Energy & Utilities

Fuelling Success: How ADAPTOVATE's Agile at Scale Implementation Transformed an Energy Company

Global Energy Company (Capital Projects Department)

The Story

The Challenge

The global energy sector is experiencing significant transformation — rising energy demand, shifting mobility patterns and a transition from fossil fuels toward renewable and clean sources are forcing companies to rethink strategy and respond quickly to remain competitive.

ADAPTOVATE supported a capital projects department seriously affected by these forces. The company's project delivery time was longer than competitors', caused by isolation between projects and phases that created prolonged waiting periods. Ownership of projects was ambiguous, contributing to slow decision-making and reduced accountability; alignment between delivery teams and strategic objectives was suboptimal; and senior employees were focused on retaining managerial positions rather than developing specialist expertise, leading to the departure of talented individuals.

Our Approach

With ADAPTOVATE, the company implemented Agile at Scale based on the Spotify model, tailored to preserve the capital projects department’s specific context while adhering to its core principles.

Phase-specific delivery methodologies

Scrum for the initial assessment of financial and competitive validity — short iteration cycles and bi-weekly stakeholder reviews enabled timely feedback and pivoting
Kanban for the design phase — limiting work in progress and optimising delivery flow
Lean construction for the construction phase instead of waterfall — allowing teams to adapt to change and reducing both cost and waiting time

Structures to scale Agile

Tribes grouped project teams within each phase by functional domain, with end-to-end accountability for delivery from design to construction
Chapters developed the capabilities needed to deliver, enabled effective resourcing, and created meaningful careers for experts who preferred to grow within a functional area

New roles

Tribe Lead — strategic guidance and coordination across teams, accountable for end-to-end delivery of every capital project in the tribe
Product Owner — defined the project vision, prioritised features, and was accountable for what was delivered (not how)
Chapter Lead — built and nurtured high-performing teams, developing skills and ensuring alignment with the Product Owner

Results & Impact

45%

Faster project delivery

Outcomes

By scaling Agile across all projects and project functions, the energy company achieved a 45% reduction in overall project delivery cycle time compared with traditional methods — driven by better prioritisation aligned to portfolio priorities, more effective resource allocation across the talent pool, faster risk-escalation, and the empowerment of Product Owners and team members in problem-solving and decision-making.