How Comparative Agility Supports SAFe

Recording of the Comparative Agility demo at the SAFe Australia Online Meetup - SAFe Tooling Special Interest Group (SIG).

Summary of the SAFe Tooling SIG Featuring Comparative Agility

• The meetup began with a welcome to the third SAFe Tooling Special Interest Group event.
• Jorgen Hesselberg, a founder of Comparative Agility, was introduced. He has been a significant figure in the SAFe community for over a decade.

Overview of Comparative Agility:

• Comparative Agility is designed to support continuous improvement, with a user-friendly interface and quick learning curve.
• The platform features surveys (capabilities) that are created by domain experts and validated by data scientists.

Key Features of Comparative Agility:

1. Expert-Designed Surveys:
   • Surveys are crafted by notable experts such as Esther Derby, Mike Cohn, and Dr. Amy Edmondson.
   • The surveys are validated using psychometric techniques to ensure they measure meaningful aspects accurately.
2. Continuous Improvement Platform:
   • The platform is likened to the "Spotify of continuous improvement" due to its regularly updated capabilities.
   • New surveys are added every 3-4 months, ensuring the platform evolves with current needs.
3. SAFe-Specific Surveys:
   • Official SAFe assessments are available and developed in collaboration with experts like Andy Sales.
4. Data Collection and Analysis:
   • The platform supports setting up teams and collecting data through surveys, either asynchronously or in facilitator-led sessions for real-time feedback.
   • Psychological safety is emphasized as a key factor in team environments.
5. Custom Capabilities:
   • Users can customize existing surveys or create new ones, integrating questions from various sources to meet specific needs.
6. Insights and Actionable Data:
   • The tool offers detailed data analysis to inform strategy and drive improvements.
   • Various analysis views, including performance versus cohesion and detailed team-level reports, help identify strengths and areas for improvement.
   • The impact matrix helps highlight high-performing, aligned, and struggling teams.
7. Recommendations and Continuous Improvement:
   • Based on survey results, the platform provides actionable recommendations linked to resources on the SAFe website.
   • The approach focuses on data-driven continuous improvement, advocating for small, manageable changes each Planning Interval (PI).

Q&A Session:

• The session addressed questions about AI integration, access to Comparative Agility through SAFe Studio, and agile marketing modules.
• Discussions included the potential for AI-driven insights and the development of a virtual coach.

Closing:

• Attendees were encouraged to leverage the free access to Comparative Agility available to SAFe Practice Consultants (SPCs).
• The importance of data in enhancing agile practices and fostering a culture of continuous improvement was highlighted.

This meetup provided valuable insights into the capabilities of the Comparative Agility tool, demonstrating its practical applications and the importance of data-driven approaches in agile transformations.