When Scaling Agile Is Not the Answer

Scaling may seem like the obvious choice, but when it comes to Agile, not so fast.

At the Influential Agile Leader workshop earlier this year, I led a session about scaling, and how it might not be the answer. My experience is that when people use frameworks for larger efforts, they experience these unexpected side effects:

  • The framework actions often require more manager-type people to control the actions of others.
  • The framework creates less throughput, not more.
Agile Scaling Frameworks: An Executive Summary

One of the participants asked, "But what if we have to scale?"