SAFe Business Agility Podcast

Having the right people in the room at the right time to have the right conversations can make all the difference. In today’s episode, Adam talks with Glenn Smith, SPCT and transformation consultant, about his experience running a successful enterprise transformation. Glenn shares lessons learned, recounts some big wins, and reveals his top three tips for someone looking to start their own successful, large-scale transformation.

Can you be a good coach even if you aren’t familiar with the subject? Actually, yes. In this episode, SPCT Niko Kaintantzis shares four key elements to becoming a great coach. And he explains how to react when the person you’re coaching has no idea what you’re talking about.

What exactly are PI objectives and iteration goals for? Communication from teams to the business about what the teams will do in a PI? Not entirely. In this episode, SPCT Saahil Panikar explains how the answer to the value of PI objectives and iteration goals lies in multiple elements—a feedback loop with two parts, speaking the same language, and the what, the who, and the why.

At one point Phil Reynolds was the most published children's music songwriter in North America. Now he's CEO and co-founder of DevStride, an enterprise-level Agile planning tool that helps teams coordinate across complex work streams. Think the two careers are unrelated? Think again. In this episode, Phil shares how being creative and focusing on the end user (or listener) is key to collaborating, solving problems, enabling service delivery, and meeting your goals.

Today’s episode is for all the managers out there feeling like they’re no longer necessary after an Agile transformation. In fact, according to enterprise coach and SPCT candidate, Mikael Broomé, managers are absolutely critical for success. Listen as he shares some tips on what you can do as a manager to support your team during their Agile journey.

If you’re a manager wondering where you fit on a newly Agile team, today’s episode is for you. Enterprise coach and SPCT candidate, Mikael Broomé, offers some simple tips: start by asking yourself what you're most passionate about in your role, and from there, make sure you understand what the new system looks like, observe your team as often as you can, and keep collecting feedback. Tune in to learn more!

“In a really large organization, there is still a certain level of complexity that we don't appreciate when we look at a single SAFe portfolio and put in a Lean portfolio structure.” When it comes to key elements of enterprise portfolio management, words matter. In today’s episode, Adam and SPCT Saahil Panikar discuss the difference between value stream identification and value stream mapping, strategy and execution versus intent and contribution, and what different organizations consider a portfolio and its associated roles. Saahil shares a specific experience with an LPM engagement at a large organization, as well as his top three quick tips for successful portfolio management.

Perhaps you’ve heard of Hofstadter’s Law: “It always takes longer than you expect, even when you take into account Hofstadter’s Law.” In today’s episode, SPCT, Gez Smith, offers some tips on how to make peace with the law by adjusting expectations during PI planning, adding your IP iteration to your ART planning board, and implementing a “not going to happen column.”

Have you ever felt a lack of support from HR during an Agile transformation? You’re not alone. On today’s episode, SPCT and SAFe® Fellow, Michael Stump, argues that HR can actually be a big accelerator for business agility, and offers tips on how to make that happen by asking for support, sharing knowledge, and collaborating on experiments.

“As a product manager, I know that product is never the end goal, right? The end goal is value to the customer. And that comes again with a huge people problem or an opportunity, to put it differently. How do I make my people customer-obsessed?” In today’s episode of the SAFe Business Agility Podcast, Adam talks to Natalia Baryshnikova, head of product at Atlassian, about customer obsession, starting with the relevance of an intern’s perspective. The two also discuss topics including parallels between art and digital transformation, the importance of value stream management, and highlights from the Atlassian product roadmap. Natalia also shares her recommendation for listeners around the million-dollar question.

In today’s episode, SPCT and SAFe® Fellow, Charlene Cuenca, has some tips about building a well-balanced, cross-functional Lean-Agile center of excellence (LACE). And she explains why you should consider inviting the COO and HR to be a part of your guiding coalition.

How do you evolve a value stream into a profit stream? That’s exactly what Adam discusses in today’s episode with Luke Hohmann, CEO of Applied Frameworks, who recently wrote a book on the topic. The two explore the concept of flow-based economics, the importance of pricing and licensing software, understanding the value of a product, and measuring and validating metrics for better business outcomes. Plus, you’ll hear some funny and humbling personal stories involving a dishwasher, an RV, and agile basics.

On today's episode, we're offering a behind-the-scenes look at the SPCT program. Adam sits down with three professionals who recently completed SPCT Immersion Week to discuss the entire journey -- from nomination, to interviews, traveling to Boulder, and beyond. Learn what it takes to earn that coveted invitation and how to take new skills and relationships with you back home. Finally, hear firsthand why SPCT candidates say the hard work is worth it.

On today’s episode, Adam sits down (face-to-face!) with three Scaled Agile framework team members—Rebecca Davis, Andrew Sales, and Dean Leffingwell—to discuss all things SAFe 6.0 and what excites them most about this release (hint: it might have something to do with flow). They acknowledge that change is hard and it’s easy to want to resist. But they take a deeper look at what really goes into Framework changes and assure us that the tweaks and changes are more than just shower thoughts—even if they maybe start out that way.

Today’s episode about flow with Adam and SPCT and SAFe® Fellow Yuval Yeret covers a lot of ground. The two discuss why now is the time to introduce flow properties and accelerating flow at multiple organizational levels before launching Agile Release Trains. How flow metrics don’t just benefit organizations at an advanced level of Agile maturity. Why it’s critical to connect people who have an intimate understanding of operational work with the development value stream. And why Agile is carrying some baggage that’s not useful.

DevOps may have started out as a foreign concept a decade ago, but today, it’s front and center in many organizations’ product strategies. In today’s episode, Adam interviews Robert Wen about his new book, SAFe for DevOps Practitioners. They discuss the three key themes of the book—one of which might be the most valuable skill to learn for the next evolution of the digital age—as well as topics including the recent release of SAFe® 6.0, where Robert got his inspiration for the book, and the holy grail of hardware-software integration.

How about a stroll down memory lane? On today’s episode, Eric Willeke, SAFe® Fellow and co-founder of Elevate.to joins Adam to discuss the evolution of SAFe over the years, what excites them the most about the newest revisions, and talk about how, at least for Eric, everything comes back to flow. Plus, hear why the skills that make for the best Scrum Master often aren’t found on a resume—and why that’s important.

Senior Consultant at Cprime and newly minted SPCT Steve Adolph sits down with Adam to discuss one of his passions: the role of the architect and architecture in SAFe. Hear about why Steve says the purpose of architecture in an organization is to enable business agility, full stop. The two also discuss why good leadership involves courage, humility, and letting go of the fear of failure.

Have you heard the news? 2023 is the year of the product manager. Well, it is according to Eduardo Alvim, senior trainer/consultant and SPCT. In this episode, he and Adam dive into why product management will be front and center this year—and what that means. They also discuss the five types of product managers and the importance of storytelling in product management.

Is design thinking just a buzzword? In today's episode, Adam explains what design thinking is and how you can start using it right now to make your job a little easier.