Becoming an agile enterprise means more than just adopting the Agile framework. While implementing Agile methodologies is an integral part of scaling your operations, achieving true Agile transformation goes beyond tools and software delivery.
Agile transformation involves cultural change that requires investing time and resources into training people, optimizing processes, and configuring technology to support your business needs. The investment is big and the stakes are high (47% of Agile transformations fail!). However, when done right, the investment is well worth the payoff.
According to the 17th State of Agile Report, organizations that underwent Agile transformation experienced increased collaboration, aligned teams, and enhanced visibility. To understand what it takes to become an agile enterprise, we explore organizations across different industries that invested in becoming a connected enterprise and experienced the benefits of Agile-at-Scale.
Related: 5 Key Takeaways from The 17th State of Agile Report
Global Fortune 40 Retailer Bridges the Strategy-Execution Gap with Advanced Planning (formerly Advanced Roadmaps)
This Fortune 40 retailer was experiencing a classic case of disconnected tools and teams. The retailer’s teams would begin work in Excel, move data into Jira, and then export everything back into Excel for reporting purposes.
Using these disparate tools was how they had practiced SAFe®, but this was no longer a sustainable strategy and it slowed down their teams. Additionally, they were spending too much time capacity planning in Excel, Sharepoint, and other Microsoft tools that offered limited visibility and even generated inaccurate information.
Staying competitive in an already saturated market meant that the global retailer needed a way to accelerate their software releases with accurate, real-time project planning and reporting. To overcome these challenges and properly implement SAFe®, the global retailer implemented Advanced Planning for Jira. With the help of Praecipio, they configured Advanced Planning and Jira in a way that set them up for success with scaling Agile principles.
With Jira automatically updating Advanced Planning, our client experienced improved visibility, which allowed them to plan work effectively and make data-driven decisions. The move to Advanced Planning also enabled the retailer’s teams to add additional release trains and accelerate work.
Additionally, the retail company invested in training their teams to leverage Jira and Advanced Planning for managing work. This resulted in the organization maximizing its technology ROI and achieving the mindset shift needed to advance its Agile transformation journey.
Filling in Agile Knowledge Gaps for A Leading Healthcare Company
A leading healthcare service provider had the technology resources to support their processes, but they lacked the technical know-how to scale their growing business. Our client had already implemented the Atlassian product suite, but they mostly used the tools’ out-of-the-box capabilities. This worked in the short term, but as the healthcare organization’s priorities shifted, they needed a customized solution.
To fill in the knowledge gaps for scaling Agile, they brought Praecipio on board. After taking a deep dive into their processes and how they were using their Atlassian tools, the Praecipio team presented the healthcare provider with a document filled with recommendations on how to configure Jira to support their business goals. We also provided a custom roadmap for implementing Agile-at-Scale, and guidance on how to leverage their Atlassian tools to connect strategy to work execution.
What would have taken them 8-12 months to complete internally, Praecipio was able to do in three weeks, giving the healthcare provider back 92% of their time. This allowed their organization to dive right into scaling Agile practices so that they could quickly adapt to changing priorities brought on by a fast-moving healthcare landscape.
A Leading Telecommunications Company Begins Agile Transformation
A leading telecommunications company was managing and visualizing work with traditional project management tools like Excel, Word, and Visio. Not only did these tools prevent the organization from embracing agile ways of working, but they also lacked the visibility and flexibility teams needed to move fast.
In order to continue being a leader in their industry, our client needed to undergo an Agile transformation. This meant transitioning from traditional project management practices and tools to Agile methodologies and technology.
The first step in implementing Agile practices was migrating from legacy software to the Atlassian platform. After this transition, Praecipio worked with the client to set up custom schemes that would allow them to track work, streamline processes, and standardize reporting across departments.
The telecommunications company also replaced Word with Confluence as their tool for documenting work since Confluence seamlessly integrates with Jira. Praecipio configured Confluence with custom spaces, permissions, and roles to provide the right level of visibility for projects and facilitate collaboration between teams.
After completing training on using Jira and Confluence to support SAFe, the client's teams successfully transitioned to an Agile framework. The organization experienced increased collaboration and boosted productivity, which better positioned the telecommunications company to move at the speed of business.
A National Bank Says Goodbye to Spreadsheets
Once again, we have a case of teams tracking and managing work in Excel to support their Agile processes. A national bank with locations across the U.S. needed to find a more efficient way to plan and execute its software development and IT operations projects. These teams were wasting too much time manually entering data in Excel spreadsheets.
Plus, these tools didn’t provide the bank’s key stakeholders with the insight they needed to make intelligent business decisions. Using spreadsheets to implement Agile practices was not only problematic, but it ended up costing the bank big time.
After failing to effectively plan releases and hit deadlines, our client turned to Jira. Atlassian’s dynamic software solution enabled the bank’s teams to plan work and manage resources because they had a clear vision of their workloads, project status, and performance.
Praecipio helped the national bank define the best Agile practices for its business and then set up Jira in a way that enabled teams to scale those practices. After a successful Agile implementation with Jira, software development and IT operations teams delivered quality products faster. Additionally, teams outside of IT had the project insight they needed to better execute their strategic initiatives.
How Can My Business Achieve Agile Transformation?
You’ve probably noticed some major themes in this article: it’s impossible to move business strategy forward with spreadsheets and your technology needs to be set up to facilitate agile ways of working. Another common theme with these organizations is that none of them were able to scale Agile practices without help.
As an Atlassian Specialized Partner in Agile at Scale, and 2023 Agile at Scale Partner of the Year, Praecipio has led hundreds of enterprise organizations through Agile implementations. By combining ideal Agile practices with custom configurations, we know what it takes to build a dynamic enterprise that adapts quickly to the rapid changes of today’s business landscape.
If you are tired of wasting time on 13-hour spreadsheet planning sessions, watch this on-demand webinar and learn how you can effectively visualize your data across the enterprise.
Want to know more about connecting strategy to work execution to achieve Agile transformation? Download our whitepaper, "The Connected Enterprise: Close the Gap Between Business Strategy & Execution.”
If you are ready to start your Agile transformation journey, contact us to discuss how we can put your technology to work so your teams can focus on the work that matters most.
