The Project Management Institute (PMI), the largest not-for-profit membership association for the project managers, has announced the acquisition of FLEX from Net Objectives. The FLEX approach helps organizations understand “what’s not working” at a system level and identify bottlenecks and eliminate them to improve workflows. In Agust, the PMI announced already the acquisition of Disciplined Agile (DA), the company created by Mark Lines and Scott Amble that is backing the Disciplined Agile Delivery (DAD) framework.
FLEX (FLow for Enterprise Transformation) is an approach based on Lean-Thinking and patterns that improves an organization’s ability to achieve business agility – the quick realization of value predictably, sustainable and with high quality. It works by using the following process:
* Understanding what the workflow and structure of the organization adopting it should be
* Identifying the challenges being incurred in the organization in relationship to this idealized structure
* Identify the potential solutions to the challenges
* Using a basic understanding of systems and Lean thinking provides a suggested order of adoption for these solutions based on the organization’s culture
* Implement these potential solutions and attend to whether they achieve true improvement
* Study the results, replan and repeat the process
FLEX from Net Objectives provides a well-defined roadmap so that people know what to do. It aims to avoid the “one-size fits all” approach of using a preset framework such as Scrum and SAFe that allow for adding things to it but require several practices and roles to not change. You can get more information on FLEX on https://portal.netobjectives.com/pages/flex/
According to the PMI, there are several advantages to leveraging FLEX to complement DA:
* PMI members will have the opportunity to acquire strong, credible new capabilities and certifications that will differentiate them and open doors with the combined DA and FLEX offering.
* Current agile practitioners will be able to leverage a more mindful, tailored approach to agility, driven by an agile and lean mindset and empowered by processes that fit their context, which enables stronger outcomes than would be possible with more prescriptive approaches.
* Enterprises around the world will enjoy a more tailored approach to enterprise agility based on their specific needs and context.
* PMI, DA and FLEX partners will have access to an expanded set of product offerings for their stakeholders and customers.
* PMI and DA members will receive access to FLEX content and online learning.
“This acquisition is an important building block for PMI as it addresses new ways of working in an increasingly agile world, and greatly expands the capabilities of project managers and agile practitioners alike,” said Sunil Prashara, president and CEO of PMI. “PMI is now positioned to add even more value for members by providing a full continuum of products, services, training and certifications to project managers, agile leaders and their teams wherever they are in their careers – sometimes even before they know they need it. Regardless of approach, whether it be traditional or agile, project or product, PMI is uniquely positioned to deliver value for individuals and the organizations they serve.”
Our view is that these two acquisitions by the Project Management Institute are just the indicators of the money that can be made by providing “Agile Scaling” solutions for large organisations. There will be enhanced competitions for existing approaches like SAFe.