Our principal trainers, Nick McKenna and Aaron McKenna have both passed the exam to each become a SAFe® (Scaled Agile Framework®) Program Consultant 4.0 (SPC4)
At McKenna Consultants, we can now offer certified training, coaching and consultancy in the brand new SAFe® 4.0 framework through Nick and Aaron McKenna. Nick and Aaron studied hard to both pass the exam with over 90% to cement their knowledge and deepen their understanding of the framework.
SAFe® 4.0 presents an additional forth component, the value stream layer, to add further value to organisations implementing or looking to implement the framework.
If you are co-co-ordinating 3 or more software teams, comprised of 30 to 3000 people, then the SAFe® framework can work for you. If you want to find out more from McKenna Consultants, who have experience in implementing SAFe®, then get in touch to discuss your training needs.
McKenna Consultants are continuing to be an active part of the Scaled Agile community and staying at the forefront of developments by following up their attendance at the SAFe® Leadership Retreat in Scotland last year, by attending this year’s retreat in Canada.
What Is a SAFe Program Consultant (SPC)?
The SAFe Program Consultant is the highest change-agent certification within the Scaled Agile Framework. SPCs are authorised to train, coach, and consult on SAFe implementation at every level — from individual teams through to portfolio-level strategy. They can deliver official SAFe courses, certify Scrum Masters and Product Owners within the framework, and lead enterprise-wide agile transformations.
Achieving SPC certification requires passing a rigorous exam that covers the full breadth of the framework, including Lean-Agile leadership, team and programme-level practices, DevOps, continuous delivery, and Lean Portfolio Management. For a comprehensive introduction to the framework, read our post on the basics of SAFe.
What Changed in SAFe 4.0
SAFe 4.0 represented a significant evolution of the framework. The most notable addition was the Value Stream layer, which sits between the Programme and Portfolio levels. This addressed a common challenge in large organisations — how to coordinate multiple Agile Release Trains that contribute to a shared value stream without creating excessive overhead.
SAFe 4.0 also strengthened its guidance on Lean-Agile leadership, DevOps practices, and built-in quality — reflecting the increasing importance of technical excellence and continuous delivery in scaled agile environments. To explore whether SAFe is the right fit for your organisation, see our post on whether SAFe is right for you.
How SPC Certification Benefits Our Clients
As certified SPCs, we bring more than framework knowledge to our engagements. We can deliver the full suite of official SAFe training courses, run PI Planning events with confidence and structure, coach leaders and teams through the specific challenges of scaled agile adoption, and draw on a global network of SAFe practitioners and resources.
Importantly, our SPC certification complements rather than replaces our broader agile coaching experience. We have been coaching agile teams since 2004 — long before SAFe existed. This means we apply the framework with pragmatism, adapting it to each organisation's context rather than imposing a rigid blueprint. See how we applied this in practice in our SAFe Agile Release Train launch case study.
Explore our agile services or book a free consultation to discuss your SAFe implementation.
