The Challenge
The company’s development teams were spread across 2 European countries, with Germany as the primary location. Its development process wasn’t keeping up with the complexity of its hardware and software systems. Defect resolution times were twice the target of 20 weeks. The main issues included:
- Slow feedback cycles
- Unclear ownership
- Communication gaps across multiple teams
- Inefficient prioritization and product development
Our Approach
We partnered with the company to introduce the Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe). Over three-quarters, we worked closely with leadership and development teams to:
- Set up Agile Release Trains
- Improve planning and coordination
- Facilitate regular review sessions and data-driven decision-making
- Coach leaders and teams on agile principles and practices
The outcomes
The impact was clear and measurable:
- Defect resolution time dropped from 40 to 19 weeks within two quarters
- Continued adoption brought it down to just 8 weeks in another 6 months
- Teams communicated more effectively and responded faster to issues
- Increased transparency helped the leaders to remove impediments swiftly
- Delivery speed and product quality improved significantly
This transformation went beyond short-term fixes. The company built a sustainable agile culture that supports innovation and responsiveness, even in the highly regulated field of medical device development.
