Topic: Inspect & Adapt

In 2017, Planview (a Scaled Agile partner) realized that its customers and market were evolving beyond their traditional product lines. A leader in project portfolio management (PPM) solutions, Planview recognized the need to adapt both strategically and operationally and looked to Agile to power a much-needed transformation. (Read the full story in Harvard Business Review).

While the development departments had practiced Agile for some time, the larger Planview organization really began its forays into Agile starting in 2017 via the acquisition of a company with strong Agile DNA and a powerful Kanban product. Sporadic successes after the acquisition, however, didn’t translate to the change the company needed. Planview knew that real transformation required a top-down commitment, and in late 2018, established a company-wide goal to rewire its organization through a new Agile Growth Initiative.

The initiative focused on five key objectives:

1. Infuse agility into the organization by increasing Agile DNA throughout
2. Admit we couldn’t do it alone and bring in outside coaching support
3. Embrace Agile practices and ceremonies from leadership to the teams
4. Reorganize people and teams to focus on customer value
5. Empower everyone to have a voice and do their best work

Led by the marketing department, Planview brought in external Agile experts as guides and kicked off its first Agile discovery session. When the team asked sales, marketing, and product leaders to list their top priorities, every department was different. It became clear that scaling across functions was the organization’s biggest challenge—and most promising opportunity.

Planview accelerated its Agile initiative by creating three cross-functional Agile teams that comprised the first Go-to-Market Agile Release Train. Through Program Increment (PI) Planning events, the teams shared, according to Harvard Business Review, “… some hard conversations that ultimately resulted in reorganizations and the realignment of people and funds.”

The result: a new emphasis on solutions vs. products that enabled the organization to provide value to their customers in meaningful, innovative ways. With Agile, Planview successfully shifted from a 30-year-old PPM company to an Enterprise Agile Planning Solution Leader. That’s true transformation, although for Planview, it’s simply one more step in a continuous process of inspecting and adapting.

Read the full story of Planview’s transformation in Harvard Business Review.