The Benefits and Challenges of Scaled Agile Framework in the IT Industry - case study: company x

Abstract

The purpose of this thesis is to investigate the benefits and challenges of Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe) in the IT industry. Agile processes and frameworks have been rising in popularity since the 1990s. Agile promotes self-managing teams, continuous learning, close collaboration with internal and external stakeholders and short development cycles. Initially agile methods were designed for small teams and organizations but during the past decade many agile scaling frameworks have emerged as large-scale organizations are looking to improve the agility of their processes. SAFe was established in 2012 and it has since become one of the most prominent scaling agile frameworks. However, past research data suggests that scaling agile processes can be challenging. The literature review section of the thesis provides an overview of the history of Agile and introduces frameworks such as Scrum, Kanban and Lean Software Development. The section also discusses SAFe in detail and introduces the key concepts of the framework. The research was conducted as a qualitative case study, and it focuses on a single IT company based in Finland. The research data was gathered using semi-structured interviews and in total nine interviews were conducted. The research data was analyzed using an inductive data analysis method. The results indicate that implementing SAFe provides several benefits such as increased product quality and transparency, and improved predictability of project planning and scheduling. The case company has also faced various challenges after the implementation of the framework. The challenges include prioritization of large-scale projects, portfolio management, lack of value provided by SAFe ceremonies and customers’ lack of knowledge regarding SAFe processes. This study provides recommendations what can be done to overcome the challenges and further improve the agility of SAFe processes.