Fast & Predictable A Lightweight Release Framework Promotes Agility through Rhythm and Flow

Embarking on salesforce.compsilas large scale transformation to our adaptive development methodology presented many unique challenges due to the scale of the rollout as well as the need to align a large number of teams (30+) to a common release date, 3-4 times per year. To specifically address the latter challenge, we created a lightweight release framework in order to optimize on-time, high quality delivery to our customers and partners. Salesforce.com delivers product functionality using the software-as-a-service hosted model and has 30+ scrum teams working on a single release concurrently. The release framework that we created exhibitscharacteristics different than most release processes--simple, lightweight, unambiguous, and visibleeverywhere, to our entire technology organization. By implementing this lightweight release framework and making it highly visible, wepsilave organically promoted a cyclical harmony and rhythm in our organization and across all scrum teams. This cyclical harmony and rhythm has created an environment where local team agility is promoted, facilitated and thrives. To support an agile methodology effectively on an enterprise scale, a lightweight release framework is highly useful in empowering small self-organizing teams while "optimizing the whole" of the product you are focused on delivering. Interestingly enough, we found that the absence of one can actually inhibit agility and avoidable ambiguity, in an environment where there is a high degree of unavoidable ambiguity.