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About KFC UK & Ireland KFC is a global chicken restaurant brand with a rich, decades-long history of success and innovation. It all started with one cook, Colonel Harland Sanders, who created a finger lickin’ good recipe more than 75 years ago—a list of 11 secret herbs and spices scratched out on the back of his kitchen door. Benjamin Richards and his role at KFC UK & Ireland Ben serves as a Systems Coach at KFC UK & Ireland, where his primary focus is aligning teams and individuals to drive greater efficiency while reducing waste across the organization. In his role, Ben oversees the Agile Guild,  supporting and fostering change across different business functions. His responsibilities extend beyond just delivery; he invests in building cohesive teams and fostering a culture of continuous improvement. Ben has been a user of the Atlassian suite of tools for 10+ years. Background KFC UK&I has been using ActionableAgile™️ Analytics in Jira for four years - since 2019. 55 Degrees is proud to witness over 4 years of growth alongside KFC UK&I. The Situation KFC UK&I wanted to prioritise quick and consistent delivery of value to customers whilst understanding the health of their products. To level up the business, they began to embark on a journey of continuous improvement with the aim of becoming more predictable and having more meaningful conversations internally about how they work to meet their goals and drive meaningful outcomes. Enhancing Efficiency and Reducing Errors To improve, KFC UK&I needed to reduce the administrative burden of, and impact of human errors in, maintaining large spreadsheets for tracking team and product health metrics. Automating data to drive decision-making became an intriguing direction for the team. " There was the admin overhead of, as well as the human error within, the spreadsheets and additional data you are trying to work with. There was a lack of standardisation and continuity " Advancing Towards Standardised Processes A lack of standardisation and continuity in data analysis processes made it difficult to get a consistent and accurate view of team and product health. It was clear that this created barriers to communicating data and language across teams. Facilitating Seamless Data Exchange and Contextual Understanding: Sharing data and insights between teams and stakeholders was challenging, leading to inefficiencies and misinterpretation. There was an incomplete bigger picture between the teams thanks to data silos and standardisation. " The spreadsheet that I was operating from was easy for me, because I'd gone through the pain of curating and creating it. However, maintaining at scale and taking others on the journey to take ownership a struggle, and rightly so. " The Solution: ActionableAgile™️ Analytics When KFC UK&I decided to move toward a data-driven and automated approach to agility, it was important that they were able to use their existing data in Jira. ActionableAgile™️ Analytics for Jira was ideal, because users don’t have to leave Jira, and because the data in Jira stayed safely in Jira at all times.  Once starting with ActionableAgile™️ Analytics , KFC UK&I saved time from the very start by avoiding manual spreadsheets and loading their existing historical data directly from Jira in minutes (or less). There was no more waiting - discussions could start immediately! " With ActionableAgile™️ Analytics we could work with data at its source and leverage our existing system (Jira) - with ease. Being able to define data, manipulate it, and assess different time periods - that was a massive win. " Overcoming Data Silos and Misinterpretation For KFC UK&I, the team can now center conversations around work items and business goals. The teams are able to view the same data and trust in its integrity. This shift promotes a true team mentality, focusing not only on execution, but also on intentional collaboration and alignment with business objectives.  This aspect, often overlooked in many companies, is now a focal point for KFC UK&I, enhancing overall team effectiveness and cohesion. " It’s great to see the recent releases [to ActionableAgile™️ Analytics ], such as the ability to share datasets. Even though I am not in the weeds of the day-to-day [in teams], I can still at least sing from the same hymn sheet that the scrum masters are working from, rather than second-guessing the data filtering ."  Actionable data to paint a bigger picture Data should serve a purpose and, above all, be actionable. If you stop at consuming a chart, you are robbing yourself of huge rewards. The big win is using this data to have the right conversations at the right times, so you can take the right actions and make the right decisions.  That is why, across all teams, at least once a quarter, the Agile Guild team at KFC UK&I will now take a snapshot of data from ActionableAgile™️ Analytics and complement with narration and context around that data.  This ensures everyone knows how the data is being interpreted, sees the context that goes into that interpretation, and allows deeper discussion among everyone who consumes it. " We might see a 5% decrease in throughput - okay, well, that is a number. But actually, the context applied brings the meaning and driving action.  We are able to take data and have meaningful conversations as a collective. We tried x and saw y improvement – in doing so we look to standardise, consolidate, and normalise practices if there is a shared consensus that there is value and benefit from it. "  Supporting real conversations with stakeholders By providing accurate and transparent data, ActionableAgile™️ Analytics has built greater trust among team members and stakeholders in the insights derived from the data. There has been an enhanced ability to have meaningful, data-backed conversations with business partners and stakeholders, aligning them to the value stream and helping ensure everyone is on the same page. An example of this can be seen during a recent quarterly review process meeting, where the team presented data with context in the following areas: Arrival Rate vs. Throughput '24  – Using ActionableAgile™️ Analytics , the team demonstrated that 36% more work had entered the backlog over the quarter. It's encouraging that, alongside this increase, throughput also rose by 16%, meaning work is flowing smoothly through the team, and they are managing the higher demand without causing significant backlogs. However, this will be something to monitor closely going forward. Cycle Time  – ActionableAgile™️ Analytics highlighted that the team’s cycle time had increased by 27% during the quarter. While this could be alarming to stakeholders without context, the team was able to explain that the increase was due to external factors, such as a recent code freeze and reduction of team " A big takeaway is being able to support meaningful conversation with our business partners [Stakeholders], that align to the value stream(s). Having an elevated level of trust in the data of how we operate to support outcomes is a must have. "  Continuous improvement using data With one of the main drivers being continuous improvement, KFC UK&I run a quarterly Kaizen (that’s Japanese for improvement) event through a two-week sprint focused on identifying problems and fostering innovation throughout the business. ActionableAgile™️ Analytics has provided supporting data used during this period and daily throughout team level Kaizen. Results by the numbers Having implemented ActionableAgile™️ Analytics some years ago we took a look back at how KFC UK&I has progressed on their journey over the last 2-3 years. Let’s look into how some numbers are around their Product Value Stream goals. Has KFC UK&I been able to cut down on down time while being more efficient, predictable and deliver more? Overall Average Flow Efficiency : This is the time work is spent idle (waiting) as opposed to actually being worked on.  2021 : 69.5% 2024 : 77.6% (+7.95%) Overall Cycle Time:  Cycle time is a key performance metric, reflecting how quickly work moves through the system. Shorter cycle times indicate efficiency in delivering work. 2021 : 9.3 days   2024 : 6.3 days (-3 days) What assumptions can we make from this? The increase in Flow Efficiency (+7.95%) suggests that KFC UK&I has significantly reduced idle time in their product value stream, indicating an improvement in how quickly work is prioritised and completed.  Furthermore, the reduction in Cycle Time by 3 days reflects that they are not only working faster but also have become more efficient at delivering value to their customers. These metrics strongly imply that KFC UK&I has optimized their process flows, minimized bottlenecks, and improved predictability, positioning themselves for sustainable, scalable delivery. Summary of Outcomes Automated data analysis, reducing manual errors and administrative burden. A standardized approach to tracking and analyzing metrics, ensuring consistency and reliability. AKA - a data source they can trust. Common data and language that teams can bring to regular Kaizen periods. Implementation of automation to identify and address aging work in progress, signaling and enforcing the cleaning of the backlog. What does the future look like for KFC UK&I? Finding their flow Having started with Scrum, Scrumban, and Kanban at the core of their agility, KFC UK&I has transitioned into a product-centered style of working, leading the teams to lean methods and applications to support flow and the associated flow metrics to help tell the tale. To support this transition, KFC UK&I has also begun using Jira Product Discovery alongside ActionableAgile™️ Analytics because these tools offer flexibility for strategic initiatives and prioritisation. " Over the last two to three years, we have been on a journey of stepping it up a gear in terms of driving and moving away from projects, and stepping into a product-oriented structure.  We have focused on forming value streams, and with this, a greater view of how we find flow in our product teams and overall alignment, to deliver value to our customers. "

You would be easily forgiven for answering “Mount Everest” to the title question.  After all, that’s what most of us are taught in school (assuming we were awake during geography class).  But if you have read any of my material over the years, you know that most of what we have been taught is misleading, if not downright wrong. To determine the tallest one, we first have to measure all of the mountains on the planet. And it turns out that measuring the world’s mountains is much more complicated than you might think.  In fact, over the years, there have been several contenders for the crown: In 1792, Mount Chimborazo (Ecuador) was thought to be the tallest Then, in 1808, it was Mount Dhaulagiri (Nepal) Then, in 1847, it was Kangchenjunga (Nepal/India) It wasn’t until 1852 that the peak we now know as Mount Everest was officially named the tallest mountain in the world. Why did it take so long to name a winner?  As you’ve probably guessed, changes in technology, measuring methodology, and even changes to the earth’s crust due to plate tectonics have all contributed to updated rankings over time (as an interesting side note, because of plate tectonics, Mount Nanga Parbat is currently growing faster than Everest and in 241,000 years will be the world’s tallest, ceteris paribus).  But in reality, the hardest thing about measuring a mountain is defining what it is. In other words, when we call something a mountain, we first need to decide where it " starts” and where it " finishes.”  To most of us, spotting where a mountain “peaks” is fairly obvious.  Just look for the one above all of the other ones.  But finding the top is only half of the equation.  It’s deciding where a mountain starts, that is the tricky bit.  For example, Mauna Kea is the highest point in Hawaii—that’s easy to see.  However, more than half of Mauna Kea's mountain is submerged.  Measuring Mauna Kea from its base (underwater) to its summit gives 10,211 meters—which is about 20% taller than Everest. If we only consider mountains with a base on land, then Denali in Alaska is actually “taller” (with a base-to-summit measurement about 1,000 meters more than Everest). So why have all of us been taught that Everest is the tallest?  That’s because when measuring mountains, scientists generally use a “sea level” hack as the starting point for all their calculations.  Why is the sea level a hack?  As you may have guessed, the sea isn’t so level.  The following graphic from the European Space Agency is a brilliant illustration of this point: Due to factors like the earth’s rotation, tides, differences in the strength of gravity at different spots, etc., the sea actually has dramatically different levels around the globe.  Scientists attempt to “smooth out” these differences by calculating an arithmetic mean to use as “sea level.”  That’s right, they use an average.  And as we all know, an average is (generally) a hack.  Therefore, Everest gets its award due to an arbitrary starting point for a calculation that creates a baseline that doesn’t in any meaningful way exist anywhere on Earth. I don’t know about you, but that doesn’t seem quite right to me.  Why not pick a more objective starting point to measure from the center of the earth?  If we do that, then our good friend Mount Chimborazo, whom we saw earlier, regains the crown (due to the fact that the planet bulges around the equator). I’ll leave it up to you to decide what you think the tallest mountain is, but the point here is that all measurements require agreement on what started and finished mean.  And you can get radically different answers depending on those agreed points.  Flow metrics, in particular, are not immune to this difficulty.  When they think about predictability, most people think only about the ability to answer the question, “When will it be done?”  But that question ignores half the problem.  How long something will take depends BOTH on when something starts AS WELL AS when something finishes.  Your process could be Everest, Mauna Kea, or Chimborazo, depending on how you look at it. Therefore, take the time to carefully consider what “started” and “finished” mean in your context.   Your customers—and your predictability—will thank you for it. *This post was inspired by and based on the “Be Smart” video series on America’s Public Broadcasting Service (PBS).  If you haven’t checked that series out, do so.  Most videos are available on YouTube.

August has been a busy month for ActionableAgile™ Analytics , with exciting updates and enhancements designed to improve your user experience. From streamlined data loading processes to critical bug fixes and new control features, here's a rundown of what's new this month. Enhanced data file loading experience Starting this week, we’re rolling out a significant upgrade to the process of loading external data files across all versions of ActionableAgile™ Analytics. The improvements address longstanding challenges, ensuring a smoother and more intuitive experience. Why the Update? Our previous data loading system was often restrictive, leading to frustration as users encountered unclear error messages and cumbersome formatting requirements. To resolve these issues, we’ve implemented the following key enhancements: Simplified File Formatting:  We’ve integrated direct links to file format requirements right in the loader, and added a download button for the template—eliminating the need to go to the documentation. Smart Column Mapping:  Users can now map file columns to specific types such as ID, Title, or Workflow Stage. While the system is designed to map certain column types, you have the flexibility to override our guesses. Date Format Detection:  We now show the detected date format (e.g., MM/DD vs. DD/MM), allowing you to verify and adjust as needed, resolving a common pain point for users. Comprehensive File Analysis:   After mapping, we analyze the entire file and identify any cleanup actions needed. Users can correct these for future uploads or proceed with loading the file as is. If there are rows with errors, we display the details and allow users to export the list, noting that any problematic rows will be removed if they continue. These enhancements are designed to make your data loading process more seamless, allowing you to focus on what matters most—your analysis. Key Bug Fixes to the Beta Process Behavior Chart Starting this week, we're rolling out key bug fixes to the Beta Process Behaviour Chart across all versions to improve readability in dark mode and correct inaccuracies in tooltip data. Saved Data Sets for Azure: Major Update Work on Saved Data Sets for Azure is progressing well, with the goal of eliminating the need to recreate data set configurations. Stay tuned here or subscribe to our newsletter for beta release updates.  Global Date Range Control To view a segment of your data set, you currently need to apply date range changes to each chart individually. With the new global date range control, you can set the date range in one place and apply it across your entire data set at once. This feature is next and on its way. Stay tuned for more updates.  Additional Display options for stalled or blocked items Our current dimming feature is designed to highlight non-stalled or non-blocked items but lacks support for users who need to see all items while distinguishing between them. The upcoming feature will offer new options for displaying stalled and blocked items in charts, supporting more use cases. Penetration testing underway for ActionableAgile™ Analytics for Jira Cloud We’ll be making the report available for download via our Trust Center  as soon as it is ready. Did you know that you can subscribe to our trust center to be updated of changes and additions as they happen? Explore Our Product Roadmap and Shape the Future We invite you to explore our  Product Roadmap —your go-to page for all things development! Here, you can get a behind-the-scenes look at what we’re working on and have a say in what comes next. Under Consideration:  Explore the ideas and features we’re currently evaluating based on user feedback. Planned:  Get a sneak peek at the features and updates that have been prioritized and are scheduled for development. In Progress:  Stay updated on the features that are actively being worked on, and track their progress. Released:  Check out the latest features and improvements that are now live. Submit Your Idea:  Have a feature in mind that you’d like to see? Submit your ideas and help shape the future of ActionableAgile. Visit our Product Roadmap  today to stay informed, give feedback, and make sure your voice is heard. Together, let's build something amazing! Stay tuned for more updates and continue exploring all that ActionableAgile™ Analytics has to offer.

Be predictable. Be confident. Be agile. Trusted globally by 1600+ companies Powerful solutions that take you from busy to effective ActionableAgile ™️ Analytics Agile Flow Metrics for Jira, Azure DevOps, or standalone SaaS Measure and improve Flow. Be Predictable. Answer "When will it be done?" Learn More Portfolio Forecaster Continuous Forecasting for Jira Forecast Jira epics and versions with confidence using probabilities. Learn More Klar for Jira Cloud Configure & answer refinement questions for your work. Know just enough to start! Learn More Inspekt for Jira Cloud Analyze raw workflow data for cumulative time in status and how items move in the workflow. Learn More Products Julie Starling - Agile Delivery CoP Manager Financial Services Organization with over 1400 employees By regularly forecasting with ActionableAgile, we could clearly show when circumstances impacted our delivery timescales; previously, these would have been recognized as affecting our delivery. Monte Carlo simulation's what-if scenario planning function has enabled us to discuss what is happening and if trends are changing with stakeholders and teams. This allowed us to take meaningful action at the soonest possible opportunity and put the decisions with the right people. Recent Blog Posts Brodie Chivers Sep 26 6 min Use Case - From Data to Action: How KFC Enhanced Performance with ActionableAgile™️ Analytics About KFC UK & Ireland KFC is a global chicken restaurant brand with a rich, decades-long history of success and innovation. It all... 150 3 likes. Post not marked as liked 3 Daniel Vacanti Sep 20 3 min What Is The Tallest Mountain on Earth? You would be easily forgiven for answering “Mount Everest” to the title question. After all, that’s what most of us are taught in school... 46 1 like. Post not marked as liked 1 Victor Agbebo Sep 6 3 min What's New in ActionableAgile™ Analytics This August. August has been a busy month for ActionableAgile™ Analytics , with exciting updates and enhancements designed to improve your user... 71 Post not marked as liked Read more > A culture based on security and privacy An important part of living up to our values is our commitment to data privacy and security throughout all aspects of our organization. We don't take a single step without ensuring we've taken all reasonable steps to protect your data and privacy. Protect customer and personal data at all times Comply with applicable privacy regulations Avoid processing or storing unneeded data Compliance Certifications and Standards ISO 27001 GDPR Atlassian Security Programs Interact with us at an upcoming event Atlassian Team'24 Europe Tue, Oct 08 Barcelona Oct 08, 2024, 8:00 AM – Oct 10, 2024, 10:00 PM Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain Oct 08, 2024, 8:00 AM – Oct 10, 2024, 10:00 PM Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain Heading to Atlassian Team'24 Europe? Awesome—so are we! Our Co-CEO & Co-Founder, Daniel Wester, and Partner Success Manager, Brodie Chivers, are packing their bags and ready to connect. Why not meet up with them in sunny Barcelona? Details More events >

What we do 55 Degrees is a software company offering agile apps that help people and companies forecast, plan, work and improve more effectively. Values Strive for the right balance. Too much in any direction can be a problem. Consider the context and do your best to find your perfect balance, your Lagom, for every given situation. ​ Make things better. With every action, leave things better than you found them. That applies whether it is code, customers or our community. Be your crazy self. We hire people because of their unique qualities, including how they think. We don't hire brilliant jerks but we don't want clones either. Don’t fear mistakes. If you don't make mistakes you might not be learning as much as you could be! What's more important is what you do after the mistake. ​ Put people first. If we put people first, results will follow. We take care of our employees and their families first. This allows our employees to take care of our customers. Have fun. If we take ourselves too seriously we can stifle our potential. Creativity comes when you have fun. Our Team We might be small but we do great work! Want to join us? See if we're hiring! Julia Wester CEO - CO-Founder Daniel Wester CTO - CO-Founder Freddie Fridvall Senior Developer Daniel Hansson Developer Margaux Fiche Head of Customer Experience Tülay Nergiz Johansson Head of Marketing Helena Svärd Application Developer Eloise Vinson Customer Support Specialist Victor Agbebo Content Marketing Manager Michelle Haglund Director of Operations Emma Olsson Application Developer Brodie Chivers Partner Success Manager Dana Xenia Marasca Junior Application Developer Commitment to Pledge 1% 55 Degrees has made a commitment to Pledge 1%. We donate 1% of team member time to charitable causes and 1% of profit. Find out more about Pledge 1% . Location Our headquarters is located in the heart of Malmö, at Lilla Nygatan 7. You'll find us near Gustav Adolf's Torg and walking distance from Malmö Centralstationen and Triangeln. We are located in the Central European Time Zone.

Deliver value faster Be confident A lightweight issue refinement tool for Jira users that reduces frustration and speeds up delivery by helping teams to understand their work, their dependencies, and whom they need to communicate with. Improve how you work and how quickly you deliver Klar can help you oversome common struggles Don't know how to prepare? Configure the right questions for your context or use our thinking template to get up and running. Prevent frustration stemming from starting work before it is well understood. Do you experience too many blockers or false starts? ​ Know if an item is ready enough to start by viewing our custom issue fields. Reduce the blockers, time and effort it takes to start doing the actual work. ​ Want to have better conversations? Klar custom fields help you query your issues and find everything relevant to the groups you need to talk to. Purchasing Options Start your free trial Klar is exclusively available as an app that embeds directly in your Jira Cloud. Every Jira user is automatically licensed! Try Klar for free for at least 30 days! 55 Degrees is a Platinum Atlassian Marketplace Partner. Klar for Jira participates in Atlassian's security programs and is Cloud Fortified