Selecting a framework
In successful enterprise transformations, all levels of an organization work toward a common understanding of how people, practices, and tools are orchestrated for efficient and effective delivery. In the best cases, your practices and tools work in unison to create competencies that allow your organization to scale and stay competitive in the market. This setting combined with engaged leadership creates a knowledge environment geared toward continuous learning, business agility, and innovation.
The knowledge environment is not a state but an evolving journey. Any organization can start from where they are. The following illustration represents how an organization can align toward transformation by connecting strategy with execution:
Figure 1.1 – Alignment toward transformation by connecting strategy with execution
Earlier, we spoke of the importance of leadership in any transformation effort. Here, we see that when leaders at all levels work together to align people, practices, and tools in a connected knowledge environment, they create a positive ripple effect through culture, competencies, structure, content, and systems toward continuous learning, business agility, and innovation – the fruits of transformation. The path may not be easy, but those who have blazed the trail have told of three waypoints you will encounter along the way.
Beginning with Dr. Alistair Cockburn, co-author of the Agile Manifesto and author of Agile Software Development, the practice of frameworks to acquire the agile mindset has been likened to the stages of developing expertise in the martial arts, Shu-Ha-Ri:
- In the Shu stage, you are learning the forms and becoming proficient by following the guidelines set by your teacher.
- In the Ha stage, you've gained a level of proficiency in how to use the forms and may safely bend some of them when necessary.
- Ri is the stage of the masters who break with tradition and create their own forms after practicing for years at the levels of Shu and Ha.
Another popular three-phase model for understanding where you are in your agile journey is Crawl-Walk-Run.
In either model, assess where you are and know that success lies in the journey itself, not the destination.
A scaling framework is an essential companion in your agile journey. You will likely select one because it is a proven method backed by numerous case studies. Therefore, resist the urge to modify the framework from the start. That would be analogous to an apprentice attempting to create their own form, skipping the Shu stage, and the results would not likely be optimal. Similarly, resist the tendency to think your organization is unique. Look for a case study analogous to your industry to see the results your peers are achieving and stick with the approach to yield your own great results.
It is common for agile teams to practice scrum, kanban, or a blend of both. According to the 14th Annual State of Agile Report, scrum is the leading agile methodology practiced by a majority of teams around the world, followed by hybrid approaches, scrumban, and kanban. Scrum is a lightweight agile framework practiced by teams of 5–9 members who collaboratively manage complex knowledge work to iteratively and incrementally deliver products of the highest possible value.
Organizations operating with hundreds of teams find that scrum alone does not suffice to deliver optimal results at scale and struggle with alignment, dependencies, risks, and collaboration across teams. In the 2000s and 2010s, scaling frameworks emerged to answer these needs. According to the 14th Annual State of Agile Report, SAFe is the most adopted and leading framework named year on year.
SAFe is a full-fledged knowledge base of proven, integrated principles, and competencies with guardrails to implement lean, agile, and DevOps practices at scale. However, there are several other frameworks worth considering. Creating a scorecard or matrix such as the following, with the most meaningful parameters to your organization, can help guide decision making:
Figure 1.2 – Scaling framework comparison, adapted from Rico, D. F. (2014)
If you have yet to choose your framework, the Agile CoE with co-leadership from the Jira Align core team can lead the way to recommend one that suits your industry and culture. Practicing the framework will involve the key effort of coaching and training teams to create a consistent operational understanding and aligning the language between teams across the organization. Your next step will be to engage an Atlassian Solution Partner for your Jira Align implementation. Unlike Jira Software, which can be purchased on a credit card and implemented on your own, you will not be alone with the sizeable undertaking of implementing Jira Align.
