Comparing Scaling Frameworks LeSS, Scrum At Scale®, SAFE®
President&ChiefCoach
• CertifiedScrumTrainer®,CertifiedEnterpriseCoach®,CertifiedAgileLeader®andCALEducator®,Leadership
Agility360®Coach.
Agility11services:• Publicandin-houseprivatetrainingonScrum,Agile,Lean,
Kanban,andAgileLeadership• AgileCoachingforenterprisesandteamstoachieve
transformational&lastingsuccesswithAgile&Leanpractices
• LeadershipAgility360®assessmentsandLeadershipCoaching
BradSwanson
2
@bradswansonLinkedIn.com/in/bradswanson
‘ScrumAllianceCALEducator’and‘CertifiedAgileLeadership’arecertificationmarksofScrumAlliance,Inc.Anyunauthorizeduseisstrictlyprohibited
ThePitchLeSS
• “assimplyaspossible”
• “Forlargegroups,LeSShitsthesweetspotbetweendefinedconcreteelementsandempiricalprocesscontrol.”
ScrumatScale®• ‘scale-freearchitecure’
allowsorgtogroworganicallyatitsownpace
• Applicabletoalldepartments,inmanydomains
• ‘Minimumviablebureaucracy’
• Infinitelinearscalability
SAFe®“CombiningthepowerofAgilewithLeanproductdevelopment,DevOps,andsystemsthinking,SAFesynchronizesalignment,collaboration,anddeliveryformultipleAgileteams.”
FoundationLeSS• Leanthinking• Systemsthinking• 10Principles• “assimplyas
possible”
Scrum@Scale• ‘Network’of
Scrumteams(hierarchy?)
• Minimumviablebureaucracy
• Scrumvalues
SAFe1. Lean-Agile
leadership2. Team&techagility3. DevOps&release
ondemand4. Businesssolutions
&Leansystemsengineering
5. Leanportfoliomgmt
Softwarefocused
StructureLeSS• Customer-
centricFeatureteams
• 1POperproductarea
• CommunitiesofPractice
Scrum@Scale• Fractal/
network?• ScrumofScrums
teamas‘releaseteam’
• POcycle(what)• SMcycle(how)
SAFeDefinedhierarchy:• Portfolio• Solution• Program(Agile
ReleaseTrain)• Team
LeSSorgstructureWhat’sNOThere?PMO,supportgroupssuchasQAorConfigMgmtProductOwnermaybeateamwithonePO.POisatapeerleveltotheteams.“UndoneDept”ideallydoesn’texist;shouldbewithinteams.E.g.QA,Operations.
SAFe®bigpicturewww.scaledagileframework.com
(Sorry,SAFe®copyrightseemstoprecludemefromduplicatingthebigpicture.)
ConfigurationsLeSS• LeSS(2-8teams)• LeSSHuge(8+
teams)
Scrum@Scale®• Fractal
(recursive)–scalestoanynumberoflevels
SAFe®• Essential• Largesolution• Portfolio• Full
LeSS ScrumatScale® SAFe®Multi-team(level1)
1ProductOwner,orPOteamw/1PO
ScrumofScrumsMaster.POTeamwithaChiefProductOwner(CPO)
ReleaseTrainEngineerSystemArchitectProductManagementBusinessOwners
Level2 (LeSSHuge)1OverallPO+AreaPO’s
SoSoSMCCPO1
SolutionArchSolutionMgmtSolutionTrainEngineer
Level3 ExecutiveActionTeam(EAT)(SoSoSoSM1,POTeam@levelN)
EnterpriseArchEpicOwners
Rolesbylevel
ScrumatScale:“Ateam’sProductOwnerisresponsibleforthecompositionandprioritizationoftheteambacklogandmaypullbacklogitemsfromthesharedSoSbacklogintotheteambacklogorgenerateindependentbacklogitemsattheirdiscretion.”
LeSS ScrumatScale® SAFe®Multi-team(level1)
Sprintplanning1Sprintreview(overall)Overallretrospective.Self-organizedcoord.OngoingProductBacklogRefinement(wholeteam)
BacklogrefinementReleaseplanningScrumofScrums(coordination)MetaScrum(POs)ScaledDailyScrum1
ImpedimentremovalSoSReview&Retrospective
ProgramKanbanPIplanningSystemDemoInnov&PlanningiterationProgramRetrospective
Level2 InitialProductBacklogRefinement(vision,refinement,risks,DoD…)
EATScrumeventsExecMetaScrumevents
SolutionKanbanSolutionDemoModel-basedSystemEngr
Level3 PortfolioKanbanArchitecturalEnablersValueStreamcoordination
Processeventsbylevel
1ScaledDailyScrum:1repfromeachteam
LeSS ScrumatScale® SAFe®Multi-teamstructure
Scrumteams ScrumofScrums(SoS) ReleaseTrain(RT),ReleaseTrainEngineer(RTE),SystemArch
Orglayers
TeamHeadofProduct
ExecActionTeam(EAT).RecursiveSoSstructure.
Portfolio,LargeSolution,Program,Team
POmodel 1PO(orPOteam)<=8teams.1PO+AreaPOs>8teams.1backlogperArea.
ExecMetaScrum(uberPO)EachSoS:ChiefPO&POteam.1PO&1backlogperteam
SolutionMgmtProductMgmtperRTPOperteam.1Backlogperteam.
OtherRoles
Managersimprovecapabilities1
ScrumofScrumsMaster(SoSM)ExecActionTeam(EAT)
EnterpriseArchSolutionArch,SolutionMgmt,STESystemArch,ProductMgmt,RTE
Process Sprintplanning:all+team.Review:all.Retro:team+all.Self-orgcoordination.
Sprints,POcycle,SMcycle.ScaledDailyScrum.CoordinationviaSoS.
SolutionTrain,Enablers,Archrunway.ProgIncr(PI)planning,PIrelease,SysDemo&ProgRetroforeachRT
Definedprocess Empiricalprocess
Centralauthority Empoweredteams
Teamsdistantfromcustomers
Teamsclosetocustomers
Followaplan Respondtochange
Processes&Tools Individuals&interactions
Deliverlessoften Continuousdelivery
Directiveleadership
Servantleadership
Small Extentofchangevsexistingorgstructure&culture Large
LeSSScrumatScale®SAFe®
StrengthsLeSS• Empoweredteams
workingcloselywithcustomers
• Emphasisonexperimentsandprinciplesoverframeworks
• LeSSRules(10principles)
• Simplicity
ScrumatScale®• Scalesrecursively• EATforimpediment
removal&cultivatingvalues
• EmphasisonContinuousimprovement
• Simplicity
SAFe®• Lean-Kanban
principles• DevOps,XP&
softwarefocus• Amountof
guidanceavailable
PitfallsLeSS• Maybeahugeshift
incultureandrolesforatraditionalorganization
• Lessapplicableinanon-product-orientedorganization(e.g.IT?)
ScrumatScale®• Recursivelayers
becomeahierarchyofcentralizedauthority
• Lessguidanceonhowtoimplement
SAFe®• Centralized
authority• Rigidlydefined• Emphasison
process&rolesoverprinciples:Riskof“Agileinnameonly”