Portfolio, Solution, Program and Team Backlogs

26/03/2025

In SAFe (Scaled Agile Framework) 6.0, backlogs are used at different levels to manage work items, prioritize tasks, and ensure continuous delivery. These backlogs exist at four levels:

SAFe Level Backlog Type Primary Work Items
Portfolio Level Portfolio Backlog Business Epics, Enabler Epics
Large Solution Level Solution Backlog Capabilities, Enablers
Program Level Program Backlog Features, Enablers
Team Level Team Backlog Stories, Enablers

1️⃣ Portfolio Backlog (Strategic Level)

✔ Purpose: Manages high-level Epics that align with business strategy and investment themes.
✔ Work Items: Business Epics, Enabler Epics
✔ Who owns it? Lean Portfolio Management (LPM)
✔ Example:

Business Epic: Implement AI-driven customer service across all digital platforms.
Enabler Epic: Upgrade cloud infrastructure for scalability and security.

2️⃣ Solution Backlog (For Large Solution Train)

✔ Purpose: Manages Capabilities (large features) for complex systems with multiple ARTs.
✔ Work Items: Capabilities, Enabler Capabilities
✔ Who owns it? Solution Management & Solution Train Engineer (STE)
✔ Example:

Capability: Develop a unified payment gateway supporting global transactions.
Enabler Capability: Implement enterprise-wide API security standards.

Note: This backlog exists only in Large Solution SAFe (for very large systems).

Solution Backlog (Referencing an Epic)

Epic Reference: AI-Powered Customer Support

Description: This epic focuses on implementing AI-driven automation for customer support, including chatbots, sentiment analysis, and auto-triaging support tickets.

3️⃣ Program Backlog (For Agile Release Train - ART)

✔ Purpose: Stores Features that deliver value at the Program Level.
✔ Work Items: Features, Enabler Features
✔ Who owns it? Product Management
✔ Example:

Feature: Add biometric authentication to mobile banking app.
Enabler Feature: Implement single sign-on (SSO) across all digital services.

Program backlog referencing solution backlog

4️⃣ Team Backlog (For Agile Teams)

✔ Purpose: Contains User Stories and Technical Stories for teams to implement.
✔ Work Items: Stories (User & Technical), Enabler Stories, Tasks
✔ Who owns it? Product Owner & Agile Team
✔ Example:

User Story: As a user, I want to reset my password via SMS OTP.
Technical Story: Refactor authentication module for better performance.

Feature Breakdown into stories

Each Feature in the Program Backlog is further broken down into User Stories for the Iteration Backlog.

Example Feature: Develop NLP Chatbot for Customer Support

Program Backlog Entry:

Description: Implement a natural language processing (NLP)-based chatbot that handles customer inquiries and reduces manual support workload.

Priority: High

ART: Customer Support ART

User Stories (Iteration Backlog - Team Level)

🔹 Key Differences Between SAFe Backlogs

Backlog Level Work Items Owner Example
Portfolio Backlog Strategic (Enterprise) Epics Lean Portfolio Management (LPM) AI-driven customer support
Solution Backlog Large Solution Capabilities Solution Management Unified payment gateway
Program Backlog ART (Release Train) Features Product Management Biometric login feature
Team Backlog Agile Team Stories Product Owner & Team Password reset via SMS

🔹 How They Work Together

Portfolio Epics are broken into Capabilities (Solution Backlog) or Features (Program Backlog).
Capabilities are further refined into Features in the Program Backlog.
Features are decomposed into Stories in the Team Backlog.

Example Flow:
✅ Epic → "AI-driven customer service" (Portfolio Backlog)
✅ Capability → "AI Chatbot for customer queries" (Solution Backlog)
✅ Feature → "Chatbot integration with website & mobile app" (Program Backlog)
✅ Story → "Develop NLP-based chatbot response module" (Team Backlog)

🔹 Why Are These Backlogs Important?

✅ Ensure alignment between strategy and execution.
✅ Enable value-driven prioritization at each level.
✅ Help Agile Teams focus on incremental delivery.
✅ Support continuous flow and innovation.

Prioritizing Backlogs in SAFe 6.0 Using WSJF

1️⃣ Portfolio Backlog Prioritization (Epics)

At the Portfolio Level, epics are prioritized using WSJF.

WSJF Formula:

WSJF=Cost of Delay/Job Duration

Where:

Cost of Delay (CoD) = Business Value + Time Criticality + Risk Reduction/Opportunity Enablement
Job Duration = Estimated time to implement the Epic (e.g., Story Points, T-Shirt Size)

2️⃣ Solution Backlog Prioritization (Capabilities & Enablers)

Once Epics are prioritized, their related Capabilities & Enablers in the Solution Backlog are prioritized using WSJF.

3️⃣ Program Backlog Prioritization (Features)

At the Program Level, Features related to prioritized Capabilities are ranked using WSJF.

4️⃣ Iteration Backlog Prioritization (User Stories)

At the Team Level, prioritized Features break down into User Stories, which are ranked using WSJF or team-level discussions.

Summary of Prioritization Across Backlogs in SAFe 6.0

Portfolio Backlog (Epics) – AI-Powered Customer Support is the highest priority epic.
Solution Backlog (Capabilities & Enablers) – AI-Driven Chatbot is the top priority.
Program Backlog (Features) – Develop NLP Chatbot feature should be delivered first.
Iteration Backlog (User Stories) – Chatbot understanding FAQs should be developed first.

This approach ensures alignment from strategy to execution and maximizes business value delivery in SAFe 6.0.

MCQs on backlogs

Q1. What is the primary purpose of the Portfolio Backlog in SAFe 6.0?
A) To manage Iteration goals for Agile teams
B) To prioritize and manage Features for Agile Release Trains
C) To maintain high-level Epics that align with strategic business objectives
D) To store all the completed work items for historical reference

✅ Answer: C) To maintain high-level Epics that align with strategic business objectives

Q2. Who owns and prioritizes the Portfolio Backlog in SAFe?
A) Product Manager
B) Agile Team
C) Lean Portfolio Management (LPM)
D) Release Train Engineer (RTE)

✅ Answer: C) Lean Portfolio Management (LPM)

Q3. Which framework does SAFe use to prioritize Portfolio Backlog items?
A) MoSCoW Prioritization
B) Weighted Shortest Job First (WSJF)
C) Scrum Poker
D) Waterfall Gantt Chart

✅ Answer: B) Weighted Shortest Job First (WSJF)

2️⃣ Solution Backlog (Capabilities Level)

Q4. What type of work items are typically found in the Solution Backlog?
A) User Stories
B) Capabilities and Enablers
C) Tasks and Bugs
D) Features only

✅ Answer: B) Capabilities and Enablers

Q5. Who is primarily responsible for managing the Solution Backlog?
A) Release Train Engineer (RTE)
B) Solution Train Engineer (STE)
C) Business Owners
D) Scrum Master

✅ Answer: B) Solution Train Engineer (STE)

Q6. How does the Solution Backlog relate to the Portfolio Backlog?
A) The Solution Backlog contains Features that come directly from Epics in the Portfolio Backlog
B) The Solution Backlog stores rejected Epics from the Portfolio Backlog
C) The Solution Backlog only exists in Large Solution SAFe configurations
D) The Solution Backlog is a duplicate of the Portfolio Backlog

✅ Answer: A) The Solution Backlog contains Features that come directly from Epics in the Portfolio Backlog

3️⃣ ART (Program Backlog - Features Level)

Q7. What does the ART (Agile Release Train) backlog mainly contain?
A) Epics
B) Features and Enablers
C) Capabilities
D) Iteration Goals

✅ Answer: B) Features and Enablers

Q8. Who is responsible for managing and prioritizing the Program Backlog?
A) Scrum Master
B) Product Management
C) Agile Team
D) Business Owners

✅ Answer: B) Product Management

Q9. How often is the Program Backlog refined in SAFe?
A) Once per quarter
B) Every Sprint
C) Continuously, with Program Increment (PI) Planning providing major updates
D) Only at the beginning of each ART launch

✅ Answer: C) Continuously, with Program Increment (PI) Planning providing major updates

4️⃣ Team Backlog (Iteration Backlog - User Stories Level)

Q10. What work items are typically found in the Team Backlog?
A) Epics and Features
B) Capabilities and Enablers
C) User Stories, Technical Stories, and Defects
D) Only bugs and technical debt items

✅ Answer: C) User Stories, Technical Stories, and Defects

Q11. Who is responsible for prioritizing the Team Backlog?
A) Product Owner
B) Scrum Master
C) Release Train Engineer
D) Solution Architect

✅ Answer: A) Product Owner

Q12. During Iteration Planning, where does the team select work items from?
A) Portfolio Backlog
B) Solution Backlog
C) Program Backlog
D) Team Backlog

✅ Answer: D) Team Backlog

5️⃣ General SAFe Backlog Knowledge

Q13. What is the correct hierarchy of SAFe backlogs (top to bottom)?
A) Portfolio Backlog → Team Backlog → Solution Backlog → Program Backlog
B) Solution Backlog → Portfolio Backlog → Program Backlog → Team Backlog
C) Portfolio Backlog → Solution Backlog → Program Backlog → Team Backlog
D) Program Backlog → Portfolio Backlog → Team Backlog → Solution Backlog

✅ Answer: C) Portfolio Backlog → Solution Backlog → Program Backlog → Team Backlog

Q14. What is the primary tool used for backlog prioritization at all levels in SAFe?
A) Fibonacci Estimation
B) WSJF (Weighted Shortest Job First)
C) Kanban Boards
D) Sprint Retrospectives

✅ Answer: B) WSJF (Weighted Shortest Job First)

Q15. What is the main reason for using separate backlogs at different SAFe levels?
A) To increase administrative work
B) To align execution with strategic goals and scale Agile across the enterprise
C) To allow teams to work independently without dependencies
D) To reduce visibility between teams

✅ Answer: B) To align execution with strategic goals and scale Agile across the enterprise