Scaling Agile: Deploying SAFe for Larger Enterprises
Larger organisations, much like grand orchestras are filled with talent and potential. They grapple with the rapid pace of change, whether it’s constant or unpredictable. These entities must navigate customer demands, supply chain intricacies, and the transformative impact of digital technology, all while integrating emerging technologies such as AI, Big Data, and Cloud. Their expansive size and layered policies can occasionally slow decision-making, but the innovative thinkers within them hold immense value. Recognising this, the SAFe Agile Framework provides a structured approach to harness their potential. By aligning teams, refining processes, and fostering a culture of continuous improvement, SAFe enables these organisations to unlock their true value and nimbly address market demands.
Our Approach
Our experience shows that achieving agile at scale is most effective when adopting an established, proven approach like the Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe). It is essential to inspect and adapt this framework to your organisation’s specific needs, domain, and objectives.
SAFe is more than just processes; it is a shift in mindset and culture. By training and developing teams in this new way of working, organisations empower their members to transform how they create and deliver value to customers. This enhances business agility, enabling larger organisations and their cross-functional Agile Teams to innovate swiftly, navigate market disruptions and seize opportunities with digitally enabled business solutions.
SAFe encompasses principles, processes, and best practices, including Agile methodologies like Kanban and Scrum, Built-in Quality, and Value Stream Management. It assists larger organisations in rapidly developing and delivering high-quality products and services. In today’s fast-paced world, accelerating value flow is not just a competitive advantage—it is a vital survival skill.
The Agile Framework is especially apt for complex initiatives involving numerous individuals across multiple teams. As organisations transition to SAFe, they build capabilities in seven core competencies and foster a culture that prioritises flow. Training teams in these competencies helps eliminate wasteful activities, ensuring uninterrupted value flow—a critical factor for success and rapid market response.
This approach provides a clear metric for gauging progress towards business agility across all enterprise levels. Achieving this requires collaboration and leadership to align their teams with the overarching strategy. It is about creating alignment and engagement around clear, ambitious goals that are set, monitored, and reassessed regularly.
