Agile Alignment

The Problem

The past three organizations I've worked with (Allscripts, Oracle, and Citrix) have all gone through the process of adopting the Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe). The framework touts itself as the most complete and effective agile methodology yet is practically mute about how User Experience or User-Centered Design should fit into the software development life cycle. With companies swallowing hook, line, and sinker the SAFe framework, design teams I've worked with have faced significant challenges participating in this process.

Leaning into SAFe

Knowing that the adoption of SAFe was inevitable, I decided to lean into it and learn as much as possible about the framework. My goal was to become an expert in the framework to create change from within. I started taking trainings and quickly achieved the highest level of SAFe certification as a SAFe Program Consultant (SPC). This certification allowed me to train others at any level of SAFe and gave me creds among SAFe advocates.

Creating Change from Within

Becoming a SAFe trainer put me in a position that allowed me to have influence and advocate for the proper inclusion of UX into the SAFe process. I created customized trainings and coached design leadership where they fit in and how to speak the SAFe language.

Design Program Management

I addition to creating and evangelizing proper design processes throughout the enterprise, I excel in design team program management and design operations. Making sure roles and responsibilities are defined, sizing and tracking procedures are in place, and proper resource allocation and alignment exist are all critical to having effective design operations. Below are a few artifacts that demonstrate my experience creating effective design operations.

UX Briefs

I led the creation and roll out of the UX Brief for the Citrix UX org early in 2022. A UX brief helps UX team members and project teams break down requirements to ensure that everyone is solving the right problems and helps to identify and prioritize user needs which will lead to meeting business needs. The brief is typically driven by UX in the start of the project, but all responsible project members are encouraged to actively contribute to it.

The UX Brief summarizes the shared understanding of:

• What problems we are solving as a project team
• Why it matters to solve these problems
• Who the solution is for, what they desire to achieve, and under what circumstances
• How to approach solving the defined problems as a project team

What goes into a UX Brief

Example of a UX Brief
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