Enablers

Enablers are a term from the SAFe framework. Enablers are product backlog items that extend the architectural runway and support future business functionality. In the backlog, they can take the form of epics, features, or stories. Enablers make visible the work needed to develop and deliver future business requirements efficiently. They are used to explore ideas, improve the architecture and infrastructure of a solution, and ensure compliance. Enablers are invisible to end users, yet they are essential for keeping the system running. Although they are a distinct type of work, they are managed the same way as customer-facing backlog items. Enablers are treated like every other backlog item: they are made visible, prioritized, delivered incrementally, measured, and subject to feedback.

Purpose of enablers

Any supporting work aimed at improving the value stream can be captured as an enabler. According to Scaled Agile, Inc., there are four categories of enablers by purpose:

• Exploration — support research, prototyping, and other activities needed to understand customer needs, analyze alternatives, and find the best solutions;
• Architectural — keep the system evolving smoothly and quickly within the Continuous Delivery Pipeline (CDP). These enablers maintain and strengthen the system, for example by improving performance;
• Infrastructure — improve and optimize the environments used to develop, test, deploy, and operate solutions; 
• Compliance — automate audits and ensure conformance with regulations and system requirements.

• Enabler Epics — written using the epic hypothesis statement format. Epics can span several Agile Release Trains (ARTs) and Planning Intervals (PIs) and are managed through the portfolio backlog; 
• Enabler Features & Capabilities — defined within an ART and include a short description, a benefit hypothesis, and acceptance criteria. Each should be sized to fit within one PI;
• Enabler Stories — team-level work items that must fit within a single iteration. They describe what the team needs to build to support future functionality and do not have to follow the user-voice format.