Reflections on the SPCT Journey

No AI tool was used in the writing of this article 😉

This journey began in earnest in March 2023 in Boulder for my Immersion week, with a wonderful, supportive group. That week made me feel like part of a global community of like-minded, passionate people. I’m so glad I waited to do it in person, I’ve built relationships that lasted with my cohort. It also really made a difference to meet Andy, Dean, Rebecca and of course Adam – a few of the people behind the framework, and to see the SAFe mountains.

I embarked on the SPCT after many years running an Agile Coaching and Training company, focusing on SAFe implementations. It felt like it was time, and I thought I was ready, and I might even find it easy as I’ve launched 14 ARTS and trained over 500 people. I was naïve.

I had 3 objectives when I went into the SPCT:

  1. Improve my knowledge and ability to implement the framework and more importantly overcome to challenges in my clients.
  2. Become part of a global community that I could learn from and bring that knowledge to my market.
  3. Challenge myself and keep life exciting.

 

  1. Improving my knowledge and application

In my letter of intent, I wanted to achieve a better understanding of the framework and be able to help organizations implement it successfully. This has happened, as I’ve completed the requirements I’ve gone through every toolkit and training and brought these into my implementations. I’ve particularly grown my skills in DevOps and flow metrics and LPM practices – I really enjoyed training the DevOps course and I’ve used that material in my subsequent clients to focus on blockers and metrics across the pipeline. I knew very little about Software and Hardware, although I’m unlikely to train these course (again), I learnt new skills and really enjoyed the Hardware course (well done Harry). Of the books I read I enjoyed and learnt from Project to Product which was very helpful to explain the shift for my large traditional corporates. I did not enjoy Extreme Ownership as much, this is because it was written from the perspective of a male, western world. I agree with the concept of extreme ownership however I prefer the idea of Ubuntu, which is an African philosophy of “I am because we are”, we succeed only together. As I complete the SPCT I reflect that I now feel more confident in my knowledge and ability to solve complex problems. I have also challenged my perspective, I often focus on the human element of a transformation as it is my background, with a broader knowledge base I’ve become better at identifying and understanding challenges outside of my previous experience. The SPCT requirements are well suited to growing knowledge and application of this knowledge. I would have appreciated more opportunities for guidance and mentorship on real world challenges from the SPCT Fellows or those more experienced.

  1. The Community

 My second objective was to learn from the experience and knowledge of the SAFe team and SAFe Fellows and to contribute to the SAFe community and South African agile community. I am committed to sharing my knowledge and experience with others and building my knowledge through feedback.

The community was one of the highlights of the last 2 years. This began with my cohort in Immersion week, who were diverse, interesting and supportive. Another community that was wonderful to be part of is the cPrime SPCT group (25 people) who connect via Slack – they’re great at providing a template or an opinion on the latest framework update or their experience in Insurance. Daz and this group have made this journey fun and less daunting by helping me pairing on training or build new skills.  This is a group of passionate people willing to share. Audrey was a wonderful Guide; we shared our love of Star Wars and improving the world of work with Agile. She always made time for me, even when life was uncertain.

One of the requirements of the SPCT is to speak at conferences and this really pushed me out of my comfort zone – I was uncomfortable public speaking. In the last 2 years I’ve spoken at

Global Scrum Gather Amsterdam 2023

Agile Alliance Conference Manchester 2024

Cape Town Scrum Gathering 2023 & 2025

Insurance Conference (350 people) 2025

I feel more confident on stage sharing a message I’m passionate about, I’ve taken a course to learn to speak well and project confidently in large groups. I’ve received good feedback at every event, getting better each time. I wouldn’t have found this passion without the SPCT requirements.

To bring my experience back to South Africa, I will be taking over the SAFe South Africa MeetUp Group and use this as an opportunity to build the community and share SAFe updates and experience.

  1. The Surprising Challenges and Wonderful Moments

During the last 2 years I started my own business, which has been slowly successful and very rewarding. I’ve launched an ART at a Bank, Insurance company and Home Loan company. I’ve moved to Cape Town, my son started boarding school and my daughter finished junior school. I’ve celebrated 20 years of marriage. I’ve completed 2 CrossFit Open competitions and seen 3 new countries. Life didn’t stand still, and the challenge is balancing life against the time and focus required for the SPCT. I underestimated the time required to complete the SPCT as I thought I had done many of the requirements. Occasionally I would recount that list as I was sure it was getting longer. The requirements that took up most of my focus was the training I needed, such as DevOps, RTE, Implementing SAFe, System Architecture etc. – this takes time to learn and run confidently. This is also where I felt like I learnt the most, when I needed to train something, I wouldn’t do it without knowing I could answer questions – this meant lots of late nights and reading. The wonderful moments were the feedback I received from the training and workshops – it is good to know I’m making a positive difference in people’s lives. It was also wonderful to know that I could do this, training on topics I felt very out of my depth (always with a pairing partner), or standing on a stage or engaging in a framework or leadership and culture debate. If I reflect over the last few years, the change has been incremental (as are all good things) but significant. These 2 years have been a transformative experience.

What did I learn?

I learnt that when you put yourself out there, push yourself and there is a deadline, you can achieve more than you thought was possible.

I learnt to prioritise (using WSJF😉) I do a frequent prioritisation of my life goals and work to make sure I focus on the right things and sometimes those things were family, so it took a little longer to complete and I needed to be patient.

I learnt to just keep trying. It took 4 Implementing SAFe courses scheduled before my pairing went ahead, I should have asked for help sooner. At the time it seemed like an insurmountable problem.

I learnt to ask for help from my wonderful community.

I learnt to trust myself and the knowledge I’ve gained.

I’ve leant that I love learning new things.

Reflections on the SPCT

I’ve been asked by people interested in doing the SPCT if I would recommend it. My answer is that you need to really want to do this, for personal growth reasons, as it is longer and harder than you imagine, and you will need to make trade offs to complete it. You also need a supportive network to help you achieve the requirements, this would have been easier in a large corporate that could help set up courses and fund the Implementing SAFe cost – which is a huge burden for a small company. This isn’t another course it is an opportunity to lead and rethink the world of work. This journey required dedication, time and it should be your calling. I was reflecting on my job and how I love what I do, it makes a real difference in people’s work lives and hopefully the world. It is a privilege to have found my purpose and the SPCT helped me better at this, thank you for giving me the chance.

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