under nine subheadings. The top three subheadings are Agile Release Train, SAFe, and Lean-Portfolio. The candidate has to answer 34 out of 45 questions to pass the exam.
• Renewal of the certification: The SAFe Agilist certification is valid for one year and to extend the certification for another year, the candidate has to pay an additional amount of USD 100.
• Salary of a SAFe Agilist: A certified SAFe Agilist would be paid about $95,000 per annum according to Payscale. This salary is based on experience, skills, organization, and many other factors. There is an exponential rise in the number of jobs available for Agile professionals who know how to scale Lean-Agile practices at different levels. 

What will participants learn from the SAFe Agilist certification?

The participants will learn the following concepts from the certification course:

• Fundamental learning of SAFe includes learning the basics of Lean, Agile, and Product Development Flow.
• Scaling the SAFe values in the enterprise effectively.
• Recognizing and applying the Lean-Agile mindset and becoming a Lean-thinking manager.
• Supporting PI planning and events in Program execution by integration, deployment, and releasing value.
• Learning the roles and principles of SAFe and empowering with the Lean Portfolio
• Coordinating development of large solutions by understanding the seven core competencies in SAFe.
• Creating high-performance and purpose-bound Agile teams that would enhance your leadership skills.
• Leading the SAFe transformation in the enterprise with the SAFe Implementation Roadmap.
• Learning Lean Portfolio Management and Strategic Themes and establishing execution and alignment.

Who can attend the SAFe Agilist certification course?

As explained, the prerequisite to obtain the SAFe Agilist certification is to have 5 years of experience in Scrum as a software developer, tester, product or project manager, business analyst. It is recommended that the following designations could apply for the SAFe certification to enhance their career and grow.

• Leaders and Executives
• QA and Development
• CIOs, VPs, Managers, and Directors
• Infrastructure Management personnel
• Project and Program Managers
• Product Line and Product Managers
• PMO, Portfolio Managers, and Process leads
• The system, Solution, and Enterprise Architects.

Why should one take up the SAFe Agilist Certification?

Taking the course has many advantages of which few of them are listed below:

• The certification is globally recognized where candidates could work in countries where SAFe companies function.
• High paying salary along with incentives when compared to non-certified peers.
• Great Decision-making abilities by understanding the concepts of SAFe in training sessions.
• Increased chances in top companies that have adopted SAFe as recruiters look for candidates who are certified.
• It becomes a foundational course for anyone who wants to learn about the Scaled Agile framework.
• Being respected as a SAFe expert in the organization and also networking with SAFe experts around the world as the certification comes with a one-year membership with the Scaled Agile community.

Conclusion

The SAFe Agilist certification is one of the most recognized certification courses in the Scaled Agile Framework. SAFe Agilist has highly demanded professionals in many countries and many top organizations. As this framework is emerging, more individuals having a thorough knowledge about SAFe are required by the industry. As the participants have experience in Scrum, they would have an idea about the software operations such as development and testing. This would give them a stronghold on all the technical and management aspects of the product development. SAFe helps in building more complex products that require the knowledge of Scrum. The participants understand the differences between both the framework and try to gain knowledge about the SAFe project. Likewise, they are instructed with real-life examples and given a fair concept about how processes function in SAFe.