Make Decisions Visible and Work Flow Better
Practical ways to reduce friction in complex environments
This weekâs Tip of the Week comes from Tomasz Olszewski and focuses on a critical but often overlooked element of SAFe success: clarity in decision making, ownership, and flow.
Tip of the Week
1. Make decision rights explicit
Do not treat SAFe as the answer. Treat it as a decision support system that needs to be made explicit in your context. Before adding more process, clarify who decides what, where escalation happens, how priorities are reset, and how dependencies are managed. This removes a surprising amount of friction.
2. Focus on flow, not just process
A resource I often recommend is Principles of Product Development Flow by Donald Reinertsen. It helps you understand what is happening beneath the surface such as delays, handoffs, batch size, and the hidden cost of waiting. It shifts your focus from process to how value actually moves through the system.
3. Start with what really matters
My go to productivity habit is asking three simple questions: what really matters today, what decision needs to move forward, and what can wait. This helps focus energy on meaningful progress instead of reacting to everything.
4. Learn through practice and reflection
I stay current by combining real world practice, continuous learning, and reflection. I learn from observing where flow breaks down and where decisions get stuck. I also read, engage with the community, and exchange experiences with other practitioners. Staying current is not just about consuming ideas but about sharpening how you apply them.
