As agile adoptions continue to grow and evolve, we as an a community of <something> continue to learn and adapt. SAFe (Scaled Agile Framework) has surfaced as one of the more popular frameworks for scaling agile at an organizational level. But what does a real organizational transformation look like when implementing SAFe out in the wild? Join us to hear tales of adoption, benefits realized and challenges faced by organizations that have successfully (and sometimes unsuccessfully) adopt SAFe.

1. © 2014 IBM Corporation
SAFe in the Wild: Lessons
from Real World Scaled
Agile Implementations
Si Alhir @SAlhir
Tom Sylvester @tsylvest
Blue Agility @blueagility

2. My Gift to You… A Free Pass
“When you walk into a classroom, you have 2 jobs:
one is to teach and the other is to recruit everyone in
that classroom to join the pursuit of truth.”
– Robert Ballard, Titanic Explorer
1

3. Presenters
2
• Enterprise Transformation Coach
Email: salhir@blue-agility.com
Enterprise Transformation Coach,
Trainer, Consultant, and Practitioner
catalyzing Individuals, Teams, and
Organizations to achieve greater
Business Agility and Antifragility
http://about.me/SAlhir
http://linkedin.com/in/SAlhir
http://salhir.wordpress.com
http://twitter.com/SAlhir
@Salhir we miss you!
#ibminterconnect

4. Presenters
3
• Agile Transformation Consultant
Email: tsylvester@blue-agility.com
Enterprise Transformation Consultant &
Entrepreneur, leveraging lean and agile
practices to create great teams that lead
to great businesses.
http://about.me/TomSylvester
http://linkedin.com/in/SylvesterTom
http://Tom-Sylvester.com
http://twitter.com/tsylvest

5. 4
Source: http://scaledagileframework.com/

6. How I Introduce SAFe
5

7. Dean Introducing SAFe
6
Source: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLSRf1YEPZ7uQ8YXr_tF_FxPwyLohTsqpv

8. SAFe readily acknowledges that
"SAFe does not implement itself and indeed makes no attempt to
describe the significant organizational change management,
cultural impacts, implementation strategies, and training and
services provisioning that are typically required for successful
implementation"
and only offers brief
"recommendations for implementation".
7
The Crux
Source: http://scaledagileframework.com/implementing/

9. Failure Pattern: Not Understanding Context
“I suppose it is tempting, if the only tool you have is a
hammer, to treat everything as if it were a nail.”
― Abraham Maslow
8

10. Success Pattern: First Identify the Need
9

11. Failure Pattern: Attempting 100% SAFe
“You are TOO SAFe”
10
Source: http://scaledagileframework.com/

12. Success Pattern: Start with a Blank Slate
11

13. Failure Pattern: Ignoring Underlying Principles
12
Source: http://scaledagileframework.com/implementing/

14. Success Pattern: Guidance Based on Principles
1. Take an economic view
2. Actively manage queues
3. Understand and exploit
variability
4. Reduce batch sizes
5. Apply work in process
(WIP) constraints
6. Control flow under
uncertainty through
cadence and
synchronization
7. Get feedback as fast as
possible
8. Decentralize control
13
Source: http://www.scaledagileframework.com/the-safe-way-to-lean-software-development/

15. Failure Pattern: By the Book
• A Program Increment (PI) must be 10 weeks because “SAFe
says so”
• You can only use Scrum at the team level
• You need to normalize story points
14
Source: http://www.scaledagileframework.com/release-planning/
http://www.scaledagileframework.com/agile-teams/

16. Success Pattern: Adapt as Needed
15

17. Failure Pattern: Focusing Only on Mechanics
16
Source: https://salhir.wordpress.com/2014/11/01/dynamics-over-mechanics/
@Salhir we miss you!
#ibminterconnect

18. Success Pattern: Focus First on Dynamics
17
Source: https://salhir.wordpress.com/2014/11/01/dynamics-over-mechanics/
“People first, then money, then things”
– Suze Orman
“People first, then process, then tools”
– Adapted

19. Failure Pattern: Missing the Objective
18

20. Success Pattern: Focus on Business Results
19

21. 20
Your Experiences?
Questions?

22. Summary: The Why and Impacts
21

23. Summary: The Why and Impacts
22
60,000 3,500

24. Blue Agility
23
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