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This is an old revision of this page, as edited by JB at Scaled Agile (talk | contribs) at 20:53, 22 May 2018 (→‎Addition of background?: reply). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.


New section on challenges of scaling

Now restructured the lead/lede paragraph to provide a more holistic overview, and introduced a new section on the challenges of scaling that SAFe seeks to address, which is the context for most of the criticisms. This means the article now includes more criticism, and there are more cited references for all the points. The 3 level vs 4 level section still needs sorting out, because it is based on SAFe v4.0. But that can be for another editor or another day. Davidjcmorris  Talk  17:48, 27 November 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Capitalization of frameworks

The MOS:CAPS states that "only words and phrases that are consistently capitalized in a substantial majority of independent, reliable sources are capitalized in Wikipedia". Software development frameworks such as Disciplined Agile Delivery (DAD), Large-Scaled Scrum (LeSS), and the Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe) are either formal trademarks or recognized and used in the form of capitalization. These terms should be expressed in this way. The exception being the article title, which I already rest to Scaled agile framework (ie, with leading capital only). Davidjcmorris  Talk  22:03, 27 November 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Is that really the case? I will revert. Walter Görlitz (talk) 23:48, 27 November 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Proposed improvements to introduction

Hi, I'm Jerry and I'm here to propose updates to this Wikipedia article on behalf of my employer, Scaled Agile Inc. Some other company representatives have posted to this discussion page before, but I will be the only employee proposing updates for the time being.

I'd like to start by suggesting some clarifications to the text in the introduction.

First paragraph

  • I recommend splitting the opening sentence into two: "The Scaled Agile Framework (abbreviated as SAFe) is a knowledge-base of organization and workflow patterns. SAFe's content is made freely available while being a registered trademark of Scaled Agile, Inc.
  • In the third sentence (starting "Along with…"), I propose changing "this is one of a growing number of frameworks that seek to address" to "SAFe is one of a growing number of frameworks that seeks to address".
Some minor edits made. We need to limit the use of the SAFe abbreviation, lest it become a noise word. Davidjcmorris  Talk  19:03, 8 May 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Third paragraph (starting "The primary…")

  • I propose changing "product management" to "portfolio and product management".
  • I propose removing "through governance".
  • After "portfolio management", I propose adding, ", to Agile program teams, to Agile development teams, out to customers".

With these changes, the sentence would read: "The primary reference for the scaled agile framework was originally the development of a big picture view of how work flowed from portfolio and product management, to Agile program teams, to Agile development teams, out to customers."

The portfolio concept is a scaling of products or programs, so instead I introduced other stakeholders as a source of work. In my opinion governance should remain as an important form of oversight -- this is implemented in different ways depending on the the level of SAFe, so governance is broad enough to cover them all in an abbreviated form. Davidjcmorris  Talk  19:03, 8 May 2018 (UTC)[reply]

In the same paragraph, I propose replacing "With the collaboration of others in the agile community, this was progressively refined and formalized, then included in a 2007 book. Since then, the framework has continued to be developed and released into the public domain, also supported by an academy and an accreditation scheme for third-party consultants" with the following content:

"SAFe has been progressively refined and formalized through collaboration of others in the agile community. Early concepts of the framework were described in 2007 and 2010 books. Since then, the framework has continued to be developed and released publicly. SAFe is also supported by an accreditation program for internal enterprise professionals and third-party consultants."

This corrects existing language by noting both books (see 2010 book info here) and replacing mention of an academy with the accreditation program. This page might be helpful for providing a better understanding of the agile community.

Changed to progressively refined and then first formally described in a 2007 book (I recommend considering if there is utility in referencing the later book to support other sections). Changed to shared publicly. Replaced third-party consultants with those who seek to implement, support, or train others in the adoption of SAFe. This should covers anyone (whether internal or third-party) and removes the snark in referencing consultants. Davidjcmorris  Talk  19:03, 8 May 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Last paragraph

Finally, the last sentence of the introduction currently says, "Although SAFe has been recognised as the most common approach to scaling agile practices, it has been criticised for being too top-down and inflexible." I propose expand this to say:

"There are over 40 published case studies describing the application and results from applying SAFe in multiple industries. Although SAFe has been recognized as the most common approach to scaling agile practices across the enterprise, it has been criticized for being too top-down and inflexible."

Information about case studies can be found here.

Are there any volunteer editors who are willing to review and discuss these proposed changes? Your help is appreciated. Thanks. JB at Scaled Agile (talk) 15:03, 2 May 2018 (UTC)[reply]

@Davidjcmorris and Walter Görlitz: I see you've both contributed to this talk page in the recent past. I'm inviting you to participate in this discussion, if you'd like, in case you don't "watch" this page. Thanks. JB at Scaled Agile (talk) 17:15, 8 May 2018 (UTC)[reply]
I saw the additions, but I don't see a problem with the content as it currently stands. I'll review it when I have a chance. Walter Görlitz (talk) 17:35, 8 May 2018 (UTC)[reply]
Likewise. The case studies are of interest, but are all published on the Scaled Agile website. Wikipedia recommends citing authenticated independent sources over primary sources. If you have third-party material that substantiates this point, then it could be worth including. However the point is already well made that SAFe is the most common approach. Davidjcmorris  Talk  19:03, 8 May 2018 (UTC)[reply]
Thanks for the feedback and for making some changes to the article. JB at Scaled Agile (talk) 21:39, 14 May 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Addition of background?

Hello again. I am back with another proposal for improving this Wikipedia article. The article as is jumps straight to the "Challenges of scaling agile principles and practices" section, which seems like it might be confusing for readers who are trying to learn more about the framework. I think the article could be improved by providing readers with background information about the framework first, then discussing challenges later in the article.

I'd like to suggest adding a new "Background" section with a brief and simple overview of the framework:

The scaled agile framework (SAFe) was originally developed by Dean Leffingwell, and is now owned by Scaled Agile Inc., a company he co-founded in 2011.[1][2][3] Leffingwell continues to serve as the chief methodologist for SAFe.[1][3] Scaled Agile is based in Boulder, Colorado,[2] and expanded into a larger office space in early 2018.[1]
Since the initial launch of SAFe 1.0 in 2011, Scaled Agile Inc. has provided four major updates, culminating in the current version 4.5 as of 2018.[4][5] The network's adoption rate increased by approximately 50 percent between 2014 and 2015.[3] As of 2017, SAFe had become the most used method framework for scaling agile, adopted by up to 45 percent of enterprise level companies, according to cPrime's 2017 report on scaling agile.[6]

References

  1. ^ a b c Werley, Jensen (February 27, 2018). "Scaled Agile celebrates expansion, growth with open house". BizWest. BizWest Media. Retrieved March 14, 2018.
  2. ^ a b Heusser, Matt (June 17, 2015). "Introducing the scaled agile framework". CIO magazine: 1–2. Retrieved March 14, 2018.
  3. ^ a b c Dougherty, Michael (August 22, 2016). "Slimming down to Essential SAFe". CIO magazine. Retrieved March 14, 2018.
  4. ^ "The Evolution of SAFe". Scaled Agile Inc. October 18, 2017. Retrieved March 14, 2018.
  5. ^ Smith, Aimie (October 19, 2016). "Scaled agile with Atlassian and SAFe". Atlassian. Retrieved March 14, 2018.
  6. ^ Sargent, Jenna (February 6, 2018). "Framework and standards are the 'Essence' of agile at scale". SD Times. ISSN 1528-1965. OCLC 60638821. Retrieved March 14, 2018.

I'm open to suggestions, and can answer questions here. Like before, I am submitting this request on behalf of Scaled Agile Inc. and won't be editing the article directly. Thank you to volunteers for considering and discussing this request. JB at Scaled Agile (talk) 22:50, 14 May 2018 (UTC)[reply]

It reads more like an ad for Scaled Agile Inc. to me, but I'll let others comment. Walter Görlitz (talk) 23:07, 14 May 2018 (UTC)[reply]
Happy that some of that would add to the information already on this article, but it would need to be toned down to avoid being a company promotion page. Any other thoughts. Davidjcmorris  Talk  20:08, 15 May 2018 (UTC)[reply]
@Davidjcmorris and Walter Görlitz: Thanks. Can you clarify which parts should be toned down? With some pointers I can try to propose some alternate wording. JB at Scaled Agile (talk) 19:37, 17 May 2018 (UTC)[reply]
Anything that is trying to sell the product rather than just describe it encyclopedicly describe it could be stripped. Walter Görlitz (talk) 19:45, 17 May 2018 (UTC)[reply]
There are different comments on different subsets of your suggestion:
  • All the information about Dean and the office location is not appropriate on this page. If you want, you could create a page on Dean Leffingwell (or even on Scaled Agile, Inc). If you want examples of how that can be done, check out the page on Dave Snowden.
  • Not sure what you mean by "the network's adoption rate", there is no mention of a network up to this point.
  • We could legitimately add the reference for 45% saturation to the existing commentary about its market position. I just added it.
  • The remainder of the points are fairly well covered in the remainder of the article. Davidjcmorris  Talk  01:30, 21 May 2018 (UTC)[reply]
@Davidjcmorris: Thanks for your help here. JB at Scaled Agile (talk) 20:52, 22 May 2018 (UTC)[reply]
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