THE PERCEIVED EFFECTIVENESS OF THE SCALED AGILE FRAMEWORK® IN SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT ORGANIZATIONS

Abstract

Software development projects experience very high failure rates. Due to the high cost of project failure, coupled with studies that found failure rates are closely tied to the software development method used, the purpose of this mixed methods exploratory case study was to examine the extent of perceived effectiveness of the Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe®) in software development organizations using Complex Adaptive Systems as a lens to guide the study. This research focused on the extent of perceived effectiveness of the Scaled Agile Framework® on organizational outcomes, team management, stakeholder and customer management, management of emerging requirements and overall organizational agility. Three organizations took participated from Retail, Government and Logistics industries. Each organization transitioned from the Waterfall method to SAFe®. In all three cases, the participants reported the transition to SAFe® helped improve strategic alignment, facilitate business / IT coordination, increase speed of delivery, improve software quality, and reduce rework by applying Lean-Agile principles resulting in lower overall costs and reduced risk. Principle challenges included the need for change management and training to help assimilate the new structure, roles and responsibilities. Another significant challenge cited was the transition from project management measures (e.g., cost, scope, schedule, earned value) to SAFe® measures of throughput (i.e., working software) and value (i.e., prioritized features based on business value). Interactions with “non-SAFe®” organizations were cited as a concern for dependencies on other teams that could result in schedule and priority misalignment.