Let’s briefly explore my list of 6 devastating SAFe anti-patterns. Each of these can be considered "devastating" due to the tremendous amounts of waste involved. #1 – Installing SAFe As-Is SAFe is huge. It is designed to cover most transformation needs from a perspective of scaling Agile at all levels – team, program, portfolio, and enterprise. Thinking of going SAFe? Here is a “SAFe [...]
One of the biggest anti-patterns I have consistently seen with SAFe enterprises is the misuse of the Large Solution level. Organizations (and yes Coaches) tend to misinterpret this extra level as required for inter-ART collaboration. They launch ARTs, realize that inter-ART dependencies exist, and immediately slap on the Large Solution as another level of overhead. Stop the madness! What Does SAFe Say? Here are [...]
Wouldn’t it be great if there was guidance on how to know if your Agile transformation is doomed to failure? Perhaps a short set of leading indicators or “red alerts” that give us an early warning signal? If we have this, we could react and potentially turn the ship around before it hits the iceberg. It could save millions in cost, time, and effort. Caveat [...]
We all agree that Agile teams should be self-organizing, right? Then prove it. Teams should choose their Agile approach! Why do we pigeonhole teams into either Scrum or Kanban? Instead, why don’t we TRUST the team to self-organize and come up with their own Agile approach that works for them? Instead of dictating a specific Agile method or framework for the team, we should provide [...]
Leaders considering an Agile transformation should reach deep and examine their motives. They should also embark upon this journey with eyes wide open, understanding what they themselves must be willing to do to lead the charge. Let’s start with a gut-check list for leaders considering an Agile transformation: Am I willing to realign people and teams to the flow of value? Am I willing to dedicate [...]
For those of you considering an Agile transformation, here is my advice on your #1 consideration. Ask yourself this question: “Is my organization willing to align to value with cross-functional teams?” The question is about your willingness to realign your organization to value. In my opinion, all other considerations are secondary and pale in comparison to this one. Let’s unpack the question a bit. Alignment [...]
When it comes to seeking help for an Agile transformation, there are Agile Coaches and there are Framework Implementors. If you are considering launching an Agile transformation, you need to understand the difference. Start by asking a potential Agile Coach this question: “How would you engage with us to kick off our Agile transformation?” Real Agile Coach A real Agile Coach will answer the above [...]
As an IT or business leader starting an Agile transformation, the enormity of it can appear quite daunting. The cost can be significant. The risks are real. What if it goes on forever with no real impact to the bottom line? How do I ensure it sticks? These are all valid questions and concerns for a leader about to kick off their Agile transformation. Lead [...]
Due to their centralized nature, Shared Service teams have special considerations and needs that Agile coaches should be aware of. This article discusses four focus areas for when coaching Shared Services. Shared Services teams are typically inundated with a large amount of requests. It is not uncommon to see the service demand much higher than the available capacity of the team. To make matters worse, [...]
A significant revision of the official Scrum Guide 2020 was released this month (here). Here are my thoughts when comparing it to the previous 2017 version. Overall Thoughts The Scrum Guide is even more streamlined now. The length of the artifact has been reduced from 19 to 14 pages. Kudos to the authors, Jeff Sutherland and Ken Schwaber, for their consistent emphasis on short [...]