Back in December 2024, Lenny Rachitsky’s podcast featured Melissa Perri in a conversation about the downsides of large, heavy frameworks like SAFe. While their discussion largely focused on SAFe’s failures within traditional agile, they didn’t yet factor in the multiple disruptive forces reshaping enterprise product development:
- New, leaner methodologies like Shape Up and continuous discovery are gaining traction.
- Automation is replacing manual overhead in testing, deployment, and delivery, making traditional Agile/Scrum structures unnecessary.
- Enterprise cost-cutting is forcing a reckoning—as seen in the mass layoffs of Agile coaches, Scrum Masters, and other process-heavy roles.
- AI is accelerating product development, but it’s just one of several disruptors shaking up enterprise software.
Clay Christensen was right—big companies are doubling down on the wrong things. They’re adding process at a time when they should be stripping it down. If they don’t rethink how they build software, they’ll be outpaced by leaner, faster challengers—and left behind in the future of enterprise product development.
SAFe is Expanding While Product Development is Shrinking
“Your framework has doubled in size. Your release cycles haven’t.”
- SAFe has grown from 4.5 to 6, adding complexity instead of agility.
- Meanwhile, leaner, more adaptive models like Shape Up and continuous discovery allow smaller teams to iterate faster.
- Executives are frustrated with SAFe’s bloat, slow delivery, and high overhead—but many still don’t know what to replace it with.
Enterprises are Cutting Agile Overhead—Forcing a Shift Away from Process-Heavy Work
“The layoffs of Scrum Masters and Agile Coaches are a signal—not a side effect.”
- Many enterprises have reduced or eliminated Scrum Masters, Agile Coaches, and SAFe Program Consultants.
- This isn’t just cost-cutting—it’s a response to Agile’s failure to deliver faster results.
- Teams must shift to models that empower them to self-organize and work lean, not rely on Agile overhead.
Automated Testing and Deployment Have Removed the Need for Large Agile Teams
“If you can automate testing, deploy in small slices, and get real-time feedback—why do you need a heavy release train?”
- Modern CI/CD and automated testing tools mean teams can release small, validated changes continuously rather than batch large releases.
- Risk and compliance are easier to manage in micro-releases than in massive waterfall-like SAFe releases.
- The old “big train” release model is dying. Companies need to shift to smaller, continuous value delivery.
- AI is Reshaping Teams—But So is the Shift Toward Smaller, Autonomous Groups
“Your 15-person team is competing against a 3-person team using better tools.”
- AI is eliminating routine backlog grooming, research, and test case writing.
- But even without AI, smaller teams using better workflows (like Shape Up) are outperforming SAFe-heavy teams.
- The winning model: small, outcome-focused teams that operate without excessive layers of management.
SaaS Subscriptions Are Dying—Outcome-Based Pricing is the Future
“Why charge for access when automation lets you charge for outcomes?”
- AI enables performance-based pricing models, but so does automated telemetry and real-time usage tracking.
- Enterprises clinging to static subscription models will struggle to compete with more adaptive, outcome-based pricing models.
- Customers increasingly expect to pay based on real value delivered—not just for software access.
Vertical Slices Beat Slow-Moving Cargo Train Releases
“Regulatory risk is reduced when you ship less, not more.”
- Releasing in small, tightly scoped increments makes it easier to track, test, and validate changes.
- Regulated industries (finance, healthcare, manufacturing) actually gain more control by moving faster in small pieces rather than waiting for bloated SAFe-driven releases.
- The real risk isn’t moving too fast—it’s delaying releases until they’re too large to manage effectively.
The Return of Skunkworks: Enterprises Must Carve Out AI & Automation Innovation Teams
“Big companies used to have secret labs. Now they have governance boards.”
- Most large companies have killed their ability to innovate by eliminating protected carve-outs.
- AI-native startups are running small, lightweight Skunkworks teams to experiment with new technologies.
- Enterprises must restore protected innovation teams—not as side projects, but as core strategic bets.
Carving out space for innovation is no longer a luxury—it’s a survival tactic in modern enterprise product development.
Enterprises Must Reinvent Their Playbook—Before It’s Too Late
- SAFe, as it stands, is failing to deliver results fast enough. Companies must adopt leaner, more adaptive frameworks like Shape Up, continuous delivery, and vertical slicing.
- The old playbook of big teams, slow releases, and SaaS subscriptions is collapsing. The future is automation, AI-augmentation, and outcome-based pricing.
- Regulation and risk aversion aren’t excuses to move slowly. In fact, leaner, faster releases offer better control and compliance than large, infrequent ones.
- If you’re still relying on Agile the way it was practiced in 2015, you’re already behind. The companies that rethink their approach now will dominate the next decade.
Rethinking the Enterprise Product Development Starts Here
Big frameworks are holding teams back. From vertical slicing to lean AI innovation teams, the next generation of enterprise product development won’t be built on bloated process.
If this post hit close to home, here’s where to go next:
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Watch our webinar on what’s replacing SAFe and how automation is changing the shape of product teams across the enterprise.
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Explore our Agile Product Management course to equip yourself—or your team—with the strategic tools to lead in a faster, leaner world.
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Download our 90-Day Product Leader Template Pack to align on values, vision, and KPIs—and build momentum from day one.
The shift is already happening. The only question is whether your team is leading it—or reacting to it. What’s your take? Jump into the conversation and share your thoughts with us on LinkedIn.