This document discusses methodologies for adopting agile practices at scale. It proposes defining value streams and release trains to help large organizations and programs implement agile incrementally. Key aspects include synchronizing release trains with regular iterations, managing dependencies across teams, and conducting face-to-face planning sessions to align stakeholders. The SAFe framework is referenced as an example approach for aligning and synchronizing agile release trains on a 10-week program increment cycle.

1. Methodology
Agile@Scale: the key principles to address the major challenges of large scale
• To become Agile, Firms apply first the Agile principles at team level
• But the next challenge is how to do it at a larger scale (e.g. entity & firm level)?
to manage a Program or a Large Entity in Agile
Try Agile@Scale
Main sources: SAFe and Henrik Kniberg’s posts

2. Why & How?
• Define the good Product and in the shortest sustainable time-to-market remain the 2 major objectives for any organisation: small or large.
• If Agile methodologies like Scrum, Kanban, … help to do it for small ones, the Challenge remains complete for large ones
• It is the aim of Agile@Scale

3. Methodology
Define the Value Streams & Release Trains (or Solution Train)
• A Value Stream is a transversal process across the organization creating value for the customer
• A Release Train is a department of Agile-teams developing solutions incrementally contributing to deliver the value for the customer
• Several configuration are possible mixing Value Stream & Release Train
Key points: to simplify, this introduction is focused on the simplest configuration i.e. 1 Release Train contributing to 1 Value Stream

4. Methodology
Synchronise a Release Train to implement incrementally the Solution
How align all teams on common objectives? setup a regular & synchronized iteration for all Release Train teams
• Define a strong & stable Sponsor Vision (the PI objectives) to avoid Sponsors misalignment & too many changes of priority
• Visualize team dependencies & Synchronize all Teams regularly
• Discuss problems and solutions in Face to Face even in large audience like in ‘Hackathon’
Key points: the 2 days of PI planning is done in a Hackathon way i.e. including a really large audience gathering all the major key
contributors from the Sponsors, the Teams to the other contributors like IT architects.

5. Methodology
Manage the major problem of team dependencies with feature teams & program team dependencies board
Optimise the time to market of feature development = fluidify the development process
= make team as much as possible independent from the others
= maximise the number of Feature team in the organisation
Key points:

6. Methodology
Appendix
SAFe framework

7. Methodology
SAFe
Key points:
What is SAFe?

8. Methodology
SAFe
Key points:
Align & synchronise the ART (Agile Release Train) with the Program Increment every 10 weeks

9. Methodology
SAFe
Key points:
Demo:
• System demo after each iteration
• Solution demo at each PI planning

10. Methodology
SAFe
Key points:
PI (Program Increment) planning: inputs & outputs

11. Methodology
SAFe
Key points:
PI (Program Increment) planning: Objectives & dependencies

12. Methodology
SAFe
Key points:
PI planning standard agenda

13. Methodology
SAFe
Key points:
Philosophy & Release/Solution Train