1. Start right after PI Planning

    The period immediately after PI Planning is less hectic, It gives the team space to set their purpose, agree on roles, and establish working agreements without the pressure of immediate delivery.

  2. Use the first PI as a warm-up

    Think of it as onboarding for agile. The goal isn’t to hit peak velocity — it’s to build the muscle memory for collaboration, ownership, and a shared way of working.

  3. Keep ceremonies to what helps

    Don’t drop a brand-new team into the full ART routine — daily stand-ups, syncs, PI Planning, retros, demos — right out of the gate.

Tip: If possible, start the team outside SAFe.

Give new teams the best start by working agile outside the framework first, then gradually add complexity over time. 

It’s SAFe to say we can build agile teams.