Why Scaling Agile is Essential for Your Organization
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So, you’ve gone Agile. You do daily scrums, retrospectives, and all the “right” Agile ceremonies. But still, your organization isn’t quite convinced that Agile is the answer. And while you might have some idea of what the team that works next to you is doing, for some strange reason the teams sometimes conflict and there seems to be a lack of communication between you, the other teams, and leadership.
It becomes important to balance the drivers and goals of both Agile and traditional thinking in order to achieve organizational success.
What is Scaling Agile
Atlassian defines scaled agile as “a cultural transformation, where the business’ people, practices, and tools are committed to improving collaboration and the organization’s ability to execute against its strategy.” Scaled agile goes beyond what just your team would do. Ultimately, if Agile is scaled within your organization, all parts of the organization can achieve better results.
Atlassian further emphasizes that “… changes across these areas will help decentralize decision-making, create greater transparency and alignment around work, and increase speed to market, all while hard coding the values of agile into the DNA of the organization.” It is critical to scale your Agile transformation across the organization in order to achieve these benefits.
Scaling Agile Frameworks
There are several frameworks available to support organizations in scaling Agile. Below is a highlight of a few that are commonly used in the industry:
| Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe®) | An online knowledgebase of proven success patterns for implementing Lean Agile software and systems development at enterprise scale. |
| Scrum of Scrums | A technique for scaling Agile that leverages a system of ambassadors from other scrum teams to participate in regular coordination meetings. |
| Disciplined Agile | A process decision framework based on a people-first, learning-oriented hybrid Agile approach to tactically scale Agile. |
| Large-Scale Scrum Framework (LeSS) | A lightweight framework for scaling scrum to more than one team. |
While important factors to consider in choosing your scaled Agile framework include the size of the organization, your processes, and whether you are highly regulated, you should not ignore the organizations culture, communication styles, and the types of products your organization creates.
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References:
Info-Tech has done extensive research on Agile and Requirements. Review some of our articles and blueprints (research) below, and reach out to our team to find out how you can access more information:
Agile Skills Don’t Revolve Around Ceremonies and Procedures: They’re About Traits and Values.
Agile Doesn’t Mean No Requirements
BizDevOps Starts with Great Requirements
Implement Agile Practices That Work
Transition to Product Delivery
Build a Better Backlog