During this on-demand webinar, Scaled Agile Principal Consultant and Framework team member, Andrew Sales, and Tasktop Sr. Value Stream Architect, Lee Reid, discuss how the three measurement domains of SAFe—Outcomes, Flow, and Competency—provide a comprehensive, yet simple, model for measuring business agility at every level of the enterprise and view data from an actual product value stream to demonstrate how Flow Metrics can enable productive conversations with the business about prioritizing work, while still maintaining the taxonomy of SAFe for teams to implement and improve.

1. © Scaled Agile, Inc.
© 2020 Tasktop Technologies Incorporated.

2. © 2021 Tasktop
Presenters
Andrew Sales
SAFe Fellow, SPCT and Principal
Consultant, Scaled Agile
Lee Reid
Senior Value Stream Architect,
Tasktop

3. © Scaled Agile, Inc.
Business Agility is a journey not a destination
Agile Business
Business Agility is the ability to compete and thrive in the digital age by
quickly responding to market changes and emerging opportunities with
innovative business solutions.

4. © Scaled Agile, Inc.
© Scaled Agile, Inc.
Three SAFe® measurement domains
A comprehensive, yet simple, model for measuring progress toward
business agility.
https://www.scaledagileframework.com/metrics/

5. © Scaled Agile, Inc.
Applicable at all levels of the framework

6. © Scaled Agile, Inc.
© Scaled Agile, Inc.
Outcome Metrics

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Measuring Portfolio Outcomes with Development Value Stream KPIs
Development Value Stream
key performance indicators
(KPIs) are the quantifiable
measures used to evaluate
how a value stream is
performing against its
forecasted business outcomes.
2
1
https://www.scaledagileframework.com/value-stream-kpis-2/

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1. KPIs associated with the Operational Value Streams supported

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2. KPIs derived from Strategic Themes

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A Hierarchy of Outcome Metrics
Iteration Goals
§ Localized outcome metrics such as
Iteration Goals and PI Objectives are
also used effectively by teams and
trains to focus their efforts on the needs
of the customer and the business.
§ Shifts focus away from developing
features to achieving the desired
business outcomes.
§ Results in improved alignment and trust
between development and stakeholders.

11. © Scaled Agile, Inc.
© Scaled Agile, Inc.
Organizational Competency

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Seven Core Competencies of Business Agility

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Set the Improvement Strategy with the Business Agility Assessment
• Assess across all seven
core competencies
• Measure overall progress on the
goal of true Business Agility
• Identify focus areas that would
benefit from improvement
activities
• Create a baseline for
demonstrating progress

14. © Scaled Agile, Inc.
Identify Specific Actions with Core Competency Assessments
• One assessment for each one of
the seven core competencies
• Assess at a greater level of detail
to generate deeper insights
• Measure the progress being made
toward a specific core competency
• Identify specific practices for
potential improvement

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Example opportunities to measure
Scenario 1: Create a
business agility baseline
Scenario 2: Measure ART
effectiveness (APD and TTA)
Scenario 3: Accelerate to business agility

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Approaches to facilitating the assessments
Act then discuss Agree then act
• Collect data in a workshop setting or
via a survey
• Capture all individual data points
• Ensure participants are familiar with
SAFe terminology
• Facilitated in a workshop setting
• Discuss statements and assess as
a group
• Ensures alignment around the
statements

17. © Scaled Agile, Inc.
So, what should we analyze?
Strengths
1. Statements with the highest
scores (average)
2. Statements with the largest
positive difference
(compared to a benchmark)
3. Statements with the highest
amount of agreement
(standard deviation)
Opportunities
1. Statements with the lowest
scores (average)
2. Statements with the largest
negative difference
(compared to a benchmark)
3. Statements with the least
amount of agreement
(standard deviation)

18. © Scaled Agile, Inc.
© Scaled Agile, Inc.
Flow Metrics

19. © Scaled Agile, Inc.
Efficiency of Value Delivery
“As startups disrupt every market and tech giants pull further ahead of
entrenched businesses, the majority of enterprise IT organizations are facing an
existential crisis. Either they quickly become much better at software delivery,
or they risk becoming a digital relic.”
— Dr. Mik Kersten
Tasktop CEO and author of Project to Product

20. © Scaled Agile, Inc.
© 2020 Tasktop Technologies Incorporated.
Flow Metrics

21. © 2021 Tasktop
What flows in a value stream?
Business value creation work and business value protection work.

22. © 2021 Tasktop
Are our outcomes aligned
with business priorities?
Flow Distribution

23. © 2021 Tasktop
How much customer value
are we delivering over time?
Flow Velocity

24. © 2021 Tasktop
Is time-to-market getting shorter
to outpace the competition and
shorten feedback loops?
Flow Time

25. © 2021 Tasktop
Are we balancing demand vs.
capacity to ensure future
productivity?
Flow Load

26. © 2021 Tasktop
Is waste decreasing in
our processes?
Flow Efficiency

27. © 2021 Tasktop
Are our customers getting
what they asked for?
Flow Predictability
Flow Predictability measures
how well teams, ARTs and
Solution Trains are able to plan
and meet their PI objectives.
© Scaled Agile, Inc.

28. © 2021 Tasktop
Tasktop Viz®
Product-Level Dashboards

29. © 2021 Tasktop
Tasktop Viz Demonstration

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© Scaled Agile, Inc.
Effective Measurement

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Four Critical Success Factors
1. Use measurement in conjunction
with other discovery tools
2. Apply metrics where they
support improved decision making
3. Understand the effect of
metrics on behavior
4. Interpret metrics carefully

32. © Scaled Agile, Inc.
To be driven by data, companies need to develop
cultures in which this mindset can flourish.
Leaders can promote this shift through example,
by practicing new habits and creating expectations
for what it really means to root decisions in data.”
— HBR, 2020

33. © 2021 Tasktop
Next Steps
Join the Flow Framework Community
• Slack community for business and technology leaders
interested in the Flow Framework® and value stream
management (VSM).
• Answering questions in the #scaled-agile-framework
channel
• Join the community:
www.flowframework.org/flow-framework-community
Learn more
Tasktop: www.tasktop.com
Scaled Agile: www.scaledagile.com

34. © Scaled Agile, Inc.
Flow Metrics: From Micromanagement
Misery to Business Agility
Dr. Mik Kersten | Tasktop CEO & Author of Project to Product
Measure What Matters for Business
Agility: Outcomes, Flow and Competency
Andrew Sales | Scaled Agile SPCT and SAFe Fellow
September 27 – October 1
Americas | EMEA | APAC
global.safesummit.com

35. © 2021 Tasktop
Q&A