System Modelling: Understanding PI Planning Shortfalls And Finding Alternatives

Zoom will be shared with RSVPed only.

In this session, we will explore how System Modeling, a technique grounded in Systems Thinking, can be used to diagnose and address some of the most persistent and systemic challenges associated with PI - the term that is frequently used in Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe).
PI stands for Planning Interval, but previously also known, as Program Increment.

We will take a look at how complex dynamics within organizations contribute to recurring planning inefficiencies—and how a systems-thinking lens can reveal deeper leverage points for sustainable improvement.

The session will focus on five critical challenges:

• Insufficient Preparation: organizational cadence pressure, late backlog readiness, and unclear roles contribute to poor planning readiness
• Ineffective Dependency Management: ripple effects of unmanaged cross-team dependencies and asynchronous coordination overhead
• Misalignment with Business Goals: drift from strategic intent and lack of alignment across levels
• Overcommitment During Planning: systemic root causes behind unrealistic commitments
• Lack of a Clear Definition of Done (DoD): inconsistency of DoD definitions and degradation quality, predictability, and trust.

This session is ideal for SAFe practitioners and advocates, as well as people that very well informed of challenges with SAFe.

Unequivocally, this event would be great for product managers/product owners, and organizational leaders seeking economically sound (reduced in waste and overhead), adaptive, and systemically informed alternatives to common PI Planning dysfunctions.