Agile scaling models tend to be based on scenarios where 5 - 10 agile teams are working on the same project/program/product/value stream.   The scaling models provide some good ways of organizing the work that needs to be done to plan, synchronize and demonstrate the outputs of the teams.  This case study describes the path of a development group that has 10-12 teams working on about 50 different software "products and services" within a reasonably narrow-focused energy company.  The case study describes how they went about paring down the SAFe model to meet their needs and then prioritizing the scaled-back scaling transformation using group inputs to a weighted shortest job first exercise.

For agile to work at scale in enterprises, there needs to be clarity around the hierarchy (or lack of hierarchy) of roles across teams and products to ensure sound governance and, perhaps more importantly, to offer career (and salary!) progression.  This presentation will propose a competency-based approach for the development of skills and competencies of the workforce, and thus creating a sustainable transformation in an enterprise. We will include experiences of implementing those components of the proposed model that have already been tried and tested.  Feedback will be sought from the participants.

In early 2014, Mike Harris took on an agile training and coaching engagement for a small team with a big project - building a new website for the mayor and Assembly of major city in the UK.  This short case study will describe the oontext, the challenges, the successes and the failures of the engaagement. Mike will explain the easy and difficult aspects of working within a traditional project management framework, PRINCE2.

Attendees should leave with an appreciation of how pragmatism and the goodwill of the participants can start to overcome the barriers to entry that apply in the government situation where rigid traditonal project management is in place and actual development is assumed to be outsourced.