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If you have already embarked on your journey to achieve business agility with SAFe transformation, then you must have started preparing for SAFe Implementation Roadmap. There is no doubt that the Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe) can be a brilliant choice for most organizations. But what are the components that make it a better choice for you?
One of the major components of preparing for SAFe excellence is the Lean-Agile Center of Excellence. It supports organizations in making the crucial change with certain success patterns. So, what is a Lean-Agile Center of Excellence (LACE) and what are its responsibilities in making the SAFe transformation?
In this article, let’s discuss how LACE evolves in an organization and what benefits it can bring to a company by following certain responsibilities.
Interested to learn about Lean Portfolio Management? Check this:” How Lean Portfolio Management Enhances Adaptability in Today’s Business Landscape?”
What is a Lean-Agile Center of Excellence and how to build it?
Within an organization, a small agile team is a Lean-Agile Center of Excellence commonly known as LACE among agile professionals. The team is completely committed to practicing Lean-Agile principles to produce better business outcomes.
LACE in a company is comprised of leaders who already exemplify certain characteristics like:
Individuals who respect other team members. They also encourage new behaviour and implement the right practices to get the work done.
These individuals play a crucial role within the organization and are always motivated to help others.
The individuals in the Lean-Agile Center of Excellence produce solutions from a pragmatic approach that aligns with the organization’s goal.
Under the SAFe Implementation Roadmap, creating a LACE comes as a third crucial step. It is made up of talented individuals who are well-trained with certain SAFe certification programs like Implementing SAFe and Leading SAFe. These leaders help Lead SAFe transformation with the right mindset and by implementing certain Lean-Agile principles and SAFe practices.
What are the responsibilities of the Lean-Agile Center of Excellence?
Before we dive into the heart of this article that discusses the roles of a Lean-Agile Center of Excellence, make an analysis and think which of the following is a responsibility of a Lean-Agile Center of Excellence in an organization.
Preparing the SAFe Implementation Roadmap
Coaching the executives and Leaders
Leading the digital age
Facilitating the transformation
The right option is facilitating the transformation. But that is not the only duty of a LACE in an organization. Let’s have a complete analysis of the responsibilities of LACE in the coming paras.
Since SAFe Transformation is an ongoing process, the Lean-Agile Center of Excellence serves as the crucial point of activity that helps organizations make necessary changes to build proper outcomes for their customers.
Based on the team size of a LACE, it can be differentiated as a Centralized, decentralized, or Hub and Spoke model. Some of the important responsibilities of LACE are discussed below:
Once the team members, leaders, and implementation model are finalized, the team is now ready to serve organizations to achieve business agility in the long run.
The duties of LACE revolve around five factors such as supporting the transformation, managing the backlog, fostering training programs, coaching leadership, and supporting Lean Portfolio Management.
The LACE starts with committing to a mission. A mission to evolve the mindsets and practices within the organization before commencing with the SAFe transformation.
They function as an agile team that works on iterations and PI Planning.
To illustrate SAFe expertise, they work on becoming SPCs to finish the entire SAFe implementation roadmap.
Using the company channels they report on improvements regarding the transformation process.
The team is also accountable for managing the transformation backlogs. That the tasks completed to fulfil the mission and to maintain the ongoing basis.
Instead of trying to remove all the impediments right at the start of the transformation process, LACE focuses on short-term wins to eliminate any obstacles hampering the workflow at the start.
The team works on creating a baseline for measuring progress during the SAFe transformation. They partner with other agile leaders involved in the process to keep track of the OKRs. This helps create results based on the outcomes of the SAFe implementation.
The LACE also focuses on maintaining continuous learning. It collaborates with other departments to foster Lean-Agile learning. They partner with SPCs to encourage the team members to keep learning SAFe practices to avoid any bottlenecks in the future. This can be done by inviting the opinions of the team members individually to understand their perspectives towards the change.
After analysing the requirements of their team members, the LACE works on creating learning plans suitable for employees to understand their roles in the SAFe implementation roadmap.
Later, the LACE measures the quantitative and qualitative measurements to understand the gap in the learning offerings. The Lean-Agile Center of Excellence is also accountable for coaching leadership by conducting workshops and supporting the Lean Portfolio Management process within the organization.
See if this aligns with your interest: “Tips for implementing Lean Portfolio Management (LPM) in Large Portfolios.”
Conclusion
Thus, the Lean-Agile Center of Excellence is a part of SAFe transformation. It is a small agile team that helps agile leaders and business owners to implement SAFe transformation from scratch with proper strategy and people. It involves developing tools and processes to achieve business agility.
For further reading: “Choosing Between Lean and Agile Supply Chain Strategies: Which is Right for You?”
FAQs
1. What are the requirements to lead a Lean-Agile Center of Excellence?
Lean-Agile Center of Excellence is organized by experienced agile leaders. Leaders who are well-versed with agile practices and organizational transformation management. The leaders can be agile coaches and SAFe practitioners within an organization.
2. What is the major responsibility of LACE?
The vital role of a LACE is to follow the right requirements and strategies to start with the SAFe Implementation Roadmap. It focuses on small iterations and is targeted towards small wins rather than changing the entire system of an organization.
3. How does LACE assist in preparing a proper agile team to carry on the SAFe transformation smoothly?
By concentrating on conducting relevant training programs the LACE creates a brilliant team. It also conducts coaching programs on Lean-Agile principles and SAFe practices to make the team members aware of the impediments to eliminate in the development process.
4. What are some challenges to establishing a LACE?
Some of the common challenges are existing employees resisting to adapt to change, inadequate amount of knowledge regarding Lean-Agile practices, maintaining momentum for continuous improvement and investing in training programs such as Leading SAFe and SPCs consultant programs, and Implementing SAFe to prepare team members for the process.
5. Name the different LACE organizational models.
Based on the size of the organization, the centralized model can be suitable for smaller organizations and decentralized or hub and spoke for larger enterprises.
About Advance Agility
We, at Advance Agility, are the new-age Agile Coaching, Consulting and IT services company. We enable end-to-end Digital Transformation. Agile execution is integral to our being. We are doing SAFe implementation with small, medium and large organization across the globe. Our vision is to be the leading Agile execution player globally. To keep adding value at every process stage. We are on a mission to empower our clients, move from concept to cash in the shortest sustainable lead time by adopting human centric approach to business agility. Embracing the change is in our DNA. Things that keep us apart are Quicker and Seamless execution with End-to-end gamut of services. Our Global presence and Stellar Track Record give us an edge over our competitor.
Connect with us at advanceagility.com to learn about SAFe and SAFe Implementation. We provide various SAFe certification courses along with DevOps, Scrum, Agile Coaching and more trainings. Write to us at contact@advanceagilty.com for any agile training or consulting needs. We are always looking for competent agile trainers as well. So if you are a good trainer or want to become one, do get in touch with us to that we can learn, grow and achieve together.
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