For organizations aiming to achieve continuous efficiency, it is often necessary to rethink work methods. A european operator sought our expertise to restructure its processes, optimize project management, and lead its Agile transformation.
The customer's need
Faced with a complex hierarchical structure and necessary cultural changes, the company identified a crucial need: establishing business agility. With a workforce of 30,000 employees and a portfolio of approximately 1,000 applications, the goal was to create agile teams capable of contributing to value streams governed by specific portfolios. The first step in this transformation was to map the company’s assets to establish a clear and comprehensive vision of its portfolios.
The challenge was significant: not only modernizing internal processes but also ensuring better alignment with the company’s overall strategy. To achieve this, it was essential to clearly define the portfolios, their mission, governance, and the impacted teams.
The methodology deployed by our experts
A two-day workshop was organized, bringing together around 50 managers. This workshop aimed to map the company’s assets and propose an initial design of the portfolios.
- Collaborative workshop: active participation from managers allowed for the collection of diverse ideas and perspectives, fostering consensus on the portfolio design.
- Portfolio definition: each portfolio was defined based on its mission, alignment with the company’s strategy, governance, scope, and the teams involved. This approach enabled the creation of a complete and precise mapping.
- Follow-up and refinement: after the workshop, regular meetings were held with a small committee of experts to refine the definitions and ensure the portfolios met the company’s evolving needs.
Significant progress in the Agile transformation process
At the end of this project, the customer observed several benefits:
- Engagement in the transformation: one of the most notable outcomes was the engagement of managers in the transformation process. By involving them from the start, our team of experts fostered a sense of ownership and responsibility, essential for the success of any transformation project.
- Portfolio validation: the adopted methodology enabled the validation of the initial portfolio design. Through collaboration across different management levels, the portfolios were defined to meet the company’s strategic expectations.
- Establishment of regular meetings: regular meetings with a committee of experts were established to refine portfolio definitions and ensure constant monitoring of their evolution. This also helped maintain alignment with the company’s overall strategy.
- Rapid launch of the first portfolio: another major success was the launch of the first SAFe portfolio, which occurred just three months after the initial workshop. This speed demonstrates the effectiveness of the methodology implemented and the commitment of the teams.
Agile transformation is a complex process that requires a methodical and collaborative approach. Thanks to our experts, the company successfully addressed its transformation challenges. By involving employees, validating designs, and ensuring regular follow-up.
