Earlier this year I published a post on LinkedIn which created a lot of engagement. It was meant as a throwaway thought, but it turned into something I decided needs its own blog post for posterity. I give you the Scaled Agile Model (SAMe).
Why SAMe
The thought process begins with reflection on the difference between a model and a framework. The distinction I make is that a model tries to represent reality, whereas a framework gives some structure to view reality. Thus, you implement a model but build around a framework. Dave Snowden describes this in more detail in his post on Models and Mesmerism.
What is SAMe
Based on those definitions, it occurred to be that the Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe) is actually a model. As such, it should really be called the Scaled Agile Model. Hence SAMe was born. I’m sure many SAFe advocates will argue that SAFe isn’t something you implement. However, given the amount of detail it includes, it seems to me that it is trying to represent a reality. There are far too many pieces for it to be considered a structure to build around.
When to use SAMe
The natural consequence of that realisation was that SAMe seems like a much more appropriate name given my experiences with organisations trying to apply SAFe. It’s also something that’s not unique to SAFe. Organisations want to sound like they are “doing” Agile without actually making any changes. Let’s take the concept of the Value Streams. Scaled Agile organisations generally move to having Value Streams. Thus, if they have Value Streams they can say they are transforming to be more Agile. What often happens is that functions that don’t want to change simply rename their activities as Value Streams. Doh!
To quote T. S. Eliot:
“Nothing pleases people more than to go on thinking what they have always thought, and at the same time imagine that they are thinking something new and daring: it combines the advantage of security and the delight of adventure.”
Conclusion
So SAMe is the name I now give to the approach organisations use when they want to say they are Agile without actually changing. The Scaled Agile Model is the antithesis of Strategy Deployment. Joshua Kerievsky subsequently picked up on the original post, and we recorded a short and fun livestream, exploring the idea in more detail. While I hope it’s obvious that SAMe is not serious, there is a serious point behind it.