eleks.com

When SAFe is safe:Agile по-доросломуby Anna Mamaieva, Senior Project Manager

Let’s let's get acquaintedSenior Project Manager, ELEKS7+ years in IT (Project/Product Management)• Mobile applications (iOS, Android)• Web-solutions development and management (Java, .Net)• Product developing and Marketing

• Cross-functional team leadership• SAFe Agile certified (2016)

Agenda

• Doing Agile vs. being Agile• Do not trouble trouble until… • House of rising Lean • Framework overview

stateofagile.versionone.com

• Is responsiveness works as a differentiator? • Future characterized by:

Understand level of adaptivness

➔ high uncertainty? ➔ high levels of innovation vs. maintenance?

• Is the organization planning or undergoing a major pivot or shift? • Does first-to-market matter for our business?

Environment to scale right● Leadership buy-in

Management should communicate goals consistently and often to the rest of the organization

● Support autonomyTeams should be allowed to create, inspect and adapt their own processes

● Encourage collaboration● Standardize only what is important

some standardization can help scale your agility by helping your organization understand the big picture

Culture eats strategy for breakfast

● Interfacing between teams● Achieving technical consistency● Interpretation of agile differs

between teams● High-level requirements

management largely missing in agile

● Gap between long and short term planning

Coordination challenges

LeSS, DAD or SAFe®?Large-scale Scrum (LeSS)

regular Scrum applied in multiple levels to suit large-scale development;several feature teams under one Product Owner (PO)

Disciplined Agile Delivery (DAD)people-first, learning-oriented hybrid agile approach to IT solution delivery;a modification of Scrum with elements added from a variety of other methods

Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe®)highly structured and prescriptive method;differentiates between Team, Program, and Portfolio levels www.agilescaling.org

Embrace Lean-Agile valuesHouse of Lean

LEADERSHIP

Res

pect

for

peop

le a

nd c

ultu

re

Flow

Inno

vatio

n

Rel

entle

ssim

prov

emen

t

VALUE

Value in the sustainably shortest lead time

1. Take an economic view2. Apply systems thinking3. Assume variability; preserve options4. Build incrementally with fast, integrated

learning cycles5. Base milestones on objective evaluation of

working systems6. Visualize and limit WIP, reduce batch sizes,

and manage queue lengths 7. Apply cadence, synchronize with cross-

domain planning8. Unlock the intrinsic motivation of knowledge

workers9. Decentralize decision-making

LEVELS

Portfolio, Value Stream, Program, and Team levels

1. Each SAFe portfolio contains a set of Value Streams and the additional elements necessary to provide funding and governance for the products, services, and Solutions that the Enterprise needs to fulfill some element of the business strategy.

2. The Value Stream Level is intended for builders of large and complex solutions that typically require multiple ARTs

3. The Team and Program Levels make up the long-lived, self-organizing virtual organization known as the Agile Release Train (ART). Without teams, there can be no program.

The art of ART

1. The train departs the station and arrives at the next destination on a reliable schedule, which provides for fixed cadence, standard ART velocity, and predictable planning (and in many cases, cadence-based releases).

2. All “cargo,” including prototypes, models, software, hardware, documentation, etc., goes on the train

THE PEOPLE

Roles and responsibilitiesTeam Levelsmall cross-functional teams that are empowered to make localized decisions to get work done

Program Level• The Release Train Engineer facilitates the activities of the

Agile Release Train, much like the Scrum Master facilitates the activities of the team.

• Product Management is responsible for the Program Vision and Roadmap.

• The System Architect/Engineer plays a critical role in helping align teams in a common technical direction toward accomplishment of the mission, Vision, and Roadmap.

Roles and responsibilitiesPortfolio Level

• We have the Program Portfolio Management team responsible for strategy and investment funding, program execution, and governance.

• The Enterprise Architect works across Value Streams and Agile Release Trains to provide strategic technical guidance in such areas as technology stack recommendations, interoperability of solutions, and hosting strategies

• The Epic Owner is a role, not a title. This person takes responsibility for the business case and implementation guidance of initiatives, called Epics in SAFe

THE BACKLOGS

One backlog to rule them all

• The backlogs contain prioritized functionality and enablers. Enablers are the exploration, architecture, and infrastructure needed to support the functionality.

• Epics are identified and progressively elaborated as they flow through the Portfolio Kanban System. The Kanban System makes the strategic business initiatives visible and brings a structured analysis process driven by economics. There are Kanban Systems at the Value Stream and Program Levels, as well.

THE CADENCE

Heartbeat and Release• the Program Level, the teams on the Agile

Release Train work in 8 – 12 week increments, called Programs Increments, or PIs. A PI begins with a higher level planning event, called PI Planning, and ends with a demo and retrospective known as “Inspect and Adapt.”

• The teams on the Agile Release Train develop on cadence, but can release any time based on business needs.

• At the Value Stream Level, additional coordination activities may be required to align all Agile Release Trains (and Suppliers) in the Value Stream.

VALUE DELIVERY

Budget meeting wishes• The connection between the enterprise business strategy and

the Portfolio is through Strategic Themes. • Budgets are allocated to Value Streams in order to

decentralize decisions which can be made quickly and efficiently at the Value Stream Level.

• Sequencing of Epics, Capabilities, and Features is driven by a Lean approach called Weighted Shortest Job First (WSJF) which looks at the cost of delaying one item in order to do another.

• The Economic Framework is a set of decision rules that aligns everyone to both the mission and the financial constraints.

• The business value delivered at the end of each Program Increment is assessed by the Business Owners to measure planned vs. actual.

Inspired by Technology.Driven by Value.

Find us at eleks.comHave a question? Write to eleksinfo@eleks.com