Streamlined SAFe PI Planning and Enhanced Collaboration: Leaseplan's Journey with Ativo Programs
As an international leasing company, Leaseplan has an immense number of teams working together across borders. Seamless collaboration for these teams requires robust Program Increment (PI) planning. Therefore, Leaseplan aimed for the best solution to make their planning processes clearer, faster and more focused.
The Challenge
Leaseplan offers its services to both businesses and individuals, providing tailor-made solutions adapted to their unique needs. The team of experts is dedicated to helping customers identify and purchase the ideal car, providing services 24 hours a day. With offices in 32 countries, Leaseplan guarantees uninterrupted support for their customers.
At Leaseplan, more than 60 teams work together, which presented a tremendous challenge in identifying and visualizing cross-team dependencies. For this they had been using Jira Software, an in-house project management tool. Before working in Program Increments with Ativo Programs, they used multiple tools outside and on top of Jira.
This caused them to manually re-enter all data into Jira after each planning session, resulting in conflicting sources of truth. With the continuous expansion of both their workforce and the size of the company, it was time to take the use of Jira Software to the next level.
The complementary tool in question required a number of essential features: robust security, user-friendly convenience and unambiguous clarity. The top priority here was maintaining the integrity of internal data. Security first! Moreover, the tool had to offer an intuitive interface with customisation options to meet specific requirements.
With Ativo Programs, all of this is possible.
Eric Duivenvoorden, Leaseplan
A Step-by-Step Implementation
Leaseplan opted for a phased approach to implement Ativo Programs, in combination with the transformation to a Scaled Agile way of working. This approach ensures an easier adoption, as the tooling directly supports the new way of working.
Empowering a Scaled Agile Way of Working Transformation
Prior to the company embarking on Ativo Programs, the tool was tested with about 10 teams. The in-house experts at Leaseplan provided the necessary training, supported by our team at Ativo, to understand all the ins and outs of the tool. The aim was to make the implementation process as smooth as possible.
From then on, teams gained the ability to identify potential impediments and adapt their plans to ensure more favorable Program Increment outcomes. Moreover, they monitor team capacity and velocity, enabling optimal program planning. They track progress efficiently by using real-time metrics and reporting capabilities.
Empowering Over 60 Leaseplan Teams
After the testing and implementation phase of the tool, it was time to use the tool in a wider spectrum of teams. Currently, more than 60 teams within Leaseplan are using Ativo Programs. To maximize the utility of the tool, Leaseplan maintains ongoing training programs for its staff. Each new member receives guidance to ensure seamless use.
Optimizing PI Planning and Agile Practices
With continuous guidance from Ativo Programs experts, Leaseplan consistently improves its Program Increment (PI) planning. Tailoring views on the PI planning board allows teams to use certain filters so they can focus their efforts on the dependencies that matter most. This allows Leaseplan to proactively address impediments and continuously improve its agile way of working.
Ativo Programs integrates seamlessly with the portfolio management tool “Advanced Roadmaps for Jira” within the Jira ecosystem. A single dataset for portfolio, Program Increment (PI) and team planning is used, effectively avoiding the need for any data duplications.
Eric Duivenvoorden, Leaseplan
The Result
Through Ativo Programs, Leaseplan is able to implement SAFe and plan Program Increments in Jira.
Teams have a better view on cross-team dependencies, capacity, and PI Objectives, resulting in a smoother implementation of complex features and seamless collaboration among international teams.
The transparency facilitated by Ativo Programs' boards inspires trust among stakeholders at every level of the organization, cultivating streamlined collaboration for improved efficiency.
Try Ativo Programs today
Are you ready to enhance your team's collaboration, mirroring Leaseplan's success? Reserve a demo slot and experience firsthand how Ativo Programs can amplify your team's productivity.
About Eric Duivenvoorden
Eric is a freelance consultant with more than 30 years of experience in ART (Agile Release Train), program and project management. He is experienced in collaborating with cross-functional, international teams.
His dedication to customer focus and team empowerment form the core of his approach, balanced with a strong emphasis on delivering concrete results.
