Courses Are you finding hardship in Scaling Agile across your organization’s teams? With these top 6 frameworks, you can Scale Agile successfully and unlock the full potential of your Enterprise!
What Does Scaling Agile Mean?
Scaling Agile means stretching your Agile practices on every team in the organization until all teams are fully inducted into Agility. With this, Agile has changed from being used by only the software development or IT department teams to now being integrated by the whole organization, even the management.
With Agle at Scale, you get benefits like:
- Teams are now more adaptable
- They are easily flexible
- They are more focused on customer satisfaction.
What for? You need to respond quickly to customer needs, have consistency in development and deliver products of high quality faster.
When Agile gets scaled the right way, it enables every team to embrace autonomy, transparency, and accountability while working towards aligned company goals.
The Real Challenges in Scaling Agile
When you are Scaling Agile, you will discover that it involves a lot of things. Activities range from selecting the right framework to changing the mindset of your company. The real challenge lies in fostering a culture of trust, transparency and empowerment among team members. Here are the main challenges you might encounter:
- Decentralizing decision-making: Promoting group initiative.
- Convergence: Assuring that all parties are aware of the strategic objectives.
- Managing dependencies: Strikes a balance between a team’s autonomy and the requirement for cooperation.
- Leadership transitions: Managers become servant leaders instead of micromanagers.
- Changing the way you work: Switch from Agile cycles to traditional project management.
These challenges are not a joke, but they are not impossible to counter. ValueX2 offers the proper training for you, all you need is to embrace patience and be willing to learn from mistakes. After you are certified, you can scale Agile across your organization with ease.
Top 6 Scaled Agile Frameworks
As the days go by, new frameworks are coming up to help scale Agile. So have you asked yourself what are the main frameworks and how they affect the business environment? Here’s the list of of top 6 Scaled Agile Frameworks:
1. Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe)
Best for large enterprises looking for structure.
Being one of the most comprehensive frameworks, SAFe combines Lean, Agile and DevOps practices. SAFe walks with you through four levels: team, program, large solution, and portfolio. With that structure, it can scale from small teams to large enterprises easily.
- Strengths: Clearly defines roles, occurrences, and procedures. The Program Increment (PI) Planning, aids in team alignment.
- Difficulties: It could be very difficult and prescriptive, particularly for smaller firms.
If you’re looking for a top-down, systematic method to scaling Agile, SAFe is wonderful, but it takes a lot of work and training.
Do you want to learn about SAFe? Check out our upcoming SAFe programs!
2. Scrum@Scale (SaS)
Known best for organizations that love Scrum.
Scrum@Scale (SaS), this is a natural extension of Scrum for larger organizations. It isolates and provides a distinction between product discovery and delivery, to maintain the focus on the customers.
- Strengths: Modular and easy to use. Emphasizes the three main benefits of Scrum: cooperation, transparency, and flexibility.
- Difficulties: Needs strong team and leadership alignment.
If you are already familiar with Scrum and wish to grow it in a straightforward manner, Scrum@Scale is ideal for you.
3. Large Scale Scrum (LeSS)
Best for keeping overhead low.
LeSS stands for Large Scale Scrum and it follows closely the values of Scrum. Perfect for organizations that want to avoid overhead and maintain their attention on delivering quality results through teamwork.
- Strengths: Lightweight and minimalistic, with minimal additional complexity.
- Difficulties: In larger, more hierarchical companies that demand more structure, there may be difficulties.
For companies that would rather keep things simple and don’t want to add too many layers, LeSS is perfect.
4. Nexus
Known for the ability to lower team dependencies.
This is a framework that scales Scrum by making tasks simpler and lowers dependencies between teams. It is well crafted to cater perfectly for about 3 to 9 Scrum teams working together to accomplish a set similar target. Here are the pros and cons of this framework.
- Strengths: Outstanding at coordinating tasks between teams and managing dependencies.
- Difficulties: Limited scalability up to nine teams, which could be problematic for very large businesses.
If managing cross-team dependencies is your primary challenge, Nexus is the best solution.
5. Disciplined Agile (DA)
Best for those who want customization.
Disciplined Agile has a wide array of tools that make it more of a toolkit rather than just a framework. Having Agile, Lean, and DevOps to choose from, DA creates a framework that aligns with your specified needs.
- Strengths: Highly customizable and flexible.
- Difficulties: DA can be overwhelming. It has a wide variety of options to choose from.
Disciplined Agile, this a perfect option for businesses that want to adapt their Agile practices without being tied down to one framework.
6. Enterprise Kanban
This is a framework like any other, helps you visualize work, limit work in progress and improve fluency in how things are carried out. It is a good choice for organizations that dwell deeply on optimizing their workflow rather than following strict rules of iterations.
- Strengths: Simple and lean, with an emphasis on ongoing development.
- Difficulties: New Agile teams may find it difficult to use this framework because it is less regimented than others.
| Framework | Best For | Core Focus | Unique Features |
| SAFe (Scaled Agile Framework) | Large enterprises | Lean, Agile, and DevOps | Multiple layers (Team, Program, Portfolio) |
| LeSS (Large Scale Scrum) | Medium to large teams | Simplifying Scrum | Focus on de-scaling complexity |
| Scrum@Scale | Small to medium teams | Scrum principles | Modular, adaptable to various projects |
| Nexus | Cross-functional teams | Scaling Scrum | Emphasizes transparency and accountability |
| Disciplined Agile (DA) | Enterprises with multiple frameworks | Customizing agile to business needs | Hybrid of agile and lean methodologies |
| Enterprise Kanban | Organizations seeking visual management | Continuous flow and improvement | Focuses on visualizing workflow and limiting WIP |
For firms that are already familiar with Lean principles, Kanban works best.
How To Pick the Right Framework for Your Business
Now that you are informed about the six popular frameworks, here is how you know which framework to choose for you:
- Evaluate the level of Agile maturity you now possess: Do you currently manage more than one Agile team, or are you just getting started?
- Think about the size of your business: While smaller firms might prefer LeSS or Scrum@Scale, larger ones might benefit from SAFe or Disciplined Agile.
- Assess your main obstacles: What is needed on priority: better dependency management, reduced overhead, or more structure?
- Select according to your long-term objectives: Frameworks like as SAFe and DA are designed to help you achieve enterprise-wide agility when scaling beyond product delivery.
Do you need personalized advice? Contact ValueX2’s experts!
Upcoming ValueX2 Training
Are you looking forward to scale Agile? Do it with us! Do not miss out on this opportunity to go on a captivating career-changing journey, with our globally known Agile certifications. Check out our courses and get started immediately.
When you choose the right framework and get the right training, you can now walk through the hardships of scaling Agile with confidence. Are you ready to take the next step? Join ValueX2 today and carry your Agile transformation further.
FAQs
Q: Can we mix frameworks?
A: Yes! Many organizations as they start, they start with one framework as they scale into other advanced options with blend. Like Disciplined Agile, it allows integration with other frameworks.
Q: Is Agile at scale only for software development teams?
A: Not really, scaling Agile tends to be applied all through different team like HR, marketing and even the leadership teams.
Q: How long does it take to scale Agile?
A: The length of time depends on the size, commitment, and current culture of your firm. That can take several months or years, based on your objectives.
Q: Does implementing a framework ensure success?
A: No, frameworks only serve as a guide; culture, mindset, and constant practice are what lead to success.
Q: Where do I go to learn how to use these frames?
A: Here at ValueX2, you may register for specialist Agile courses!
Bhavna is an Agile Coach and Consultant with over a decade of experience in advisory, corporate finance, IT assurance, and operations at Big 4 and within the industry in the UK and India. She has recently been the CEO of a start-up where she implemented agile practices within HR, Marketing, and Product teams.
She is also a SAFe® Practice Consultant (SPC) and authorized instructor for ICAgile Agility in HR (ICP-AHR), Agility in Marketing (ICP-MKG), and Business Agility Foundations (ICP – BAF) training courses. She provides training for agile transformation to corporate, public, and private batches, as well as consulting for enterprise agile transformation.
