Customer involvement in scaled agile framework implementations

The Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe) has emerged over the last years as an approach which supports the improvement of software and systems development. Several software companies have reported on success stories regarding the implementation of SAFe. SAFe claimes solutions for business challenges, such as shortening cycle’s times, improving product quality, increasing team members’ satisfaction, and involving the customer in product development. However, regarding customer involvement, there is limited research, both in SAFe and in real-life agile software development projects. This study aims to develop a conceptual customer involvement process model as a basis for case studies in industrial companies which are implementing SAFe. As such, this study reflects work-in-progress, and our conceptual model can be considered as a partial achievement of a longer-term research project.