What Are ‘Enablers’ in SAFe?
I believe SAFe’s greatest achievement isn’t just its popularity in enterprise settings, but how clearly it names recurring patterns. One term I particularly appreciate is “Enabler.” It’s the quiet powerhouse that quite literally enables agile architecture and delivery in complex, uncharted territory.
In the SAFe Cheat Sheet below, enablers stand out in bright pink.
What Are Enablers?
Enablers are those backlog items that don’t directly deliver business value, but make value delivery possible. Think of them as the scaffolding, roads, and research needed to construct a skyscraper. They’re not the building, but without them, very little would get built.
SAFe’s definition: “Enablers are used to describe the work needed to support research, evolve architecture and infrastructure, refine code and essential infrastructure, and ensure regulatory compliance.” (© Scaled Agile, Inc.)
Enablers describe work that many other frameworks also address, just under different names. In XP, you’ll hear terms like “spikes” or “refactoring.” Scrum teams may call them “technical stories.” Kanban, LeSS, or Nexus don’t label them explicitly. In traditional project management, they show up as “preparatory tasks,” “feasibility studies,” or “control requirements.”
Four Types of Enablers
- Architectural Enablers
Build or evolve the tech stack (APIs, refactoring, modularization of a monolith, de-microservicing, platform upgrades) - Exploratory Enablers
Support discovery and validation (technical spikes, user research, writing a point-of-view paper) - Infrastructure Enablers
Enable smoother delivery (CI/CD pipelines, test automation, containerization, cloud setup, build/deployment scripts, audit logging infra, performance testing environment, test data, dashboards) - Compliance Enablers
Meet regulatory or internal control needs (audit trails, traceability, access & risk controls, implementing GDPR, PSD2, BCBS 239)
Why Enablers Matter
Enablers provide the technical foundation that allows agile teams to go faster. They create exploratory capacity, reduce risk, make architecture adaptable, and lay the groundwork for future features. Without Enablers, teams often face bottlenecks, accumulate technical debt, or fail to meet compliance and quality standards. In large or regulated environments, enablers ensure that architecture is agile and that agility can scale.
How to Handle Enablers
SAFe encourages teams to treat Enablers just like other backlog items: prioritize them, estimate them, track them. Link them to business outcomes whenever possible. Use them not just to chase velocity — but to build long-term capacity.
If features are the visible part of value delivery, enablers are the tracks that let the train run at speed. Allow them. Respect them. Fund them. And give them the spotlight they deserve.👍🏼
