Lean-Agile Center of Excellence Workshop

Foundations

Lean-Agile Center of Excellence (LACE)

A dedicated team that drives and sustains the Lean-Agile transformation across an organization.

Why a LACE

A LACE provides focus and energy for change, often the difference between superficial and genuine agile adoption.

LACE Mission

A clear statement of the LACE's purpose — to enable, accelerate, and sustain the transformation.

Engine of Change

The LACE acts as the engine that plans, launches, coaches, and improves agile ways of working.

Structure

LACE Composition

A small, cross-functional team of change agents (often SPCs) with leadership support and dedicated capacity.

Dedicated vs. Part-Time

LACE members ideally have dedicated time, since part-time attention often stalls transformation.

LACE and Leadership

The LACE works closely with executives who sponsor and model the change.

Centralized vs. Federated

A LACE may be a single central team or a network of LACEs across large organizations.

Responsibilities

Training and Enablement

The LACE trains teams and leaders and builds internal capability.

Launching ARTs

The LACE prepares and launches Agile Release Trains and value streams.

Coaching

The LACE coaches teams, roles, and leaders to adopt and improve agile practices.

Spreading Practices

The LACE captures and shares successful practices across the organization.

Removing Impediments

The LACE surfaces and helps remove organizational impediments to agility.

Backlog & Work

Transformation Backlog

A prioritized, evolving list of the changes the LACE will drive, managed like any backlog.

Working in Iterations

The LACE works iteratively, applying agile practices to its own transformation work.

Prioritizing Change

Sequencing transformation work by value, risk, and readiness.

Metrics

Measuring Transformation

Using outcome, flow, and competency metrics (Measure and Grow) to track progress.

Leading vs. Lagging Indicators

Balancing early signals of change with longer-term outcome measures.

Demonstrating Value

Showing the business results of transformation to sustain support and investment.

Sustaining

Communities of Practice

Networks the LACE fosters to grow capability and sustain practices across teams.

Continuous Improvement

The LACE relentlessly improves the transformation approach based on feedback and data.

Evolving the LACE

Adjusting the LACE's role and focus as the organization matures.

Avoiding Dependence

Building internal capability so the organization sustains agility without permanent reliance on the LACE.

Applying It

Chartering the LACE

Defining mission, members, scope, and ways of working to launch the LACE effectively.