Agile Hive Data Center Basics

This is the first of our companion blog articles series that pair with our “Study Sessions with Cindy” YouTube videos. Suppose you’re looking for an overview of how to extend the functionality of Jira, specifically scaling Agile practices with the success patterns made available with Scaled Agile Framework, or SAFe®. In that case, you’ve come to the right place. Agile Hive is the “SAFe® in Jira” solution you’ve been searching for. Follow along as our resident SAFe® expert and Agile Hive Product Owner Cindy VanEpps walks us through the highlights of Agile Hive for Data Center.

Drawing upon her many years of experience working within the aerospace industry in the United States as an Agile coach, Cindy demonstrates the ease, flexibility, and power of Agile Hive for Jira Data Center using her FlyByHive Agile Release Train (ART) example. In this episode, Cindy will show you how to create and manage an ART Backlog in your Agile Hive project.

Without Further Adieu – Agile Hive for Jira Data Center

Set your organization's hierarchy in Agile Hive.

Our FlyByHive ART consists of a “team of teams”, with seven teams contributing to the development, refinement, and execution of a complex aerospace industry product solution. At a glance, we can visualize the hierarchy of our team’s organization and then by diving in, the backlog of items, features, and enablers that support the current planning interval (PI) that is about to get underway. 

As Agile Hive is a fully integrated app, we still have access to all the base Jira functionality. We see for instance how easy it is to set up issue filters to see only the features and enablers for the current PI.

JIRA filter features and enablers

Clicking into any of the Jira tickets, Agile Hive Data Center extends the base functionality by giving us additional details such as which of our seven teams contribute to that feature. Also displayed are the respective children (enablers, compliance activities, or other stories) from each story and which teams are responsible.

Take It To A Higher Level

Agile Hive's ART Roadmap

Just as easily, Agile Hive lets you navigate to and see the bigger picture with the ART PI Roadmap. At a glance, you can see the sequence and timing of the various features and enablers, as well as any other PIs that contribute to a release. Dependencies are also visible at the ART level.

In the same manner one would use to create issues of any issue type within Jira, Agile Hive Data Center once again extends the functionality by allowing you to select the issue types appropriate for the respective levels of SAFe.

Agile Hive let's you easily change issue types according to SAFe nomenclature.

Utilizing the Team Breakout Board feature of Agile Hive Data Center, one can see not only the capacity compared to the load, it’s also possible to see the story points, relationships, and cross-team dependencies. Additionally available for review are unplanned issues, and then the drag-and-drop functionality to place them into an iteration.

Agile Hive's team breakout board
Easily see and resolve dependencies with the team breakout board.

In the example above, we can quickly see any dependencies, in this case, highlighting some planning issues that must be addressed. With very complex systems, these views could get overwhelming, which is why Agile Hive Data Center allows you to use the Feature filter to focus on the level of detail you need at that moment.

Reporting At the Team and ART Levels

When you need that instant, all-in-one dashboard of information to understand where a team is at in their work (capacity, load, progress of work, PI objectives, risks, etc.), turn to the Team Reports. The breadth and depth of the information on this one, single screen will greatly assist the team in managing the delivery of value and improving the workflow.

All-in-one dashboard (capacity, load, progress of work, PI objectives, risks, etc.) found with Agile Hive's Team Reports.

Rolling all that team-level data up to the ART level, it is easy to see which teams are contributing to which issues and how that work is progressing. To this level of detail for each respective team, Agile Hive Data Center now offers Shared Services functionality. As a result, for those teams that are not fully dedicated to an ART (e.g. accounting, general compliance, etc.) we can still include their contributions.

Agile Hive's ART Reports

Managing Complexity with Agile Hive

We hope you enjoyed this first blog article tied to our “Study Sessions with Cindy” YouTube series of videos. Stay tuned for more to come. If you’re ready to learn more about Agile Hive Data Center, the “SAFe® in Jira” solution, reach out to us today to schedule a demo or discussion with one of our team members.

You can also find us in the Atlassian Marketplace. To learn more about the Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe®), head over here. You can find the YouTube recording here.

We look forward to working with you!

Further Reading

Share the Post:
Picture of Joshua Brock

Joshua Brock

English content and technical writer, SPC

We look forward to chatting with you!

We’re ready when you are. Book an appointment and we’ll be happy to answer all your questions. Whether you’re new or an existing user, we’ll help you get the most out of Agile Hive!

LinkedIn

Follow us on Linked-In!

YouTube

Subscribe to our channel!

Related Posts

SAFe® In Structure & Agile Hive

For teams to work in unison, the tools they use must first do so. Scaled Agile Framework, or SAFe®, is a foundation for implementing agile practices at an enterprise level. Organizations are seeing great success combining tools like Agile Hive with its focus on scaled agile product development and Structure to support the handling of complex relationships between the work items, such as large hierarchies of features. Read along to find out more about how SIX made this process a reality.

System Architect Using Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe®)

This role-focused article on SAFe's System Architect is one in a multi-part series that examines how Agile Hive supports various roles in an organization leveraging the Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe®) for better outcomes.

SAFe Summit D.C. – “All Good Things Must Come To An End”

You can smell the change of seasons in the air; with it one ends and another begins. Much like the change from Summer to Fall, the team at Agile Hive transitioned home after four days of traveling to and then back, setting up and tearing down, from hellos and then to goodbyes, and thousands of miles and hundreds of hours in between. SAFe Summit 2024, held in Washington, D.C., October 14-17, felt like an enormous success on many levels to all of us, individually and collectively. We wanted to share some of the highlights of this annual conference with our supporters.

Mastering SAFe® Planning Interval | PI Objectives

In the ever-evolving landscape of Agile frameworks, the Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe®) stands out for its robust structure and scalability. One of the critical elements of SAFe® is the Planning Interval. At the heart of PI planning are the PI Objectives—strategic goals that guide Agile teams through each increment. This article explores the intricacies of SAFe® PI Objectives, their significance, how to craft and implement them effectively, and best practices for ensuring they drive meaningful outcomes.

5 Best Practices For PI Planning In Agile Hive

There are a handful of frameworks available for scaling agile. In Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe®) , Program Increment, or PI Planning stands as a crucial event. It marks the beginning of a new development cycle, bringing together various teams to align their work with strategic goals. Agile Hive, the “SAFe® in Jira” solution, offers a comprehensive solution for streamlining this complex process. In this article, we will explore how to effectively plan a PI using Agile Hive, highlighting key strategies, benefits, and practical tips.