SAFe Sprints - Nextedy Documentation

Overview

The SAFe Sprints plans mode (SAFE_SPRINTS) is one of the planning modes available in Planningboard. When active, Planningboard automatically queries Polarion for iteration-level plans within an Agile Release Train (ART) rather than using a manually specified plan query. The mode is intended for teams operating at the program (ART) level of a SAFe hierarchy. A second variant, the SAFe Sprints in Portfolio mode (SAFE_PFL_SPRINTS), targets the portfolio level — it displays sprint-level planning across multiple programs in a solution portfolio. Both variants are documented on this page; see SAFe Program Increments and SAFe Solution Trains for PI-level and solution-level modes.

SAFe hierarchy levels and their plans modes: Portfolio Level uses SAFe Sprints in Portfolio, Program Level (ART) uses SAFe Sprints in Program, and Team Level has no separate plans mode (teams are swimlanes under SAFe Sprints in Program)

Plans Mode Values

Value	Description
`SAFE_SPRINTS`	SAFe Sprints in Program mode — displays sprint/iteration plans within a single Agile Release Train.
`SAFE_PFL_SPRINTS`	SAFe Sprints in Portfolio mode — displays sprint/iteration plans across multiple programs in a solution portfolio.

These values are set via the Plans (Columns) widget parameter plansMode. See Plans (Columns) Parameters for the full parameter reference.

How Plans Are Loaded

When plansMode is SAFE_SPRINTS or SAFE_PFL_SPRINTS, Planningboard automatically sets the plan query to filter for iteration plans using the Polarion SAFe plan template:

template.id:iterationPlan

This query is applied automatically — you do not configure plansQuery manually in these modes. Planningboard uses the Polarion SAFe Solution data to discover the current program and its associated iteration plans.

Both SAFe Sprints in Program (SAFE_SPRINTS) and SAFe Sprints in Portfolio (SAFE_PFL_SPRINTS) require Polarion SAFe Solution to be installed and configured. The board reads the SAFe hierarchy (portfolio, program, team projects) from Polarion’s SAFe metadata. If SAFe Solution is not present, these modes will not load plans correctly.

The following widget parameters are relevant when plansMode is set to SAFE_SPRINTS or SAFE_PFL_SPRINTS. Parameters from Plans (Columns) Parameters apply; only SAFe-specific behavior is noted here.

Core Plans Parameters

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
`plansMode`	string	`PROJECT_PLANS`	Set to `SAFE_SPRINTS` (program-level sprints) or `SAFE_PFL_SPRINTS` (portfolio-level sprints) to activate this mode.
`lastPlans`	number	`1`	Number of past completed sprint Plans to display.
`nextPlans`	number	`5`	Number of upcoming sprint Plans to display.
`planLink`	string	`/polarion/#/project/${plan.objectId.projectId}/plan?id=${plan.objectId.itemId}`	URL template for linking card columns to their Polarion Plan. Supports `${plan.*}` variables.

SAFe-Specific Parameters

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
`plansQuery`	string	(auto-set)	In SAFe Sprints mode, this is set automatically to `template.id:iterationPlan`. Manual override is not recommended and may break plan loading.

The Program Increment Parameter ID field (referenced in support tickets for SAFe configuration) controls which PI’s sprints are shown when the board is used within a specific Program Increment context. Confirm exact parameter name and behavior in the live widget configuration panel, as the field is shown only when SAFe Sprints in Program (SAFE_SPRINTS) or SAFe Sprints in Portfolio (SAFE_PFL_SPRINTS) is selected.

SAFe Parameters

Additional SAFe-specific parameters are available under the SAFe section of the widget. See SAFe Parameters for the full list.

Configuration UI Differences by Plans Mode

Selecting SAFe Sprints in Program (SAFE_SPRINTS) or SAFe Sprints in Portfolio (SAFE_PFL_SPRINTS) changes which configuration fields are visible in the widget parameters panel:

Field / Section	Project Plans	SAFe Sprints in Program	SAFe Sprints in Portfolio
Scope / Query / Type	Visible	Hidden	Hidden
Plan Items section	Visible	Hidden	Hidden
SAFe PI Increment field	Hidden	Visible	Visible
Sync to Parent	Visible	Hidden	Hidden
Plan Link field	Visible	Visible	Visible
Plan Stemming	Configurable	Not available	Not available

The configuration UI changes dynamically when you switch the Plans Type (plans mode) selection. If fields you expect are missing, verify that the correct plans mode is selected.

Swimlane Assignment Types for SAFe Sprints

SAFe Sprints mode is typically combined with SAFe-specific swimlane assignment types to display teams or programs as rows. The most relevant assignment modes are:

Assignment Mode	Constant	Use With
Program / Solution Teams (SAFe)	`SAFE_TEAM`	Swimlanes per SAFe team within the current program. Requires SAFe Solution.
Agile Release Train Teams (SAFe)	`SAFE_TRAIN_TEAM`	Swimlanes per team within a specific ART, filtered by ART ID parameter.
Programs (SAFe)	`SAFE_PROGRAMS`	Swimlanes per program (for portfolio-level boards).

See SAFe Team Mode, SAFe Train Team Mode, and SAFe Programs Mode for details. Other assignment modes (Users (Assignee), Parent Item, Enumeration Field, Project, No Swimlanes) are also compatible with SAFe Sprints columns. See Assignment Modes for the full reference.

Capacity in SAFe Sprints Mode

Capacity tracking works in SAFe Sprints mode through the same parameters as other modes. The capacity bar per swimlane reflects the configured capacity field or time-tracking fields aggregated across the sprint Plan.

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
`capacityLoad`	boolean	`false`	Enable capacity/effort tracking on work items and Plans.
`multiCapacityLoad`	boolean	`false`	Enable per-swimlane capacity tracking.
`userCapacityLoad`	boolean	`false`	Enable user-level capacity loading when using the Teams Service.
`capacityField`	string	(none)	Custom field ID containing capacity values (e.g., story points).
`hoursPerDay`	number	`8`	Working hours per day for capacity calculations.
`useTeamsService`	boolean	`false`	Enable integration with the Polarion Teams Service for team capacity data.

See Capacity Parameters for the complete capacity reference.

Planningboard does not support multi-assignee capacity distribution or sub-item effort distribution. Capacity is tracked per the configured capacityField or time-tracking fields on the work item itself. This is a known limitation relative to GANTT capacity features.

SAFe Plan Naming and Version Compatibility

SAFe naming conventions typically use dash characters in plan names (for example, PI-2401, I-2401-1). A parsing bug in earlier versions caused these names to break column spanning, capacity display, and plan shortcuts.

Version	Behavior
Before 23.8.0	Dash characters in plan names cause rendering failures.
23.8.0	Partial fix for dash handling in plan names.
25.3.0	Full fix — dash characters in plan names are correctly handled.

If your SAFe plans use dash-containing names (e.g., PI-2401, I-2401-1), upgrade to version 25.3.0 or later to avoid broken column spans, zero capacity display, and missing plan shortcuts.

Multi-Sprint Item Display

When a work item is planned across multiple sprints, Planningboard renders it as a continuous block spanning from the first to the last planned sprint, regardless of whether intermediate sprints are included. This is current behavior; individual sprint instances are not shown separately.

Items planned across multiple sprints appear as one unbroken block from first to last sprint. Intermediate sprints that do not individually contain the item are visually covered by the span. There is no per-sprint instance rendering at this time.

Configuration Example

The following example shows a widget configured for SAFe Sprints at the program level, with SAFe Team swimlanes and story-point capacity tracking.

# Plans (Columns)
plansMode = SAFE_SPRINTS
lastPlans = 1
nextPlans = 4

# Work Items
query = type:story OR type:task
wiType = story

# Swimlanes (Rows)
assignmentMode = SAFE_TEAM

# Capacity
capacityLoad = true
capacityField = storyPoints
hoursPerDay = 8

For portfolio-level sprint planning across multiple programs, change plansMode to SAFE_PFL_SPRINTS and assignmentMode to SAFE_PROGRAMS.

Plans Modes — Overview of all available plans modes
SAFe Program Increments — PI-level planning at program and solution levels
SAFe Solution Trains — Solution-level planning
Project Plans — Standard project-based plans mode
SAFe Parameters — Full SAFe widget parameter reference
Plans (Columns) Parameters — Complete plans parameter reference
SAFe Team Mode — Swimlanes by SAFe team
SAFe Train Team Mode — Swimlanes by ART team
SAFe Programs Mode — Swimlanes by SAFe program
Capacity Parameters — Capacity and effort tracking configuration

Sources

KB Articles

Swimlane Assignment Types

Support Tickets

Source Code

PlansMode.java
PlanningBoardDataService.java
PlanningBoardWidgetRenderer.java
Config.java
PlanningBoardWidgetDependenciesProcessor.java

​Overview

​Plans Mode Values

​How Plans Are Loaded

​Widget Parameters

​Core Plans Parameters

​SAFe-Specific Parameters

​SAFe Parameters

​Configuration UI Differences by Plans Mode

​Swimlane Assignment Types for SAFe Sprints

​Capacity in SAFe Sprints Mode

​SAFe Plan Naming and Version Compatibility

​Multi-Sprint Item Display

​Configuration Example

​Related Pages

Overview

Plans Mode Values

How Plans Are Loaded

Widget Parameters

Core Plans Parameters

SAFe-Specific Parameters

SAFe Parameters

Configuration UI Differences by Plans Mode

Swimlane Assignment Types for SAFe Sprints

Capacity in SAFe Sprints Mode

SAFe Plan Naming and Version Compatibility

Multi-Sprint Item Display

Configuration Example

Related Pages