The four fundamental practices of Agile Software Development, Lean Portfolio Management, Continuous Learning Culture, and Organizational Agility all have their agile core competencies that stand out from the competition. If you’d like to know more about these practices, read on! In this article, we’ll explore each of them in more detail. We’ll also explore the role of a Product Owner in implementing Agile. Then, you can apply these practices in your organization.
Lean Portfolio Management
Lean Portfolio Management (LPM) is a key competency for organizations that want to implement Agile methods. Unlike traditional PMOs, where centralized management is essential for program execution, Agile focuses on decentralizing the role of the PMO to the Program Management Office (PMO). Instead of relying on the same management structure as in conventional organizations, Agile aims to distribute responsibility among teams. The result is that the organization achieves greater operational efficiencies and improved outcomes. This practice involves redesigning the PMO, or Program Management Office (PMO), into an Agile-style operation that uses existing members and techniques for program executions across the portfolio. Agile PMOs practice metrics and reporting for business agility.
Continuous Learning Culture
Organizational agility is crucial for any company, but it doesn’t necessarily mean a purely agile environment. Organizational agility also includes a Continuous Learning Culture. This culture embraces innovation and helps the organization adapt to change. Continuous Learning Culture is one of the seven core competencies in SAFe 5.0. It is an integral part of an agile approach and helps create an integrated culture and execution engine. Customer centricity is another focus point and should be integrated throughout the organization.
Enterprise Solution Delivery
Lean-Agile development has transformed the concept of operational systems, changing the focus of the development process from a single-shot deployment to iteratively developing and deploying solutions. Today, organizations must apply the same approach to developing complex systems with many software and cyber-physical components. Lean-Agile describes nine best practices grouped into three critical dimensions of enterprise solution delivery. Each of these practices has a role in the development process, but they are not mutually exclusive.
Organizational Agility
The culture of an organization can play an important role in organizational agility. While only about 25% of executives believe that their organization fosters agility, a strong culture helps leaders tap into their greater potential. In addition, employees are empowered to take risks, act with greater agility, and work toward improved business outcomes in an agile environment. This article will outline the key elements of an agile culture. Here are the four most important components of an agile organization.
Shared Services
Sharing common expertise is one of the Agile core competencies. This is particularly true for shared services, which should be self-organizing and cross-functional. The shared services team should have a home within a team, portfolio, or program and work on bits and pieces of features developed by other teams. Its members should work together to achieve success, rather than competing for the same resources. Shared services are critical to overall success.
