AGILE AUTHORITY BLOG
Reinvigorate Your SAFe Transformation with a Product Operating Model Concept
Many SAFe transformations stall or fail to deliver the promised benefit of business agility. One prominent reason for these failures is SAFe’s insistence on using the Feature Factory approach. Let's reinvigorate your SAFe transformation with a Product Operating Model concept. The Dreaded Feature Factory A Feature Factory is where someone other than the Agile development team defines what to do. For example, SAFe describes the [...]
Stop the Madness – Technical Tasks as Backlog Items
Stop the madness! In my 20+ years of coaching Agile Teams and orgs, this is one of the most pervasive and disheartening aspects I have seen. The Pervasive Situation Take a good look at your Team backlogs. Chances are they are replete with technical tasks. The work item name typically gives it away – “Implement the ABC method”, “Code the retry API”, “Insert the new [...]
Leveraging AI in the Product Operating Model: Accelerating Discovery and Delivery
In today's fast-paced product development landscape, the Product Operating Model (POM) emphasizes close collaboration between the Product Trio - Product Manager, Designer, and Engineer - and the Customer to solve real problems efficiently. Artificial Intelligence (AI) is transforming this model by supercharging creativity, planning, and execution. While there are countless ways of leveraging AI in the Product Operating Model, let's explore three standout ways that [...]
A Leaner Alternative to SAFe for Agile Transformation
Considering SAFe for your Agile transformation? Pause and explore a more tailored, effective approach - a leaner alternative to SAFe. Having led successful large-scale SAFe rollouts, I’ve seen its strengths and weaknesses. SAFe can work, but its success hinges on flexibility rather than rigid adherence. Here’s a streamlined, four-step alternative that prioritizes value, empowerment, and lasting results. Step 1: Define Clear Business Objectives Start by [...]
SAFe’s Feature Factory vs. Product Operating Model Empowered Teams
SAFe’s emphasis on writing Features and waterfalling them into the Agile Teams is unfortunate. This approach can easily result in what is commonly known as a “Feature Factory”. In a Feature Factory, the focus is on discovering and writing Features. Unempowered teams are handed Features to go off and build. This makes the Agile Team accountable for delivering Features (an output), instead of true business [...]
It’s Not About Launching ARTs!
I’m often asked, “When will my team join an ART?” My typical go-to answer is, “Maybe never! It’s more about finding the leanest operating model than it is about launching ARTs.” SAFe does a great job introducing us to the notion of a Development Value Stream (DVS). SAFe also does a great job describing the Agile Release Train (ART) as a virtual structure of 5 [...]
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