Overview

In the SAFe value stream, Demand represents the inflow of opportunities, ideas, and requests that could potentially deliver business and customer value. This stage captures and organizes incoming work — from strategic portfolio initiatives to customer-driven feature requests — and ensures that these demands are evaluated for alignment, feasibility, and priority before significant investment is made. Effective demand management helps avoid overcommitment and ensures that the portfolio focuses on high-value opportunities.

Objectives

• Capture all sources of demand in a transparent, centralized portfolio Kanban
• Evaluate demand against strategic themes and business objectives
• Estimate potential economic value and cost of delay
• Prioritize initiatives to ensure focus on the most valuable opportunities
• Eliminate low-value or misaligned requests early to conserve resources

Dependencies

Effective demand management relies on:

• Portfolio Management and Business Owners for strategic prioritization
• Customer research, market analysis, and competitive intelligence
• Collaboration between Product Management, Solution Management, and System Architects
• Integration with backlog refinement processes in Agile Release Trains (ARTs)

Related Capabilities or Stages

Demand is directly connected to:

• Portfolio Kanban – Funnel Stage for initial intake and triage of opportunities
• Epic Hypothesis Statement creation for evaluating large initiatives
• Lean Business Case development for high-priority opportunities
• Strategic Themes to ensure alignment with enterprise direction
• Value Stream Mapping to connect demand to downstream delivery stages