SAFe Programs Mode - Nextedy Documentation

SAFe Programs Mode requires a Polarion SAFe Solution configuration. Programs are discovered automatically from the SAFe Solution data at portfolio level. Contact Nextedy support if the SAFe Solution has not been set up in your Polarion instance.

Overview

SAFe Programs Mode board layout: rows are SAFe Programs (Program A, B, C) sourced from the Polarion SAFe Solution, columns are Program Increments (PI-1, PI-2, PI-3), and cards are work items placed in a Program/PI cell

In this mode the board renders one swimlane per SAFe Program discovered in the solution train. Work items are placed in the swimlane that corresponds to their safeProgram custom field value. Planners can drag cards between swimlanes to reassign a work item to a different program, and between columns to move it between PIs.

Assignment Mode Parameter

Parameter	Value
Widget parameter	`assignmentMode`
Value for this mode	`SAFE_PROGRAMS`
Defined in	`AssignmentMode.java`

Set this in the Swimlanes (Rows) section of the widget parameters panel.

Parameters

The following parameters apply when assignmentMode is set to Programs (SAFe) (SAFE_PROGRAMS).

Core Assignment Parameters

Name	Type	Default	Description
`assignmentMode`	`string`	`ASSIGNEE`	Set to `SAFE_PROGRAMS` to activate SAFe Programs Mode.
`safeProgramField`	`string`	`safeProgram`	Custom field ID that stores the SAFe Program assignment for work items. Must reference a valid Polarion enumeration field. Change this only if your SAFe Solution uses a non-standard field ID.
`showEmptySwimlanes`	`boolean`	`false`	When `true`, all programs from the solution train are shown as swimlanes even if they have no planned work items in the current view. When `false`, empty program rows are hidden.
`swimlaneSort`	`string`	`alphabetical`	Sort order for program swimlanes. Controls the vertical ordering of program rows on the board.
`collapsibleSwimlanes`	`boolean`	`true`	Enables users to collapse and expand individual program swimlanes to reduce visual complexity on large boards.

Swimlane Sort Options

The swimlaneSort parameter accepts the following values:

Value	Behaviour
`alphabetical`	Swimlanes are ordered alphabetically by program name (default).

Additional swimlaneSort values beyond alphabetical may be available. Verify the full set of accepted values against the live Planningboard widget configuration panel.

Plans Mode Parameters (used with SAFe Programs Mode)

SAFe Programs Mode is typically combined with a SAFe plans mode. The plansMode parameter controls which plan type appears as columns.

Name	Type	Default	Description
`plansMode`	`string`	`PROJECT_PLANS`	Set to `SAFE_PIS` (Program Increments in Program mode) or `SAFE_SOLUTION` (Program Increments in Solution mode) for SAFe portfolio-level planning alongside SAFe Programs swimlanes.

See SAFe Program Increments and SAFe Solution Trains for column configuration when using this swimlane mode.

Capacity Parameters (interaction with SAFe Programs Mode)

Name	Type	Default	Description
`capacityLoad`	`boolean`	`false`	Enables capacity tracking. When enabled, capacity bars appear per swimlane (per program) reflecting planned effort vs. program capacity.
`multiCapacityLoad`	`boolean`	`false`	Enables per-cell capacity tracking. Each plan–program cell shows its own capacity progress bar. Use when individual programs have different capacities per PI.
`capacityField`	`string`	—	Custom field ID containing capacity values (e.g., story points). If not set, time-based tracking (`remainingEstimate` / `initialEstimate`) is used.
`hoursPerDay`	`number`	`8`	Working hours per day used in capacity calculations when time-based tracking is active.

Capacity configuration parameters are whitespace-sensitive. Ensure there are no leading or trailing spaces when entering field IDs or numeric values.

General Swimlane Parameters

Name	Type	Default	Description
`query`	`string`	`NOT :`	Lucene query to filter which work items are loaded onto the board.
`maxItems`	`number`	`1000`	Maximum number of work items loaded.
`wiType`	`string`	—	Work item type filter (e.g., `feature`, `story`) to restrict displayed items to a specific type.

SAFe Program Field

The safeProgramField property defines which custom field on each work item carries the program assignment.

Name	Type	Default
`safeProgramField`	`string`	`safeProgram`

Behaviour:

The field must be an enumeration field whose options correspond to the programs in your SAFe Solution.
When a planner drags a card from one program swimlane to another, Planningboard writes the new program value back to this field on the work item.
If the field does not exist on the work item type being displayed, items cannot be assigned to program swimlanes via drag-and-drop.

Example — custom field ID:

safeProgramField=program_assignment

Use this override when your SAFe Solution uses a field with a different ID than the default safeProgram.

Configuration Example

The following widget parameter configuration sets up a portfolio-level Planningboard with SAFe Programs as swimlanes and Program Increments as columns.

# Swimlanes — SAFe Programs
assignmentMode=SAFE_PROGRAMS
safeProgramField=safeProgram
showEmptySwimlanes=false
swimlaneSort=alphabetical
collapsibleSwimlanes=true

# Plans (Columns) — SAFe Program Increments at Solution level
plansMode=SAFE_SOLUTION

# Work items
query=type:feature
maxItems=500

# Capacity
capacityLoad=true
capacityField=storyPoints
hoursPerDay=8

When configuring SAFe Programs Mode with Program Increment columns, the Program Increment Parameter ID field must reference a Page Parameter that you create explicitly in the widget configuration. Configuration UI fields differ by plansMode selection — switching from Project Plans (PROJECT_PLANS) to SAFe Program Increments in Solution (SAFE_SOLUTION) changes which fields are visible in the widget panel. Create the Page Parameter first, then reference its ID in the PI increment field.

Swimlane Discovery

Programs are not manually defined in the widget — they are sourced automatically from the Polarion SAFe Solution data at portfolio level.

Implications:

Adding or removing a program in the SAFe Solution is reflected on the board after a page reload.
Programs with no work items are hidden by default (showEmptySwimlanes=false). Set showEmptySwimlanes=true to always show all programs.
The board does not allow creating new programs from the board UI — program management is done in the Polarion SAFe Solution configuration.

Drag-and-Drop Behaviour

Action	Result
Drag a card to a different program swimlane	Updates the `safeProgramField` value on the work item to the target program.
Drag a card to a different plan column	Updates the work item’s plan assignment (start/end date logic applies).
Drag a card to both a different program and a different plan	Updates both the program field and the plan assignment.
Drag in prioritize mode	Drag-and-drop between swimlanes is blocked in prioritize mode.
Drag in read-only mode	Drag-and-drop is blocked entirely when the board is in read-only mode.

Mode	Swimlane Unit	Typical Planning Level	Requires SAFe Solution
Programs (SAFe) (`SAFE_PROGRAMS`)	SAFe Program (ART / Value Stream)	Portfolio	Yes
Program / Solution Teams (SAFe) (`SAFE_TEAM`)	SAFe Team within current program	Program	Yes
Agile Release Train Teams (SAFe) (`SAFE_TRAIN_TEAM`)	Teams within a specific ART	ART / Train	Yes
Users (Assignee) (`ASSIGNEE`)	Individual user	Team / Sprint	No
Project (`PROJECT`)	Sub-project	Cross-project	No
Enumeration Field (`ENUM`)	Custom enumeration field value	Any	No

For team-level SAFe planning within a single program, use SAFe Team Mode. For planning across all teams of a specific Agile Release Train, use SAFe Train Team Mode.

Limitations

No multi-assignee capacity distribution: Capacity load in SAFe Programs Mode reflects work item totals per program swimlane. Multi-assignee effort distribution (splitting capacity across multiple resources) is not supported — this is a known gap versus Nextedy GANTT.
Swimlane sort order coupled to item sort: The sort order of swimlanes affects the sort order of items within those swimlanes. It is not possible to independently configure swimlane order and item order within swimlanes.
Parent Mode normalization not available: Plan normalization (planCellsMode) is not supported when assignmentMode is set to Programs (SAFe) (SAFE_PROGRAMS).
SAFe Solution dependency: If no SAFe Solution is configured in Polarion, the board will render no swimlanes in this mode. The mode silently produces an empty board rather than an error when the data source is missing.
Portfolio suffix configuration: Portfolio-level program discovery may require additional portfolio suffix configuration. Contact Nextedy support for environment-specific setup guidance.

Assignment Modes — overview of all swimlane assignment types
SAFe Team Mode — swimlanes by SAFe team within the current program
SAFe Train Team Mode — swimlanes by teams within a specific ART
SAFe Parameters — full SAFe widget parameter reference
SAFe Program Increments — configuring PI columns
SAFe Solution Trains — solution-level plan columns
Swimlanes Parameters — all swimlane widget parameters
Capacity Parameters — capacity bar configuration

Sources

KB Articles

Swimlane Assignment Types

Support Tickets

#5879

Source Code

PlanningBoardWidgetRenderer.java
PlansMode.java
PlanningBoardDataService.java
AssignmentMode.java
PlanningBoardWidgetDependenciesProcessor.java

​Overview

​Assignment Mode Parameter

​Parameters

​Core Assignment Parameters

​Swimlane Sort Options

​Plans Mode Parameters (used with SAFe Programs Mode)

​Capacity Parameters (interaction with SAFe Programs Mode)

​General Swimlane Parameters

​SAFe Program Field

​Configuration Example

​Swimlane Discovery

​Drag-and-Drop Behaviour

​Comparison with Related Assignment Modes

​Limitations

​Related Pages

Overview

Assignment Mode Parameter

Parameters

Core Assignment Parameters

Swimlane Sort Options

Plans Mode Parameters (used with SAFe Programs Mode)

Capacity Parameters (interaction with SAFe Programs Mode)

General Swimlane Parameters

SAFe Program Field

Configuration Example

Swimlane Discovery

Drag-and-Drop Behaviour

Comparison with Related Assignment Modes

Limitations

Related Pages