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7/25/22 1
© Copyright Ariel Partners 2022
@klausleopold
Agenda
1.Some Definitions
2.Flight Levels Compared to Scaling Frameworks
3.What Is Flight Levels
4.Six Insanely Great Things About Flight Levels
1. Flight Routes
2. Work Systems Topology
3. Improved Delivery of Outcomes
4. Non-Disruptive To Organizations
5. Connects Strategy to Execution
6. Helps Ensure the Right People Are Talking
5.Where Can I Learn More?
Craeg Strong § Software Development since 1988
§ Large Commercial & Government Projects
§ Kanban Coach / DevOps Engineer
§ Kanban Trainer / SpecFlow Trainer
§ Performance & Scalability Architect
§ Certified Ethical Hacker
§ New York & Washington DC Area
CTO, Ariel Partners
FLC, AKT, KCP, KMP, CSM, CSP, CSPO,
ITILv3, PMI-ACP, PMP, CLP, SPC,
ICP-ACC, ICP-ATF, PSM-II, PSK
www.arielpartners.com
cstrong@arielpartners.com
@ckstrong1
Some Definitions
www.arielpartners.com
One Project, Multiple Products
One Product, Multiple Projects
Product vs Project is MANY TO MANY
My Awesome Product
Convert to .NET
Core
Port over to
Android
{
{
Project Project
Moon Landing 2025 Project
Product: Fuselage
Product: Instruments
Product: Flight Control Software
www.arielpartners.com
My Working Definitions
Name Definition Examples
Product An item or service for sale
or internal use
The Enterprise Data Warehouse
The NYC DSS Building Compliance
System
Project An effort with a specific set
of objectives and a timeline
Get us off the mainframe, asap!
Migrate to the cloud
Launch the Android version
Program A related set of products,
services, administration
and infrastructure
The FBI Missing Persons Program
Claims, Underwriting
Homelessness Case Management
Portfolio A group of Programs. Very
large organizations have
multiple portfolios
FBI Investigative Portfolio
www.arielpartners.com
Kanban Definitions
Name Definition Examples
Service A series of activities performed
to respond to a need of one or
more customers. The need is
fulfilled when the requestor
accepts or acknowledges
delivery
Business strategy
Underwriting
WorkDay
Building Compliance
System
Organization A network of interdependent
services with policies that
determine its behavior
The Enterprise Data
Warehouse
Building Compliance
System
Scaling Frameworks
Scaling Frameworks
2011 2018
2014
Large Scale Scrum: LeSS
• Bas Vodde and Craig Larman, Senior Scrum Coaches
since 2004
• History: First created in 2005, First book published in
2008, practiced privately for 9 years
• http://less.works published online in 2014
Scrum@Scale
• Jeff Sutherland, Co-Creator of Scrum and Agile
Manifesto Signatory
• History: grew out of agilealliance.org in response to
demand for scaling framework
• https://www.scrumatscale.com
Scaled Agile Framework: SAFe
• Dean Leffingwell, Sr VP Rational Software 1997-2000 heavily
influenced by Rational Unified Process
• History: First book published in 2007
• https://www.scaledagileframework.com published online in
2011
Kanban Flight Levels
• Klaus Leopold, Senior Kanban Coach since 2009
• History: Introduced in 2013 at Kanban Conference
• https://2020.leanability.com/en/trainings/
2015
Nexus
• Ken Schwaber, Co-Creator of Scrum and Agile Manifesto Signatory
• History: grew out of scrum.org in response to demand for scaling framework
• https://www.scrum.org/resources/scaling-scrum
www.arielpartners.com
So.. Why Is SAFe Popular?
• If you need business Agility, it is (was) the only game in town
• Well-organized documentation
• Extremely comprehensive glossary of Agile terms
• Popularized Open-Space Agility (PI Planning)
• Emphasizes the need for making space for innovation (IP Sprint)
www.arielpartners.com
Comparison of Scaling Frameworks
Characteristic LeSS Nexus SAFe Flight Levels
Cross Functional Teams
Align Multiple Teams
Scrum Teams
Full Product Management
Kanban Teams
Non-IT Teams
End-To-End Management of
Value Stream
Discovery / Upstream Kanban
Portfolio Kanban
Corporate Strategy
Product
Agility
Business
Agility
www.arielpartners.com
Does Flight Levels Stand A Chance Against SAFe?
www.arielpartners.com
What Questions Can Flight Levels Answer?
• How can we measure outcomes of our efforts?
• What initiative should we start next? How long will it take?
• If we start a new initiative, what is the impact on our existing portfolio?
• What are all the services involved in a value stream; how do they fit
together?
• How do we manage dependencies between teams?
• How can we reserve capacity across other services so that an urgent item
is not delayed?
• If we improve team X, does that improve the delivery of the entire value
stream?
www.arielpartners.com
How Can Flight Levels Solve These Problems?
qAgile Interactions Between Teams*
qEnd-to-End Management of Value Streams
qAgile Strategic Portfolio Management
qConnecting Strategy with Execution
* Services
www.arielpartners.com
Do Any Tools Support Flight Levels?
15
Plugins Required
ü Script Runner
ü Easy Agile User Story Maps
ü Structure Gantt
ü Actionable Agile Forecasting
ü EasyKAD (cloud only)
ü Color Cards (Data Center only)
What Is Flight Levels?
@klausleopold
Flight Levels is a thinking model that can help you find out
where in an organization you have to do what in order to
achieve the results that you want to achieve.
5 activities on 3 levels
WHAT IS FLIGHT LEVELS?
a systems architecture to glue all (agile) islands together
Who Invented Flight Levels?
Klaus Leopold
§ Kanban Community Leader Since 2009
§ Co-founder, LEANability GmbH
§ Organizational Coach & Trainer
§ Keynote speaker & Thought Leader
§ Best-Selling Author on Kanban, Agile & Flight Levels
https://www.linkedin.com/in/klausleopold/
klaus@flightlevels.io
Vienna, Austria
www.arielpartners.com
Where Did This Stuff Come From?
Kanban
Kanban Maturity Model
Discovery Kanban
Simulations: Okaloa
AgendaShift
Flight Levels
Flight Level Systems Architecture
Flight level Systems
Architecture is a guide that shows
us which flight level 1, 2, and 3
systems we need and how they will
fit together
Flight Level One
Flight level one is the team level.
We have many teams working on
many different things. Teams may
use Scrum, Kanban, Waterfall, Lean,
DAD...
Flight Level Two
Flight level two helps to facilitate
interactions, coordination, handoffs,
and dependencies between
operational teams working within a
value stream.
www.arielpartners.com
Lesson Production
Product Design Team
Manipulatives Team
Content Authoring Team
CMS Team
Visual/UX Design Team Student Interface Team
Educator Interface Team
Video Production Team
Value Stream Visualizationà Flight Level Two Board
Upstream Team
(Discovery Kanban)
Downstream Team
(Delivery Kanban)
LEGEND:
Flight Level Three
Flight level three visualizes
strategic objectives, key results,
and actions (initiatives). FL3 ties
strategy directly to execution
www.arielpartners.com
Example: Strategy for Disability Case Processing System
Strategy /
Objective KR / KPI
MVP: Support
Initial Disability
Claims for 1
medium
MicroPact state
Initial Adult
disability claim
can be entered
Financial API
Supports
Quarterly Close
Business
Function
Capabilities
Manage
User Profile
Manage
Organization
Manage
Authorizations
Interface to State
Financial Systems
Manage
Disability Case
Manage
Disability Claim
Manage
Authentication
3-6 Months 0-3 Months Active
Basic User
Info
Basic Org
Info
Assign Org
Roles
Manage Org
Users
User
Login
User
Logout
Impersonate
User
Manage User
Relationships
User Financial
Info
© Copyright Ariel Partners 2022 *sales@arielpartners.com ((646) 467-7394
26
Portfolio Board Example
MISSION INVESTMENTS PRODUCTS > 12 MONTH 9-12 MONTH 6-9 MONTH 3-6 MONTH UP NEXT
ACTIVE
SAGAS
TEAM PO
NAME PATIENTS
SAGA
www.arielpartners.com
Five Activities
1. Visualize situation
2. Create focus
3. Establish agile interactions
4. Measure progress
5. Improve
We need to apply these
activities at different
Flight Levels in our
organization
--
If we want to achieve
business agility and
not just agile teams.
Six Insanely Great Things About
Flight Levels
1. Flight Routes
www.arielpartners.com
Flight Routes
•Flight Levels are NOT about top-down hierarchy
•Work can start at any level
•Good ideas are generated at every level
•We have a pattern language for that J
@klausleopold
a Flight Route pattern
@klausleopold
a Flight Route pattern
@klausleopold
a Flight Route pattern
@klausleopold
a Flight Route pattern
@klausleopold
Dealer board
Canvas
Initiative
Epics
Initiative
company wall
FLIGHT ROUTES EXAMPLE
initiative
initiative
initiative
Initiative
New
Feature
Idea
New
Regulation
copy
generate
@klausleopold
Flight Routes summary
- Flight Routes tell you how work is flying/flowing through
the organization.
- They act as a conversation starter.
- It is not about the “one true” Flight Route - an organization
needs a healthy mix of different Flight Routes.
2. Work Systems Topology
www.arielpartners.com
Work Systems Topology
•NOT big design up-front
•First Iteration After a Few Workshops
•High Level Map of the Business
•Connects Strategy to Execution
•Adds Value Without Requiring Perfection
•Some Parts may never be “lit up”
www.arielpartners.com
Online Education Company
• Big Picture
• Teams in Purple
• Need to coordinate?
Blue
• Strategy ties value
streams to mission,
annual goals, OKRs
@klausleopold
Strategy
…
…
…
HR
Where does strategy connect to Flow?
Dealer
Private Seller
OEM
Business
Intelligence
Core
Experience
Customer
Sales Marketing Lawyers Controlling
Op.
Portfolio
team 1 team 6
team 1
team 12
team 1
team 4
Auto Software Company
3. Improved Delivery Of Outcomes
www.arielpartners.com
Systems Thinking: Put Focus At the Right Place
Area of influence at the team level
We should not be surprised if we don’t see any
improvement in TTM if we don’t focus on TTM elements
We need to focus on the work items where we
want to achieve the benefits
4. Non-Disruptive To Organizations
www.arielpartners.com
Focus on the Flow of Work: NOT ORG REDESIGN
We focus on the operational structure before we
rebuild the organizational structure
5. Connects Strategy to Execution
@klausleopold
Flight Items
What kind of work is handled on what system?
long term strategic outcomes
outcomes achieved in < 3 years
outcome defined work item
outcome achieved in < 3 month
short term activities
2-6 weeks
short term activities
< 2 weeks
Flight Level 3
Flight Level 2
Flight Level 1
Flight Level 3
Flight Level 2
Flight Level 1
Flight Level 2
Flight Level 1
STRATEGIC
OUTCOMES
INIT IAT IV ES
EPICS
STORIES
This is just an example!!
You have to define the Flight Items for your company!
6. Helps Ensure The Right People Are
Talking
@klausleopold
Example
Delivery
Planning
Strategy
Planning
Retro
standup standup
Retro
standup
Retro
Flight Level 1
Flight Level 2
Flight Level 3
@klausleopold
Regular Communication
The Flight Routes show you
WHERE you need communication.
The Work Systems Topology shows you
WHO you need for the communication.
Where Can I Learn More?
www.arielpartners.com
Flight Level Masterclasses: June 27-30, NYC
Monday Tuesday
Wednesday Thursday
We are extremely excited to be bringing Klaus Leopold, the co-founder of the Flight Levels
Academy and author of “Rethinking Agile” from his native Austria to NYC in order to teach the
inaugural Flight Level Two Design and Flight Level Systems Architecture training classes.
Attendees will each receive a signed copy of “Rethinking Agile,” Mr. Leopold’s latest book.
@arielpartners
cstrong@arielpartners.com
https://youtube.com/arielpartners
https://linkedin.com/in/cstrong

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20220607 Introduction to Flight Levels

  • 1. 7/25/22 1 © Copyright Ariel Partners 2022
  • 2. @klausleopold Agenda 1.Some Definitions 2.Flight Levels Compared to Scaling Frameworks 3.What Is Flight Levels 4.Six Insanely Great Things About Flight Levels 1. Flight Routes 2. Work Systems Topology 3. Improved Delivery of Outcomes 4. Non-Disruptive To Organizations 5. Connects Strategy to Execution 6. Helps Ensure the Right People Are Talking 5.Where Can I Learn More?
  • 3. Craeg Strong § Software Development since 1988 § Large Commercial & Government Projects § Kanban Coach / DevOps Engineer § Kanban Trainer / SpecFlow Trainer § Performance & Scalability Architect § Certified Ethical Hacker § New York & Washington DC Area CTO, Ariel Partners FLC, AKT, KCP, KMP, CSM, CSP, CSPO, ITILv3, PMI-ACP, PMP, CLP, SPC, ICP-ACC, ICP-ATF, PSM-II, PSK www.arielpartners.com cstrong@arielpartners.com @ckstrong1
  • 5. www.arielpartners.com One Project, Multiple Products One Product, Multiple Projects Product vs Project is MANY TO MANY My Awesome Product Convert to .NET Core Port over to Android { { Project Project Moon Landing 2025 Project Product: Fuselage Product: Instruments Product: Flight Control Software
  • 6. www.arielpartners.com My Working Definitions Name Definition Examples Product An item or service for sale or internal use The Enterprise Data Warehouse The NYC DSS Building Compliance System Project An effort with a specific set of objectives and a timeline Get us off the mainframe, asap! Migrate to the cloud Launch the Android version Program A related set of products, services, administration and infrastructure The FBI Missing Persons Program Claims, Underwriting Homelessness Case Management Portfolio A group of Programs. Very large organizations have multiple portfolios FBI Investigative Portfolio
  • 7. www.arielpartners.com Kanban Definitions Name Definition Examples Service A series of activities performed to respond to a need of one or more customers. The need is fulfilled when the requestor accepts or acknowledges delivery Business strategy Underwriting WorkDay Building Compliance System Organization A network of interdependent services with policies that determine its behavior The Enterprise Data Warehouse Building Compliance System
  • 9. Scaling Frameworks 2011 2018 2014 Large Scale Scrum: LeSS • Bas Vodde and Craig Larman, Senior Scrum Coaches since 2004 • History: First created in 2005, First book published in 2008, practiced privately for 9 years • http://less.works published online in 2014 Scrum@Scale • Jeff Sutherland, Co-Creator of Scrum and Agile Manifesto Signatory • History: grew out of agilealliance.org in response to demand for scaling framework • https://www.scrumatscale.com Scaled Agile Framework: SAFe • Dean Leffingwell, Sr VP Rational Software 1997-2000 heavily influenced by Rational Unified Process • History: First book published in 2007 • https://www.scaledagileframework.com published online in 2011 Kanban Flight Levels • Klaus Leopold, Senior Kanban Coach since 2009 • History: Introduced in 2013 at Kanban Conference • https://2020.leanability.com/en/trainings/ 2015 Nexus • Ken Schwaber, Co-Creator of Scrum and Agile Manifesto Signatory • History: grew out of scrum.org in response to demand for scaling framework • https://www.scrum.org/resources/scaling-scrum
  • 10. www.arielpartners.com So.. Why Is SAFe Popular? • If you need business Agility, it is (was) the only game in town • Well-organized documentation • Extremely comprehensive glossary of Agile terms • Popularized Open-Space Agility (PI Planning) • Emphasizes the need for making space for innovation (IP Sprint)
  • 11. www.arielpartners.com Comparison of Scaling Frameworks Characteristic LeSS Nexus SAFe Flight Levels Cross Functional Teams Align Multiple Teams Scrum Teams Full Product Management Kanban Teams Non-IT Teams End-To-End Management of Value Stream Discovery / Upstream Kanban Portfolio Kanban Corporate Strategy Product Agility Business Agility
  • 12. www.arielpartners.com Does Flight Levels Stand A Chance Against SAFe?
  • 13. www.arielpartners.com What Questions Can Flight Levels Answer? • How can we measure outcomes of our efforts? • What initiative should we start next? How long will it take? • If we start a new initiative, what is the impact on our existing portfolio? • What are all the services involved in a value stream; how do they fit together? • How do we manage dependencies between teams? • How can we reserve capacity across other services so that an urgent item is not delayed? • If we improve team X, does that improve the delivery of the entire value stream?
  • 14. www.arielpartners.com How Can Flight Levels Solve These Problems? qAgile Interactions Between Teams* qEnd-to-End Management of Value Streams qAgile Strategic Portfolio Management qConnecting Strategy with Execution * Services
  • 15. www.arielpartners.com Do Any Tools Support Flight Levels? 15 Plugins Required ü Script Runner ü Easy Agile User Story Maps ü Structure Gantt ü Actionable Agile Forecasting ü EasyKAD (cloud only) ü Color Cards (Data Center only)
  • 16. What Is Flight Levels?
  • 17. @klausleopold Flight Levels is a thinking model that can help you find out where in an organization you have to do what in order to achieve the results that you want to achieve. 5 activities on 3 levels WHAT IS FLIGHT LEVELS? a systems architecture to glue all (agile) islands together
  • 18. Who Invented Flight Levels? Klaus Leopold § Kanban Community Leader Since 2009 § Co-founder, LEANability GmbH § Organizational Coach & Trainer § Keynote speaker & Thought Leader § Best-Selling Author on Kanban, Agile & Flight Levels https://www.linkedin.com/in/klausleopold/ klaus@flightlevels.io Vienna, Austria
  • 19. www.arielpartners.com Where Did This Stuff Come From? Kanban Kanban Maturity Model Discovery Kanban Simulations: Okaloa AgendaShift Flight Levels
  • 20. Flight Level Systems Architecture Flight level Systems Architecture is a guide that shows us which flight level 1, 2, and 3 systems we need and how they will fit together
  • 21. Flight Level One Flight level one is the team level. We have many teams working on many different things. Teams may use Scrum, Kanban, Waterfall, Lean, DAD...
  • 22. Flight Level Two Flight level two helps to facilitate interactions, coordination, handoffs, and dependencies between operational teams working within a value stream.
  • 23. www.arielpartners.com Lesson Production Product Design Team Manipulatives Team Content Authoring Team CMS Team Visual/UX Design Team Student Interface Team Educator Interface Team Video Production Team Value Stream Visualizationà Flight Level Two Board Upstream Team (Discovery Kanban) Downstream Team (Delivery Kanban) LEGEND:
  • 24. Flight Level Three Flight level three visualizes strategic objectives, key results, and actions (initiatives). FL3 ties strategy directly to execution
  • 25. www.arielpartners.com Example: Strategy for Disability Case Processing System Strategy / Objective KR / KPI MVP: Support Initial Disability Claims for 1 medium MicroPact state Initial Adult disability claim can be entered Financial API Supports Quarterly Close Business Function Capabilities Manage User Profile Manage Organization Manage Authorizations Interface to State Financial Systems Manage Disability Case Manage Disability Claim Manage Authentication 3-6 Months 0-3 Months Active Basic User Info Basic Org Info Assign Org Roles Manage Org Users User Login User Logout Impersonate User Manage User Relationships User Financial Info
  • 26. © Copyright Ariel Partners 2022 *sales@arielpartners.com ((646) 467-7394 26 Portfolio Board Example MISSION INVESTMENTS PRODUCTS > 12 MONTH 9-12 MONTH 6-9 MONTH 3-6 MONTH UP NEXT ACTIVE SAGAS TEAM PO NAME PATIENTS SAGA
  • 27. www.arielpartners.com Five Activities 1. Visualize situation 2. Create focus 3. Establish agile interactions 4. Measure progress 5. Improve We need to apply these activities at different Flight Levels in our organization -- If we want to achieve business agility and not just agile teams.
  • 28. Six Insanely Great Things About Flight Levels
  • 30. www.arielpartners.com Flight Routes •Flight Levels are NOT about top-down hierarchy •Work can start at any level •Good ideas are generated at every level •We have a pattern language for that J
  • 35. @klausleopold Dealer board Canvas Initiative Epics Initiative company wall FLIGHT ROUTES EXAMPLE initiative initiative initiative Initiative New Feature Idea New Regulation copy generate
  • 36. @klausleopold Flight Routes summary - Flight Routes tell you how work is flying/flowing through the organization. - They act as a conversation starter. - It is not about the “one true” Flight Route - an organization needs a healthy mix of different Flight Routes.
  • 37. 2. Work Systems Topology
  • 38. www.arielpartners.com Work Systems Topology •NOT big design up-front •First Iteration After a Few Workshops •High Level Map of the Business •Connects Strategy to Execution •Adds Value Without Requiring Perfection •Some Parts may never be “lit up”
  • 39. www.arielpartners.com Online Education Company • Big Picture • Teams in Purple • Need to coordinate? Blue • Strategy ties value streams to mission, annual goals, OKRs
  • 40. @klausleopold Strategy … … … HR Where does strategy connect to Flow? Dealer Private Seller OEM Business Intelligence Core Experience Customer Sales Marketing Lawyers Controlling Op. Portfolio team 1 team 6 team 1 team 12 team 1 team 4 Auto Software Company
  • 41. 3. Improved Delivery Of Outcomes
  • 42. www.arielpartners.com Systems Thinking: Put Focus At the Right Place Area of influence at the team level We should not be surprised if we don’t see any improvement in TTM if we don’t focus on TTM elements We need to focus on the work items where we want to achieve the benefits
  • 43. 4. Non-Disruptive To Organizations
  • 44. www.arielpartners.com Focus on the Flow of Work: NOT ORG REDESIGN We focus on the operational structure before we rebuild the organizational structure
  • 45. 5. Connects Strategy to Execution
  • 46. @klausleopold Flight Items What kind of work is handled on what system? long term strategic outcomes outcomes achieved in < 3 years outcome defined work item outcome achieved in < 3 month short term activities 2-6 weeks short term activities < 2 weeks Flight Level 3 Flight Level 2 Flight Level 1 Flight Level 3 Flight Level 2 Flight Level 1 Flight Level 2 Flight Level 1 STRATEGIC OUTCOMES INIT IAT IV ES EPICS STORIES This is just an example!! You have to define the Flight Items for your company!
  • 47. 6. Helps Ensure The Right People Are Talking
  • 49. @klausleopold Regular Communication The Flight Routes show you WHERE you need communication. The Work Systems Topology shows you WHO you need for the communication.
  • 50. Where Can I Learn More?
  • 51. www.arielpartners.com Flight Level Masterclasses: June 27-30, NYC Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday We are extremely excited to be bringing Klaus Leopold, the co-founder of the Flight Levels Academy and author of “Rethinking Agile” from his native Austria to NYC in order to teach the inaugural Flight Level Two Design and Flight Level Systems Architecture training classes. Attendees will each receive a signed copy of “Rethinking Agile,” Mr. Leopold’s latest book. @arielpartners cstrong@arielpartners.com https://youtube.com/arielpartners https://linkedin.com/in/cstrong