What is commonly used to explore new ideas or determine feasibility of epics?

In the context of exploring new ideas or determining the feasibility of epics within the SAFe framework, spikes are particularly relevant. A spike is a type of exploration activity, often employed to investigate unknowns or to reduce uncertainty surrounding a feature or epic. It allows teams to research, gather information, and validate concepts or technical approaches before committing to full development.

Spikes can take various forms, such as coding, design, or even research tasks, enabling the team to make informed decisions about future work. They are essential in Agile environments where rapid iteration and adaptability are critical, as they help clarify requirements and identify potential challenges early on.

While prototyping, user stories, and workshops also play important roles in the development process, they serve different purposes. Prototyping is more about creating a preliminary version of a product or feature to visualize and test ideas. User stories are used to capture functional requirements from the user's perspective, and workshops typically facilitate collaborative discussions to generate ideas or solutions. However, for the specific activity of investigating feasibility and exploring new ideas associated with epics, spikes are the most directly aligned tool in the Agile framework.