Agile at scale is often sold as a framework—yet successful scaling is never one-size-fits-all. In this session, Joel Bancroft-Connors will unpack the foundational patterns, principles, and practices that form the building blocks of real-world agility. Drawing on years of experience coaching teams beyond the team level, Joel offers a practical, high-integrity approach to scaling that steers clear of dogma and focuses on sustainable delivery over rigid models. This talk is especially relevant for project and program leaders navigating Agile adoption inside traditional structures. You’ll explore how scaling connects to organizational change, learn how to deconstruct big frameworks into adaptable parts, and walk away with tangible ideas for supporting cross-team collaboration, aligning value delivery, and sustaining change over time. Whether you’re Agile-curious or deeply embedded, this session offers practical entry points to help you move forward.

Takeaways:

Participants will learn to:

• Define what scaling, scaled, and descaling mean - and distinguish what scaling is and is not in a real-world Agile environment
• Recognize the difference between patterns, principles, and practices - and why that matters for adaptability
• Identify common anti-patterns that derail cross-team coordination and delivery
• Recall key questions to ask when assessing whether scaling is helping - or just adding overhead