How Companies Like LEGO® Scale Project Management with Agile and Scrum

So, What is the Agile Framework

Agile is a highly popular and effective project management approach that helps enterprises streamline complex development processes. Project managers that use agile can deliver projects in functional stages, where changes can be made more easily along the way. Agile has, in large part, replaced the conventional waterfall approach, where teams had more rigid roles, and projects took a more linear, less flexible path to completion.

Although it was initially designed for the software industry, agile has found its way into a multitude of products and services industries because of its highly collaborative and efficient nature. According to CollabNet VersionOne’s 13th Annual State of Agile Report, 97 percent of companies surveyed — from the technology industry to non-profits — say that they are now using agile development methods.

The benefits of Agile are clear: more rapid deployment solutions, reduced waste, increased flexibility and adaptability to change, faster turnaround times, faster detection of issues and defects, optimal project control, better team collaboration, and better focus on customer needs. Agile projects are 28 percent more successful than traditional projects.

LEGO Makes Agile Work and Makes It Scale

One of the key benefits of working with an agile framework is enhancing the ability of teams to plan, collaborate, and execute projects in a coordinated fashion. At famous toy manufacturer LEGO Group, changes were introduced at every phase of the development process, from team level (person-to-person), program level (team-to-team), and portfolio level (top-layer business planning and management).

At LEGO, 20 product teams met every eight weeks for a one-and-a-half-day planning session to showcase work, hash out dependencies, estimate risks, and plan for the next release period. Agile project management empowered the teams to achieve significant successes: eliminating a plethora of “managers with spreadsheets;” more predictable and accurate production estimates; improved team morale from face-to-face communications; and a more visual, gamified, and focused planning process.

LEGO and the Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe)

LEGO followed the SAFe Framework (Scaled Agile Framework) to make the process scale to their particular business requirements. Skilled SAFe “agilists” can align their organizations in a common configurable process model that follows a lean-agile hybrid framework. SAFe practitioners apply their principles to coordinate strong value streams across projects and unlock the intrinsic value of workers at every phase in the process. As with LEGO, it creates a better project management environment that contributes to long-term success.

Enhance Agile Benefits with Scrum

In and of itself, Agile is a scalable and very effective approach to project management, but processes can be enhanced even further when combined with another advanced methodology called Scrum. Scrum empowers project managers to effectively coordinate the activities of cross-functional teams and produce working code in phases at the end of each iteration or “sprint.”

According to theState of Scrum Report, 62 percent of organizations surveyed have an in-house scrum coach, and 89 percent of Agile users employ the Scrum approach.

The Agile Scrum methodology, which is optimized by a properly trained Agile Scrum Master, enhances the PM team’s ability to develop and deliver better quality projects, mitigate risks, and maximize the business value of enterprise-wide projects.

Agile and Scrum Connect the Dots for Better Business Performance

It may sound like an obvious summation, but according to a PWC study, fully 97 percent of organizations say project management is critical to business performance. And yet, fewer than a third of all projects are successfully completed on time and budget. By embracing the tenets of agile, scrum, and scaled agile frameworks, organizations can optimize every phase of the project management process. Whether you’re building fun kids’ toys, mobile apps, or financial applications, that’s a compelling value proposition.

Are you skilled enough for your career in Agile? Try answering these Agile and Scrum Practice Test Questions and find out now.

Want a Career in Agile Development?

It’s clear that agile and scrum are taking over in most companies, and for great reasons. If you want to start a career or boost your existing one, Simplilearn offers the most comprehensive training available today. If you are looking for a more specific certification like a Certified ScrumMaster or Agile Scrum Master, you can choose that path, as well. If you would like to apply your agile expertise to the growing field of DevOps, check out our DevOps Certification Training Course. Wherever your interest lay in these fields, Simplilearn definitely has your upskilling covered. To see what else we’re thinking about, check out additional resources here.