Agility in the Age of Enterprise Solutions | Accenture
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Agility in the age of enterprise solutions Accenture and Scaled Agile Framework challenge the status quo Abstract Contents Executive Brief 3 The best way to implement any enterprise solution is to place the Introduction 4 customer central to the system’s purpose while making economic tradeoffs to ensure that the system delivers the greatest value with SAFe with a Twist 6 the most reasonable total cost of ownership. Whether companies Terminology 7 adopt a system “off the shelf” or completely customize, choosing the right implementation approach can put companies on a better 9 Adaptations to SAFe for Enterprise Solutions 8 path to business agility. 01 Start with the Solution Train 9 The Scaled Agile Framework® (SAFe®) with specific adaptations can 02 Think “minimum integrated business process” (MIBP) 11 simplify the implementation of enterprise solutions such as SAP, Oracle, Workday, or Salesforce. This white paper focuses on nine key 03 Use the BPML as guidance, not as structure 12 adaptations needed to increase the efficacy of SAFe in achieving the successful and efficient implementations of any enterprise solution. 04 Use Capability Strings to map value in short 13 segments that can be independently validated 05 Use WRICEF objects as SAFe Features 14 06 Use an estimator for Capability WSJF “Job Size” 15 07 Think “continuish” deployment 16 08 Continually evolve the live enterprise system 16 09 Adapt the SAFe Implementation Roadmap for 20 enterprise solutions Adaptations in Action 21 Conclusion 22 Resources & Further Reading 23 Author and Acknowledgements 24 Agility in the age of enterprise solutions 2 . Executive brief The best way to implement any enterprise solution is to place the customer While SAFe alone can simplify the implementation of any enterprise solution, central to the system’s purpose while making economic tradeoffs to ensure it is not enough. This white paper focuses on nine key adaptations needed that the system delivers the greatest value with the most reasonable total cost to increase the efficacy of SAFe in achieving successful and efficient of ownership. Whether companies adopt a system “off the shelf” or completely implementations: customize, choosing the right implementation approach can put companies on a better path to business agility. 1. Start with the Solution Train Accenture’s “SAFe for Enterprise Solutions” offers key benefits over traditional 2. Think “minimum integrated business process” (MIBP) vendor-driven approaches, such as SAP’s Activate and Oracle’s Unified Method or their derivatives: 3. Use the BPML as guidance, not as structure • Emphasizes pivot opportunities that increase business agility 4. Use Capability Strings to map value in short segments that can be independently validated • Implements lean practices with enterprise solutions delivery 5. Use WRICEF objects as SAFe Features • Requires ongoing business engagement and alignment 6. Use an estimator for Capability WSJF “Job Size” • Implements continuous integration and validation cycles with “continuish” deployment 7. Think “continuish” deployment • Encourages flexible and resilient architecture with digital decoupling 8. Continually evolve the live enterprise system • Focuses on continually evolving the system with an economic view 9. Adapt the SAFe Implementation Roadmap for enterprise solutions Agility in the age of enterprise solutions 3 Introduction Global enterprises and mid-size companies implement packaged enterprise SAFe gives us patterns that are proven, simple to adopt, and allow clients to solution software such as SAP, Oracle, Workday, or Salesforce to increase achieve momentum to eventually transcend the Framework. SAFe offers key operational efficiency and productivity. Companies might choose to use benefits over traditional vendor-driven approaches, such as SAP’s Activate and these systems “off the shelf” with basic configurations. Few do. Instead, most Oracle’s Unified Method or their derivatives: customize everything. Traditional implementation approaches for enterprise solutions follow waterfall or iterative hybrid-agile which increases the risk of not • Emphasizes pivot opportunities that increase business agility meeting target deadlines and rarely keeps up with evolving user expectations. • Implements lean practices with enterprise solutions delivery There is a better way. A way where customers are always central to a • Requires ongoing business engagement and alignment company’s purpose, where economic decisions drive the day, where a company’s resources are focused on what matters most to their stakeholders, • Implements continuous integration and validation cycles with and where value delivery and ability to pivot keeps every company relevant “continuish” deployment in their industry. This way leverages the Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe) to find the best tradeoffs between adopting the out-to-the-box solution • Encourages flexible and resilient architecture with digital decoupling implementation and endless customization. • Focuses on continually evolving the system with an economic view Agility in the age of enterprise solutions 4 Accenture’s “SAFe for Enterprise Solutions” is applicable to all packaged systems using structured agile principles and practices. It shifts validation/testing and release activities left, thus reducing risk and maximizing the value delivered. Teams and Agile Release Trains continue their work indefinitely and provide complete validated objects and configs to Release Management for code movement, release, and change management activities enabled by DevOps. Our clients have applied these patterns successfully in a variety of environments: • Large enterprise solutions such as SAP, Oracle, and Salesforce to small niche packages like Manhattan Software • Completely new implementations (greenfield) to evolving existing/legacy systems (living systems) • With basic value streams using Essential SAFe all the way up to “Super-Sizing” SAFe via a Solution Train within a global aerospace company’s transformation (see Adaptations in Action on page 22). For simplicity, SAP-oriented examples are used in this white paper to demonstrate how SAFe can be used in an enterprise solution implementation. Keep in mind that the same principles, Figure 1: Accenture’s SAFe for Enterprise Solutions model. techniques, tools and approaches can be applied to any enterprise solution regardless of size or complexity. Agility in the age of enterprise solutions 5 . SAFe – with a twist Now that we’ve established that the Scaled Agile Framework can simplify the implementation of any enterprise solution, including SAP, we need to acknowledge that SAFe alone is not enough for many enterprise solution implementations. This white paper focuses on nine key adaptations needed to increase the efficacy of SAFe in achieving successful and efficient implementations: 01 Start with the Solution Train 05 Use WRICEF objects as SAFe Features Think “minimum integrated Use an estimator for Capability 02 business process” (MIBP) 06 WSJF “Job Size” Use the BPML as guidance, 07 Think “continuish” deployment 03 not as structure Continually evolve the live Use Capability Strings to map enterprise system value in short segments that 08 can be independently validated 04 Adapt the SAFe Implementation 09 Roadmap for enterprise solutions Agility in the age of enterprise solutions 6 Terminology Architectural runway Minimum Integrated Business Process (MIBP) Solution Train A SAFe construct supporting the continuous flow The “happy path” of business processes that can A SAFe construct designed to coordinate the effort of of value through the Continuous Delivery Pipeline, run independently in production without major teams of teams to build large and complex solutions providing the necessary technical foundation for enhancements (WRICEFs) to achieve validated learning (often described as “systems of systems”). developing business initiatives and implementing new as fast as possible. This enables the business to adapt Features and/or Capabilities. The Architectural Runway its needs based upon validated learning of working Value Stream is one of the primary tools used to implement the business processes. Accenture uses MIBP instead of a A business concept whereby value is created by Framework’s Agile Architecture strategy. minimally viable product (MVP) in SAFe for Enterprise means of an idea or product passing through an Solutions implementations. organization and collecting value-addons. The BPML resulting delivered value ultimately benefits a In enterprise solutions like SAP, the business process SAFe customer, stakeholder, or end user. master list (BPML) is a spreadsheet that comprises Also known as SAFe for Lean Enterprises, the Scaled all scenarios, business processes, and transactions Agile Framework (SAFe) is a framework for scaling WRICEF included in the project scope. The BPML is typically agile from teams to Agile Release Trains (ARTs) to WRICEF (pronounced “rye-sef”) stands for “workflow, used to monitor and control configurations and for test portfolios and even enterprises. SAFe brings together report, interface, conversion, enhancement, and form.” activities in the design-build phase. values and practices from industry experts who have A WRICEF covers any kind of custom development or uncovered empirically proven approaches to increasing enhancement. Also known as RICEFW (pronounced ERP organizational agility. The collective framework, “rice-eff-double-u”). Enterprise resource planning (ERP) is typically represented by the “Big