Improving Efficiency in Scaled Agile Frameworks (SAFe)
Dan Ashcroft
CTO Consulting Director
Dan has collaborated with Government clients, focusing on driving out costs to reinvest in innovation. He understands the full ICT landscape, having worked with large multinationals and boutique firms providing services in consulting, applications, infrastructure, and telecommunications.
The Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe) is a set of principles, practices, and roles designed to help large organisations adopt agile methodologies effectively. It is beneficial for coordinating the efforts of multiple teams working on complex projects. One key aspect of enhancing efficiency within SAFe is developing features that can be utilised across various domains or areas within the agile framework.
SAFe for Large-scale Implementations
Before exploring the specifics of cross-domain features, it's essential to understand SAFe. SAFe enables large-scale agile implementations by providing a structured approach that combines lean principles, agile development, and systems thinking. It offers a blueprint for roles, responsibilities, and processes, ensuring that every team member understands their role in the larger organisational context.
Cross Domains Features in SAFe
In SAFe, a domain can be considered a distinct project or business area requiring specific focus and expertise. Different domains include product development, quality assurance, marketing, and customer support. Each domain has its processes, tools, and challenges.
Typically, teams develop features tailored to their specific domain needs. While this can work well for isolated projects, it often leads to inefficiencies when multiple teams or domains must collaborate. Features developed in isolation can create silos, leading to duplicated efforts, inconsistencies, and communication gaps.
By incorporating cross-domain features, SAFe can achieve greater efficiency, collaboration, and overall project success. For example:
Elimination of silos - This eliminates the inefficiencies caused by isolated workflows, ensuring that all teams work towards common goals with a unified approach.
Consistency and standardisation - Standardisation reduces errors and miscommunications, as everyone is aligned with the same methods and expectations, leading to smoother and more efficient project execution.
Resource optimisation - This optimises resource utilisation, saving time and effort. Teams can focus on enhancing and refining shared features instead of duplicating work.
Enhanced collaboration - Improved collaboration leads to innovative solutions, as diverse perspectives contribute to problem-solving and feature development.
Scalability - This scalability reduces the complexity and resource intensity of maintaining separate tools and processes, allowing for seamless integration of new teams into the existing agile framework.
Real-time decision making - Decision makers can access comprehensive insights into key performance indicators (KPIs) across the organisation, facilitating data-driven strategies and improving overall business performance.
Improved customer experience - This integration leads to better customer service and satisfaction, as teams can work together to address customer needs more effectively.
Accelerated development cycles - Faster development cycles mean quicker delivery of features and products to the market, giving the organisation a competitive edge.
Reduced operational costs - This leads to significant cost savings in development, maintenance, and training, as the organisation benefits from economies of scale.
Better risk management and compliance reduce the likelihood of non-compliance issues and enhance the organisation's ability to respond quickly to regulatory changes.
Key Challenges for SAFe
When SAFe fails, it can be due to a variety of factors, including:
Ineffective scrum of scrums – Multiple teams end up working on similar features, causing duplication, and/or feature dependencies are not well understood or communicated which leads to delay.
Lack of proper training and understanding - This often results in confusion, decreased productivity, and frustration among employees.
Resistance to change - Persistent resistance can cause organisational divisions, negatively impacting morale and collaboration.
Inadequate executive support - SAFe initiatives can falter without executive backing due to resource constraints and lack of strategic alignment.
Overcomplexity and misapplication - Overcomplexity can result in teams spending more time on processes, ceremonies and meetings than delivering value.
Insufficient resource allocation - Teams may feel unsupported and undervalued, leading to disengagement and poor execution of SAFe practices.
Lack of clear vision and goals - Teams may struggle with coordination, leading to missed deadlines and subpar product quality.
Ineffective communication - Poor communication can lead to misunderstandings and a lack of alignment across teams.
Failure to adapt to organisational culture - Misalignment with the existing organisational culture can hinder the successful adoption of SAFe.
Poorly defined roles and responsibilities - Role ambiguity can cause overlaps or gaps in responsibilities, leading to inefficiencies.
Inadequate feedback loops - Without regular feedback, teams may continue to operate inefficiently, failing to identify and rectify issues promptly.
Better SAFe Practices, Better Results
Improving efficiency in SAFe by developing features that span domains is a strategic approach to handling large-scale agile projects. By focusing on consistency, efficiency, collaboration, and scalability, organisations can better utilise their resources and achieve their goals.
This approach simplifies processes and fosters a more integrated and cooperative work environment, ultimately leading to higher-quality outcomes and greater project success.
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