Agile Hive: A collaboration with KEGON

It's not surprising that the larger the company, the more complex and multifaceted its structure becomes.  In our globally networked world, it's no longer rare to have teams spread across different continents with large-scale projects. Thanks to software solutions such as Scrum or Kanban, we can now scale planning and management processes. However, if you want to take it a step further and implement a comprehensive approach for all of your teams, these solutions will no longer cut it.  Enter Agile Hive.

Agile Hive

Our own SAFe with Atlassian tools is what made us a certified Scaled Agile Platform Partner. It enables us to support you and your company to facilitate team alignment, improve decision-making processes for portfolio management, create structured roadmaps, and much more.

 

Getting started with the Scaled Agile Framework

If you haven't touched on the Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe) or Agile Hive yet, you can head over to this blog article for a short introduction to SAFe and a first impression. SAFe was made to provide good communication patterns and social structures, especially in large organizations. This way, every team member can make their own optimal contribution. Here we are also able to draw upon tools and methods from the Lean Startup methodology.

If you want to read more about the principles and values of SAFe, here are some book recommendations:

  • Tribal Unity: Getting from Teams to Tribes by Creating a One Team Culture – Em Campbell-Pretty
  • The Startup Way – Eric Ries

Agile Hive partnership between KEGON and //SEIBERT/MEDIA

We worked closely with our partner, KEGON, on the development of Agile Hive. The company has been working with SAFe for many years, and together with its inventor, Scaled Agile, Inc. continually works to develop the framework further. We were particularly pleased to see how our technical expertise on SAFe transformations and for the development of Agile Hive and KEGON's knowledge and experience complimented each other perfectly.

At KEGON, each team member can make their own contribution based on their individual skills and character traits. This makes child's play of difficult transformation tasks in the area of complex organizations or portfolio management. Our partner is currently laying the foundations for the future, by working hard to develop and advance the agile structural organization, agile strategy development, and agile service organization.

Training programs and proper planning

Learning the ropes of SAFe alone? Doable. Applying the structures and approaches to your own company? Difficult. This is where KEGON's certified training programs come into play. Not only do they explain the high-quality reference book from Scaled Agile. Inc., you also receive valuable learning tips from the trainers' own personal experience.

In an interview with us, Dr. Thorsten Janning, co-founder of KEGON, emphasized how important it is to take such training programs and the planning process seriously. PI planning, in particular, is a central event and is decisive as to how well an agile transformation turns out in the end. Those who take the time to invest in this organization and don't forget the social aspects for the team members will be able to build a stable foundation and has good chances of success.

Empowering the company

In contrast to other companies, when consulting, KEGON does not aim to make customers dependent on them. Instead, they aim to give customers or the respective teams the knowledge and tools they need to implement SAFe themselves. Their coaching only takes place for a short, pre-defined period and gives the companies new ideas and input. Thanks to modern communication software, this can even take place remotely.

Especially in times where everyone is working from home or when budgets are tight, remote conferences offer increased flexibility. When budgets are limited, it is also important not to forget about training team members. Training is always a good investment, as those taking part can then share their new knowledge with the rest of the team and so advance the implementation of SAFe.

Agile Hive at KEGON

Of course, our partner KEGON is already familiar with our tool, Agile Hive, they were involved in its development, after all.  But they also know about its everyday use: With Kanban boards as the focal point, they also use virtual representations of scaled contexts. Teams, trainers, and portfolio management all use these a great deal. We can also count on KEGON's project experience for the development of reports. If you are already working with Atlassian systems, Agile Hive can be integrated seamlessly with no effect on existing Jira projects.

Options for more information

Have we awoken your interest? Do you want to find out more about Agile Hive and the implementation of SAFe? You can find out more at our casual get-togethers. Our partner KEGON organizes BarCamps twice a year, and you can also exchange ideas at the monthly Open Lunch. But we are here for you, too. If you have any questions, you can contact us at any time. We'd be happy to help you implement SAFe for your Atlassian tools. You can also make use of our demos and talks!

Read our full interview with Dr. Thorsten Janning


Further Reading

Jan Einfach: Agile and Atlassian explained | A short introduction to "Agile Hive – SAFe with Atlassian Tools."
SAFe with Atlassian tools: Agile Hive is a Scaled Agile Platform Partner
Remote PI planning with Agile Hive



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