Opportunities for Project Managers in the Lean-Agile Enterprise with SAFe

1© 2017 Scaled Agile, Inc. All Rights Reserved.V4.0.0© 2017 Scaled Agile, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Opportunities for Project Managers in the
Lean-Agile Enterprise with SAFe®
V4.0.4
Richard Knaster
SAFe Fellow,
Principal Consultant
Dr. Steve Mayner
SPCT,
Senior Consultant

2© 2017 Scaled Agile, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Agenda for today’s discussion
1. Why SAFe?
2. Brief overview of SAFe
3. Traditional vs. Agile mindset
4. How SAFe handles PMI core processes
5. Opportunities for Project Managers
6. Learn more

Online quick poll
Rate your knowledge of
SAFe on a scale of 1-5.

4© 2017 Scaled Agile, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 4
1. Why SAFe?

The challenges we face today...
...apply to both traditional and Agile delivery
Late delivery
Lack of transparency
Poor quality and late discovery
of problems
Phase gates don’t reduce risk
Dissatisfied customers
Too many dependencies
Too early selection of designs
Too much complexity
No systematic
improvement
Poor morale

Enterprises can’t keep pace
Our methods must keep pace with an increasingly complex world.
Business innovation is increasingly being delivered via
software and systems, and companies must respond
quickly to challenges and opportunities
Agile has produced better business outcomes,
but it was developed for small, collocated teams
Agile methods alone don’t address the top-down
concerns of business strategy, as Agile teams work
bottom-up

In an “Adapt or Die” business climate
“Since 2000, 52 percent of the names on the
Fortune 500 list are gone, either as a result of
mergers, acquisitions or bankruptcies.”
— Teresa Novellino | New York Business Journal
From the article “Don't get cozy, Fortune 500: it’s do-or-
die time for digital disruption” Click to view the article

2. Brief overview of SAFe

What is SAFe?
SAFe® is a freely revealed knowledge base of integrated,
proven patterns for enterprise Lean-Agile development.
1. Built-In Quality
2. Program execution
3. Alignment
4. Transparency
Core Values
scaledagileframework.com

Embraces Lean-Agile values
House of Lean
Individuals and interactions over processes and tools
Working software over comprehensive documentation
Customer collaboration over contract negotiation
Responding to change over following a plan
Agile Manifesto
LEADERSHIP
Respectfor
peopleandculture
Flow
Innovation
Relentless
improvement
VALUE
Value in the shortest
sustainable lead time
That is, while there is value in the items on the
right, we value the items on the left more.
We are uncovering better ways of developing software by doing it and
helping others do it. Through this work we have come to value:

#1 - Take an economic view
#2 - Apply systems thinking
#3 - Assume variability; preserve options
#4 - Build incrementally with fast, integrated learning cycles
#5 - Base milestones on objective evaluation of working systems
#6 - Visualize and limit WIP, reduce batch sizes, and manage queue lengths
#7 - Apply cadence, synchronize with cross-domain planning
#8 - Unlock the intrinsic motivation of knowledge workers
#9 - Decentralize decision-making
Has nine principles that make it effective

12© 2017 Scaled Agile, Inc. All Rights Reserved.© 2017 Scaled Agile, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 12
70%US Fortune 100 Enterprises have
SAFe-trained practitioners
Global Fortune 500 Enterprises have
SAFe-trained practitioners 10%
109Scaled Agile Partners
in 35 countries
120,000
SAFe-trained
practitioners in
105 countries
5,500 SPCs in 56 countries
35 SPCTs
30 - 75%
Faster time to market:
SAFe Case Studies
PLEDGED
1%
Scaled Agile Stock
Equity & Employee
Time to Pledge 1%
Campaign
12 millionannual page views
across SAFe & Scaled Agile websites
1.3 million websites users
20-50%
Increase in productivity:
SAFe Case Studies
Is it “SAFe”?
ANNUAL
25,000
Social Media Followers

3. Traditional vs. Agile mindset

From traditional to Lean-Agile governance
Leadership
Model
Centralized command and control,
transactional leadership
Self-organizing, decentralized, empowered;
servant leadership
Work Planning Detailed project plans
Backlog of prioritized Epics, Roadmap for
3 – 4 PIs, continuous flow of value
Funding Project based funding
Value Stream funding of Epics delivered via
ARTs
Resource
Allocation
Multitasked, people brought to the work Dedicated teams, work brought to the teams
Progress
Tracking
Document deliverables at waterfall (variable)
milestones
Working Features/Capabilities predictably
delivered every PI
Architecture
Committed up front in design docs; locked in
long-term early in the cone of uncertainty
Just enough runway for near-term Features;
preserves options to pivot based on validated
learning
Quality
Inspected at the end when final product is
delivered
Built in incrementally, with rapid feedback
cycles and auto testing

Fix the date, float the scope
Traditional Agile
The plan creates
cost/schedule estimates
The Vision drives
feature intent and estimates
Agile Teams show that dates matter and they meet their commitments
Business Owners understand how priorities matter
Fix time and quality, not scope

From traditional Project Manager to Servant Leader
Move toward ...Move away from ...
 Coaching the whole team to collaborate
 Being a facilitator
 Being invested in the team’s overall
performance
 Asking the team for the answer
 Letting the team find their own way
 Guiding
 Focusing on business value delivery
 Doing the right thing for the business right
now
 Facilitating team problem-solving
 Coordinating individual contributions
 Acting as a subject matter expert
 Driving toward specific outcomes
 Knowing the answer
 Directing
 Talking about deadlines and technical
options
 Driving the “right” (your) decisions
 Fixing problems rather than helping others
fix them
Lyssa Adkins, Coaching Agile Teams

4. How SAFe handles
Five PMI core knowledge areas

Scope management
“Future product development tasks can’t be predetermined.
Distribute planning and control to those who can understand
and react to the end results.”
—Michael Kennedy,
Product Development for the Lean Enterprise

Scope management—from traditional to Lean-Agile mindsets
Scope Definition Vision and Roadmap
Detailed project plans and WBS Agile estimating and planning
Scope Change Control
Frequent backlog refinement and
appropriate decentralized content authority
Centralized annual planning Decentralized, rolling-wave planning
Project Charter Agile Release Train Canvas
Scope Verification Acceptance Criteria and TDD and ATDD
Scope Monitoring
Objective, fact-based measures and
milestones (e.g. working software)

A three-PI rolling RoadmapVision
Program Increment = a time box (8-12 weeks)
Set the direction with the Vision and Roadmap
A long view:
 How will our future
solution solve the
larger customer
problems?
 How will it differentiate
us?
 What is the future
context within which
our solutions will operate?
 What is our current business context, and how
must we evolve to meet this future state?

Plan face-to-face with the entire program (ART)
 All stakeholders face-to-face (but typically include multiple locations)
 Management sets the mission, with minimum possible constraints
 Requirements and design emerge
 Important stakeholder decisions are accelerated
 Teams create—and take responsibility for—plans
For a short video PI planning example, see: https://youtu.be/ZZAtl7nAB1M

Manage scope with decentralized content authority
 Epics are large initiatives that
largely replace projects
 Capabilities describe the higher
level behaviors of a Solution
 Features are services that fulfill
user needs
 User stories are statements of intent
PPM Mgmt.
Value Stream
Mgmt.
Product Mgmt.
Product Owner
Epic Enabler
Enabler
Enabler
Enabler
Enabler
Enabler
Capability
Capability
Capability
Feature
Feature
Feature
Feature
Feature
Feature
Feature
Story
Story
Story
Story
PortfolioValueStreamProgramTeam
Program
Backlog
ValueStream
Backlog
Portfolio
Backlog
Story
Story
Story
Story
Story
Story
Story
Story
Team
Backlog

Provide continuous objective evidence
Base milestones on objective evaluation of working systems.
Solution Demos
Team and integrated
System Demos

Time management
“A predictable organization does not guess about the future
and call it a plan; it develops the capacity to rapidly respond
to the future as it unfolds.”
—Mary and Tom Poppendieck, Implementing Lean Software Development

Time management—from traditional to Lean-Agile mindsets
R&D determines the schedule based
on a fixed scope
The business determines the schedule
based on market needs. R&D determines
how much work can be done within a fixed
timebox.
Milestones mainly driven by critical
path and phase gates
Fixed length iterations and Program
Increments
Dependencies are used to determine
the critical path
Program Board is used to manage
dependencies between teams. Cross-
functional teams and trains help avoid
unnecessary dependencies and delays.

Manage time with cadence and synchronization
Transforms unpredictable events
into predictable events
Makes waiting times predictable
Facilitates planning; provides more
efficient use of resources
Synchronization causes multiple
events to happen at the same time
Sync events facilitate cross-
functional tradeoffs of people
and scope
Program Increment (8-12 weeks)
Adjust

Cost management
“Agile software development and traditional
cost accounting don’t match”
—Rami Sirkia and Maarit Laanti

The plan drives resource needs
and costs
Lean-Agile Budgeting. Fund Value Streams
not projects.
Focus on near 100% resource
utilization to optimize people cost
Focus on throughput of value and reducing
costly delays
Develop a cost baseline upfront for
the entire project
Fixed cost baseline for a Program Increment
(PI). No variances analysis needed.
Focus on cost compliance to
upfront plan
Focus on adapting to customer needs and
developing minimal viable product
Earned Value Management Burn-up charts
Manage cost through preventing
change or change control
Welcome changes. Manage cost by working
on most valuable work first.
Cost management—from traditional to Lean-Agile mindsets

TRADITIONAL
Empowerment and governance with Lean-Agile budgeting
- Full control of total spend
- No budgetary surprises
- Higher throughput
- Higher morale
LEAN
Governance
►Exercise fiscal
governance with
dynamic budgeting
►Approve Epic-level
initiatives
Empowerment
►Fund Value Streams,
not projects
►Empower Value Stream
content authority
►Work brought to the teams
Beyond
project cost
accounting
with SAFe
Provide
objective
evidence of
fitness
for purpose
►Projects are the basic
unit of work
►People are “brought to
the work”
►Measure compliance to
inherently uncertain
work
=+
RESULT
- High overhead
- Us vs. them
- Low throughput,
productivity
- Low morale
RESULT

Control costs with increased flexibility
ART budgets and resources are unaffected by feature cost overruns or
changing priorities.
Planned:
Actual:
Feature 1
Feature 1
Keep people working on the right
feature for the right reasons
Feature 2
Feature 2
Delay this
feature as
necessary
Fixed cost per PI

SAFe provides fiscal governance with dynamic budgeting
Financial governance is still in place. Adjust budgets dynamically to meet
changing business needs.
Program Portfolio
Management
Value Stream 4
Value Stream 3
Value Stream 2
Value Stream1
PI
1
PI
2
PI
3
PI
4

Quality management
“Inspection does not improve the quality, nor guarantee quality.
Inspection is too late. The quality, good or bad, is already in
the product.”
“You cannot inspect quality into a product.”
—Harold F. Dodge
Source: https://blog.deming.org/2012/11/inspection-is-too-late-the-quality-good-or-bad-is-already-in-the-product/

Quality management—from traditional to Lean-Agile mindsets
Quality is inspected at the end when
final product is delivered
Quality is built in incrementally, with rapid
feedback cycles and automated testing
Testers and developers work in
separate silos
Testers and developers are part of
cross-functional agile teams
Audit quality for compliance
Conduct team and system demos.
Continuous automated testing.
Focus on compliance to original
requirements
Focus on adapting solution to customer
needs. Monitor using automated tests.
Lessons learned at end of project
Retrospectives every 2 weeks.
Improvements made continuously

Built-in Quality
 Ensures that every increment of the solution reflects quality
standards
 Quality is built-in, not inspected in, after the fact
 Software quality practices include continuous integration, test-
first, refactoring, pair-work, collective ownership and more
 Hardware quality is supported by exploratory, early iterations,
frequent system level integration, design verification, modeling
and set-based design
“You can’t scale crappy code” (or hardware, or anything else)
Built-in
Quality

Risk management
“The biggest risk is not taking any risk. In a world that's changing really
quickly, the only strategy that is guaranteed to fail is not taking risks.”
—Mark Zuckerberg, Founder, Facebook
Source: BrainyQuote

Risk management—from Traditional to Lean-Agile mindsets
Upfront risk identification, quantitative
analysis
Identify risks and dependencies during
PI planning
Risk response planning ROAM risks
Risk monitoring and controlling
Scrum of Scrums, daily stand-ups, big
visible information radiators, Program Board
to manage dependencies
Project Manager own risks.
Team members own the risks. Risks are
reduced with each incremental delivery of
working solutions.

ROAMing risks during PI Planning
After all plans have been presented, remaining program risks and
impediments are discussed and categorized.
ROAMing risks:
Resolved – Has been addressed; no longer a concern
Owned – Someone has taken responsibility
Accepted – Nothing more can be done. If risk occurs,
release may be compromised.
Mitigated – Team has plan to adjust as necessary

Building incrementally accelerates value delivery
4 444 :
Documents Documents Unverified System System

Organize for faster learning and reduced risk
Agile Teams power the train:
Cross-functional teams apply Scrum,
XP and Kanban and built-in quality
practices to produce quality working
system increments every iteration.
Agile Release Trains are cross functional and have all the people they need to define and
deliver value every two weeks. This reduces hand-offs and delays and improves the
reliability of commitments.

5. Opportunities for Project Managers
“Learning is not compulsory; neither is survival.”
—W. Edwards Deming

Leverage your existing project management skills
Leadership
Humility
Effective Listening
Team Building
Motivation
Communication
Collaboration and
knowledge sharing
Influencing
Managing Conflict
Decision making
Source: Software Extension to the PMBOK 5th edition
Political and cultural
awareness
Negotiation

Apply them to critical team roles
Scrum Master facilitates team events, drives Agile behavior and
coaches the team
Product Owner acts as the customer for team and prioritizes
their work. Defines and accepts requirements.
Development Team is everyone needed to define, build, and test an
increment of value. Developer, Tester, Business Analyst, etc.

Or to critical program and value stream roles
Release Train Engineer acts as the chief Scrum Master for the train
Product Management is responsible for customer needs. Owns the vision
and product backlog, prioritizes features for optimum economics of the
system.
System Architect/Engineering align ARTs to a common technological and
architectural vision
Solution Management responsible customer needs across ARTS, owns
the value stream backlog, prioritizes capabilities for the optimal
economics of the solution
Value Stream Engineer is a servant leader and coach for a value
stream. Facilitates value stream events and activities.

See ScaledAgileFramework.com/case-studies
SAFe is proven by dozens of real-world case studies

Including the public sector
FAA
US Customs
US Courts
DOJ
VA
NGA
CIA
FBI
SSA
NHS
NNSA
USPTO
USAF
Agencies / programs known to be using SAFe:
US Post Office
US Immigration
Dutch Tax Authority
French National Employment Agency
And more!

Why? SAFe gets better business results
30 – 75% faster
time to market
Happier, more
motivated
employees
20 – 50%
increase in
productivity
50%+ defect
reduction
See ScaledAgileFramework.com/case-studies

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6. Learn more

Gain the knowledge
Leading SAFe®
4.0
with SA Certification
Implementing SAFe®
4.0
with SPC4 Certification
Find SAFe training worldwide at:
ScaledAgile.com
Explore the SAFe knowledge
base and find free resources at:
ScaledAgileFramework.com

Gain the knowledge
Free Download
http://www.scaledagile.
com/safe-whitepaper/

SAFe Release Train Engineer course and certification
Effectively perform the role of the Release Train Engineer
Apply Lean-Agile knowledge and tools to execute and release
value through Agile Release Trains and value streams
Support value delivery in large and complex value streams
Facilitate activities that foster relentless improvement in the
Agile Release Train
Build a high-performing Agile Release Train by becoming a
servant leader and coach
Continue your learning journey and develop an ART
action plan

Questions

Product Owner attributes
Focused on delivering stories and enablers to the train, tasked with
helping the team build the right things at the right time.
Ability to communicate
Good business sense
Technical foundation
Trust
Courage
Content authority

Product Manager attributes
Focused on the business aspects and the market at large, tasked with
building the right features at the right time.
Sense of balance
Forward thinking
Solid understanding of current solution
Trust

Release Train Engineer attributes
Empathetic and good listener
Gravitas to create an environment of mutual
influence and trust
Interested in developing people
Uses influence rather than authority to persuade
Systems thinker
Supports the commitments made by the teams without providing
task direction
The Release Train Engineer is a servant leader who facilitates and
guides the work of the ART:

Opportunities for Project Managers in the Lean-Agile Enterprise with SAFe

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