As always though, we tend to focus too much on specific practices, methods, tools, and frameworks. Whatever makes your teams deliver in smaller increments is good. You can achieve all of this with or without an agile scaling framework. My guess is that the typical companies that apply agile scaling frameworks are big corporations that have been around for decades. Software is likely not at the center of their business  – or it wasn’t in the past. Product development in those companies can be very different than described above.

2. Structure and Roles

• There are guides available on the Scaled Agile Framework’s website that gives a step-by-step insight into transitioning to SAFe.
• In my mind the discussions around agile scaling frameworks are not nuanced enough and ignore the realities often present in companies applying them.
• LeSS encourages any Scrum team member to take on challenging integration tasks and grow their competency.
• By recognizing these signs, you can ensure a smooth transition and maximize the benefits of scaling.
• This will allow the enterprise to engage and disengage with vendor teams for specialized work.

This meta Scrum team ensures that the teams’ activities are aligned, resolves dependencies, and removes impediments. Rewriting old business software that sometimes grew over decades is also no small task, as anyone that has worked on projects to redevelop a big monolith can attest (🙋‍♂️). While there are smart ways to do so, the projects often take years and there is no guarantee that the results will lead to better outcomes. Moreover, as businesses evolve, they invariably encounter diverse types of problems, ranging from technical challenges to organizational growing pains. How a company navigates these issues often determines its ability to scale successfully. The idea of «scaling» is not just about growing in size but effectively managing that growth.

The framework guides multiple Scrum teams on how to work together to deliver results in every sprint. It uses an iterative and incremental approach to scaled software development. Is a lightweight framework that provides a modular approach to scaling Scrum across the organization. It enables organizations to deploy Scrum consistently at all levels, from individual teams to the entire enterprise. Emphasizes a «minimum viable bureaucracy» approach, allowing organizations to tailor the framework to their specific needs.

Kendis offers the complete solution for your scaling agile needs

Rather than following set patterns, Zara has an adaptive supply chain model that is responsive to real-time data. Their agile approach to manufacturing allows them to introduce new designs to the market within weeks, defying the conventional wisdom of the fashion industry. Jumping straight into scaling without taking into account the unique nuances of your organization is akin to building a house on unstable ground. Without a solid foundation, even the most well-intended transformations can crumble. It’s paramount to caution against scaling without the appropriate context.

You can use them to uncover how teams and processes are gradually converting to Agile. In doing so, you can also identify important problems in processes and collaboration, which you can then address in a targeted manner. In this knowledge area, you’ll find articles about the different scaling frameworks and the best solutions if you want to scale your product.

Why Compare Different Agile Scaling Frameworks?

For example, teams under pressure from management may drop WIP limits. Experienced practitioners can prevent backward slides and ensure sustained long-term forward momentum, which is needed in organizations that want to adopt slow and steady change strategies. This is not a Scaling Framework but principles from Lean Thinking and the Theory of Constraints (ToC) that can help multiple teams visualize and improve their workflows. It is better to call it a Scaling Approach or a Method rather than a framework. Large Scale Scrum, or LeSS, keeps things straightforward and tends to adhere closely to traditional Scrum procedures but now on a bigger scale. If your company is already very good at Scrum and you want to keep things that simple as you advance in the industry, then this is a terrific option.

Nexus also adds the so-called Nexus daily Scrum that is nothing more than a Scrum of Scrums to deal with cross team issues. Finally, there is a Nexus integration team consisting of the Product Owner, Scrum Master, and team representatives. This integration team is there to support and coach where necessary, so that the teams are able to produce valuable, useful Increments at least once per sprint.

Before you can tackle Scaled Agile for enterprise, you need to know where you stand with your organization. Therefore, you need to define what agile capabilities and competencies are already in place and how ready the organization is to fully commit to an agile way of thinking and acting. Only with these facts in mind can you introduce strategies and practices that promote the agile transformation in your organization. It must be clearly regulated who takes on which role in the agile transformation in the company. This also means that the corporate structure must reflect how you want to implement Agile at Scale. With our Certified Agile Skills – Scaling 1 workshop, we will guide your learning to discover proven journeys (trails) that have helped organizations to succeed safely with scaling agility.

Determine if You Should Scale Agility: Register Now for Certified Agile Scaling Practitioner

Organizations that are looking for a lightweight framework to coordinate the work of multiple Scrum teams may find Scrum of Scrums to be sufficient. Those that need a more comprehensive framework to scale Agile practices across multiple teams and departments may find SAFe or DAD to be more appropriate. LeSS and Nexus are suitable for organizations that want to scale Scrum practices while maintaining the simplicity and effectiveness of Scrum. Consider Toyota, as explored in the book “The Toyota Way” by Jeffrey K. Liker. Toyota’s legendary lean manufacturing is not just a set framework but a continuous evolution of patterns and principles, tailored to the organization’s changing needs.

They owe their success to their deeply rooted agile methodologies and the utilization of scaling agile, with their own flavour. Again, it builds on the regular Scrum framework and adds some elements. First, there is a cross-team refinement for dealing with dependencies if necessary. The difference lies in some additional meetings at the beginning and end of the sprint. An initial sprint planning where representatives of all teams participate to determine on a high level the sprint backlogs for each team. Then, there is a second planning for the individual teams where each team plans its own sprint.

• There is only one overall Nexus sprint review and retro for all teams.
• I.e. use as little process as possible to get multiple Scrum teams to work well.
• Lastly, in our fast-paced digital age, the need for speed has never been more pronounced.
• Advocates of SAFe, however, praise this detailed framework for keeping teams focused and goals aligned.
• It’s a one-stop shop, organised around specific goals which allows you to consider your options and learn about your choices.
• They offer a structured approach to addressing complexity and serve the needs of the typical company applying one of the agile scaling frameworks.

At minimum, the team members take part in a separate round of daily Scrums (that in my experience don’t have to be daily). And the meta Scrum process may also include the other Scrum meetings, depending on the circumstances. So you may end up with a planning session one level higher in abstraction where the participants ensure that teams are not blocking each other in the upcoming sprint. The larger the organization the more layers of Scrum teams it will have. Its entire rulebook is said to fit on two sheets of paper and, at its core, has ten underlying principles and three principles of guidance on adoption. LeSS is based on Scrum and specifies a few structures to coordinate between teams and handle dependencies, such as an overall retrospective and an all-teams sprint review.

There is also no interruption of the building teams during the six week cycle unless it is truly a crisis. During cool-down teams are free to work on what they want and the betting table takes place. This betting table is where proposals for what to build (that have been shaped in the previous cycle) are pitched and decisions are made on what to build next. To illustrate, let’s look at how product development could be and compare it to how it often is.

Fresh Retrospective Ideas for Healthy Agile Teams in 2025

By providing clear guidelines for assessing performance and identifying areas for enhancement, these frameworks ensure that teams are always striving for better outcomes and greater efficiency. Large enterprises that have established silos for project management, requirements, architecture, development, and testing operate under deterministic plan-based governance controls. Project organizations evaluate progress by tracking variances against targeted scope, budget, and date. In dysfunctional organizations, the Nexus Integration Team may get blamed, or the political ‘cop-out’ may be to conclude that we did not have the right people involved.

What frameworks are available for agile scaling?

They offer a structured approach to addressing complexity and serve the needs of the typical company applying one of the agile scaling frameworks. Scaling, especially within the realm of agile product development, is a nuanced and multi-dimensional endeavor. But to truly understand its intricacies, one must appreciate the depth and breadth of what scaling entails. Successfully scaling which choice is not a recognized framework for scaling agile Agile necessitates frameworks that provide guidance on coordinating multiple teams. These frameworks help maintain alignment and cohesion across diverse projects and ensure that Agile software development practices are applied consistently. This approach helps preserve the Agile ethos while accommodating the complexities of larger enterprises.