Enablers | Glossary

Definition:

Enablers in agile development are technical items which support the development of business, which plays vital role in assisting business features. Enablers support efficient development and delivery of future business requirements bringing visibility to all the work necessary. They help to stabilise the architecture, infrastructure and maintaining customer needs.

Enablers as mentioned in SAFe framework, fall into four categories

  1. Exploration Enablers, supporting research, prototyping and other activities needed to develop an understanding of customer needs, exploring prospective solutions and to evaluate alternatives
  2. Architectural Enablers are created to build the architectural runway, which allows smoother and faster development
  3. Infrastructure Enablers are created to build, enhance and automate the development, testing and deployment environments. This facilitates faster development, higher quality testing and faster delivery.
  4. Compliance Enablers facilitates manning specific compliance activities, including Verification and Validation and regulatory submissions, approvals.

Enablers exists at all levels of framework

  • Enabler Epics cutting across Value Streams and Program Increments.
  • Enabler Capabilities and Features captures work at Large Solution and Program Levels.
  • Enabler Stories fit in Iteration , where acceptance criteria clarify the requirements and support testing.

 

Enablers are often created by architects or system engineers at various levels improving the existing solutions.

Further Reading:

https://www.scaledagileframework.com/enablers/

Architectural Runway | Glossary

Definition:

Dean Leffingwell states “The Architectural Runway consists of the existing code, components, and technical infrastructure needed to implement near-term features without excessive redesign and delay.”

The architectural runway is one of the primary tools used to implement the agile architecture strategy, which provides the necessary technical foundation for developing business initiatives and implementing new Features and/or capabilities. Development of new features and capabilities consumes the architectural runway. Enablers support the activities needed to extend the Architectural Runway to provide future business functionality, which includes exploration, infrastructure, compliance and architecture development.

Architectural Runway is the existing technical infrastructure, code, necessary to support the implementation of upcoming features without excessive, delay-inducing, redesign.

Further Reading:

https://www.scaledagileframework.com/architectural-runway/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agile_Architecture
https://www.scaledagileframework.com/enablers/