Delivery at Scale

Operating models and large delivery organisations, often scaled agile

Large programmes rarely fail for lack of talent. They fail when hundreds of people, dozens of teams and several vendors don’t work as one system. The work is to design, set up, run and improve delivery organisations that do, usually with large-scale agile frameworks such as SAFe, and always fitted to the organisation rather than the other way round.

Typical situations

A new programme must be operational from its very first planning interval
Agile works in teams, but not across the portfolio
Governance, roles and management routines don’t fit the new way of working
Leaders need to learn to lead an agile organisation
A key role (train engineer, agile office) must be filled now and handed over later

What the work involves

Operating-model and delivery-organisation design
SAFe implementation from the first planning interval, and other frameworks where they fit better
Agile office (LACE) set-up and its evolution into a value management office (VMO)
Lean portfolio management and governance, including Obeya
Interim Release or Solution Train Engineer, with a structured handover to an internal successor
Executive coaching and training

Kinds of work

Delivery-organisation set-upStrong decrease in development time and cost

Large delivery organisations, working from day one

German energy group, regional grid companiesDelivery organisation for a post-merger integration
Leading European financial institutionDelivery set-up for a pan-European payments programmeRunning from the first planning interval

Portfolio governance and agile offices15% cost-reduction target, group-wide

Lean portfolio management, Obeya, agile and value management offices

German energy groupPortfolio steering across a group
Also relevant hereDelivery set-up for a pan-European payments programme

Executive coaching and trainingCoaching at board level

Leaders and teams able to run the new model

Leading European insurer, as part of an MBB teamAgile transformation at a leading insurer

How the work usually runs

01
Decide
Choice of operating model and framework.
02
Design
Delivery-organisation design: teams, roles, cadence and governance.
03
Set up
First planning interval and agile office.
04
Run
Interim train engineer and portfolio steering.
05
Hand over
Handover to an internal successor.

Selected engagements

Clients are not named.

AI & Digital Value, Delivery at Scale: Leading European financial institution

Delivery set-up for a pan-European payments programme

Delivery organisation built from the programme’s first planning interval: how all agile release trains plan, deliver and steer together, with an agile office designed to grow into the value management office. Continuous improvement since then, bringing in AI as well as classic approaches.

Role: Agile office (LACE) and temporary roles such as Solution Train Engineer, working with the programme leadership

Running from the first planning interval

Corporate Transformation, Delivery at Scale: German energy group, regional grid companies

Delivery organisation for a post-merger integration

Scaled-agile delivery model for the merged grid businesses’ processes and IT, designed before launch, run with a team of consultants and Scrum Masters, and handed over to the client’s own leadership.

Role: Designed and led the delivery model

300+ people, strong decrease in development time and cost

Delivery at Scale: Leading European insurer, as part of an MBB team

Agile transformation at a leading insurer

Board members and executives coached on leading an agile organisation. Operating models, roles and management routines reshaped around it, with a steering model built on KPIs and feedback loops.

Role: Agile expert and executive coach

Coaching at board level

Delivery at Scale: German energy group

Portfolio steering across a group

Obeya-based steering for the group’s digital and IT portfolio, a new governance team, and pilots in two countries.

Role: Design lead and pilot lead

15% cost-reduction target

Corporate Transformation, AI & Digital Value, Delivery at Scale: AI startups, software companies, SMEs

Strategy and scaling for AI and tech companies

Business strategy, integration after acquisitions, and operating models that hold up as teams grow fast, including for AI-enabled products.

Role: Strategic adviser

Industries

Energy & Utilities
Financial Services & Payments
Insurance
Technology & AI

Methods and tools

SAFe
PI planning
LACE and VMO
Lean portfolio management
Obeya
Scrum

Terms used on this page

Large-scale agile has its own vocabulary. Here it is in plain words.

Planning interval (PI): A fixed cycle, usually eight to twelve weeks, in which all teams of a programme plan together, deliver and review the result. Formerly called program increment.
PI planning: The joint planning event at the start of each interval, usually two days, in which all teams of a train plan the next interval together.
Agile release train (ART) and solution train: An agile release train is the team of teams that plans and delivers together. A solution train coordinates several of them on one large solution.
Release or Solution Train Engineer: Facilitates the train’s planning, steers dependencies and risks, and keeps the teams delivering as one system.
Agile office (LACE): The small team that leads the change to the new way of working; in SAFe terms, the Lean-Agile Center of Excellence.
Value management office (VMO): Where the agile office can grow: it steers the portfolio by value and outcomes, not only by plans and budgets.
Lean portfolio management: Steering a portfolio of initiatives by strategy and value, with lightweight governance and funding.
Obeya: A room where leaders steer with the programme’s information on the walls, so decisions are taken on the same picture.

Next areaCorporate Transformation