Making the Process Work (Scrum/Kanban/SAFe)

Enterprise agile frameworks meet Solana reality: multisig deploys do not land at 3pm Friday, auditors return findings async, and Sev-1 interrupts sprints. Adapt ceremonies so process helps ship safe on-chain software.

Recipe

Quick-reference recipe card - copy-paste ready.

## Solana Definition of Done
- [ ] LiteSVM / anchor tests green
- [ ] IDL published if program changed
- [ ] Devnet deploy tx linked in ticket
- [ ] Runbook/monitor updated if ops impact
- [ ] Security checklist in PR description

When to reach for this:

• Adopting Scrum or Kanban on new Solana team
• SAFe PI planning includes blockchain workstream
• Retros find "done" stories without deploy
• Scaling past one squad

Working Example

## Kanban board columns
 
Backlog -> Spec/RFC -> In Dev -> In Review -> Devnet -> Ready for Mainnet -> Done
 
**WIP limit:** In Dev max 3 per engineer (program PRs are heavy)
 
**Expedite lane:** Sev-1 incident / audit Critical finding
- Preempts WIP; only IC can pull card

Sprint planning adjustment:

• Reserve 20% capacity not pointed (incidents + reviews)
• Mainnet deploy stories split from devnet-complete stories
• Carry-over rule: if no devnet tx, story rolls automatically

What this demonstrates:

• Devnet deploy as explicit column, not imaginary "done"
• Expedite class for incidents
• Capacity reserve for Solana-specific interrupt work

Deep Dive

Scrum Adaptations

• Sprint goal: One measurable on-chain outcome (e.g., "deposit on devnet")
• Review demo: Explorer link + wallet flow, not slides only
• Retro: Include incident and near-miss review monthly

Kanban Adaptations

• Cycle time: Track spec -> devnet -> mainnet separately
• Blocked: "Waiting audit", "Waiting multisig" visible stickers

SAFe Adaptations

• Enabler stories: Kit migration, RPC failover - first-class on program board
• Architect sync: RFC pipeline reviewed in system sync

Gotchas

• Velocity as commitment - Story points ignore audit wait. Fix: Lead time metrics in SAFe/QBR.
• Done without devnet - "Merged" treated as shipped. Fix: DoD gate in Jira automation.
• No expedite policy - Every story "urgent". Fix: Only IC pulls expedite lane.
• Cross-team dependency invisible - Client blocked on IDL. Fix: Dependency tags on cards.
• Ceremony overload - No time to review #[account]. Fix: Trim meetings; protect review time.

Alternatives

FAQs

Related

• Delivery Best Practices - release DoD
• Estimation & Risk - sprint commitment input
• DORA Metrics for Web3 - measure process outcomes

Stack versions: This page was written for Agave 4.1.1, Solana CLI 3.0.10, Anchor 0.32.1, anchor-lang 0.32.1, Rust 1.91.1, @solana/kit 7.0.0, Surfpool 0.12.0, and LiteSVM 0.6.x.