The scaled agile framework (SAFe®) is one of the most popular frameworks for enterprises to implement agile practices at scale. But scaling agile across teams is no small feat - and research shows that the vast majority of companies aren’t doing it very well.
According to a study by McKinsey, 70% of agile transformations fail. Companies struggle with scaling agile due to a lack of metrics, misalignment on business objectives, organizational structure issues, rigid implementations, and more. For the 30% that are successful, these teams have people-centric values, clear culture, flexible tools, and leadership empowerment.
Tempo recently hosted a webinar about scaling agile - which included some audience polls to gauge attendees' pain points and agile maturity.
64% of attendees reported that their company’s agile maturity level was Intermediate, with agile being implemented in some projects/teams. Only 16% said that their maturity level was Advanced, successfully scaling agile across multiple teams, and just 2% identified as Experts, with agile principles fully integrated into the organizational culture.
When it came to the biggest pain points impacting an organization’s ability to scale agile, the top reason was “Difficulty connecting long-term strategic planning with short-term agility,” followed by “Lack of collaboration and alignment among teams.”
That’s where an agile framework like SAFe can step in. Some of the key principles of SAFe are effective team communication, collaboration, and decision-making - things that Jira also helps teams do incredibly well.
Whether you follow the SAFe framework to a T or modify it to fit your company’s needs, you need to have a strong software stack for effective portfolio management.
What should you look for when selecting tools to help you scale with SAFe?
Modularity - Whatever the area of greatest need is at your company, the software you use should allow you to prioritize as needed. Then you can build on your wins and grow.
Flexibility - Even if your team is using the same tools, it’s unlikely that each person will use them the exact same way. When tools are flexible, they’re more likely to be fully adopted across the team.
Jira-native - We’re all in Jira, so that experience should be seamless.
Are you using SAFe at your organization? Tempo’s suite of solutions combined with Jira empowers teams to align strategy and execution, maximizing transparency and agility. There’s even an integration with Jira Align, which gives you real-time insights into how developer time is being invested across your product portfolio.
Tell me what tools you’re using to deploy SAFe or any agile framework in the comments!
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