Empowering Excellence: The Agile Transformation Journey of Tech Ops Technology
Tech Ops Technology, managing 55 critical applications for aircraft readiness and safety, transformed 300+ team members using SAFe and Path to Agility to dramatically improve predictability and delivery.
Download Full Case StudyEvery day, Southwest Airlines operates over 4,000 flights. Behind every safe takeoff and landing is a complex orchestra of maintenance, safety checks, and logistics. The Tech Ops Technology department is the invisible backbone, managing 55 critical applications that keep aircraft airworthy, compliant, and ready for passengers.
But in 2022, the team of over 300 members was struggling. They had just emerged from a grueling multi-year project that had taken its toll on morale and work-life balance. Teams worked in silos, often duplicating effort without knowing it. Context-switching was constant, and nobody had clear visibility into what other teams were doing or when they would deliver.
Something had to change. Not just for efficiency, but for the people who made Southwest fly.
The Challenge of Scale
Tech Ops Technology faced a perfect storm of challenges that many large organizations recognize: the weight of their own success had created complexity that was now holding them back.
With 300+ team members working across 55 applications, visibility was nearly impossible. Teams would start work on problems that other teams had already solved. Priorities shifted constantly as urgent requests pulled people in different directions. The cognitive load from constant context-switching was burning people out.
The teams were talented and dedicated, but they were fighting against a system that worked against them. Leadership knew they needed a transformation, not just in process, but in how they thought about work itself.
Building the Foundation for Excellence
In April 2022, Southwest engaged Agile Velocity to lead a comprehensive SAFe transformation with the Path to Agility framework as the compass. Coach Bhavani Krishnan and the team began by restructuring roles and establishing true Agile Release Trains.
The transformation wasn't just about new processes. It was about creating visibility and empowerment. Centralized backlogs replaced scattered work items. Kanban systems made work visible across teams. WSJF (Weighted Shortest Job First) prioritization ensured the most valuable work rose to the top.
Perhaps most importantly, they formed Communities of Practice to share knowledge across teams and an Agile Leadership Team (ALT) to sustain momentum and remove obstacles. The ALT became the engine of continuous improvement, ensuring the transformation didn't stall after the initial implementation.
Program Predictability skyrocketed from 67.3% to 105%. Teams were now delivering more than they committed to.
From Silos to Symphony
The numbers told one story: predictability from 67.3% to 105%, visible improvements in Feature Cycle Time and Throughput. But the cultural shift told a deeper one.
Teams that had once worked in isolation now collaborated through Communities of Practice. Knowledge that used to live in individual heads was now shared across the organization. Work-in-progress dropped as teams learned to focus on finishing rather than starting.
Most importantly, the human cost of the old way of working began to heal. With clearer priorities and better visibility, the constant fire-fighting gave way to sustainable, predictable delivery. People could plan their work and their lives with confidence.
The Tech Ops Technology team had transformed from a group of talented individuals fighting complexity into a coordinated system delivering excellence, keeping Southwest safely in the skies.
Transformation Progress
Tech Ops Technology has moved into the Accelerate stage, having established predictable delivery and now focusing on optimizing their value delivery system. With predictability exceeding 100%, they are positioned to shorten time-to-market and continuously improve their processes through the Agile Leadership Team.
The Results
Program Predictability improved from 67.3% to 105%
Visible improvements in Feature Cycle Time and Throughput
Increased customer satisfaction through more frequent value delivery
Reduced work-in-progress and cognitive load
Greater transparency enabling better capacity planning
Communities of Practice established for knowledge sharing
Measurable Impact
"The transformation gave us visibility we never had before. We went from teams working in silos to a coordinated system where everyone knows what's being worked on and why."
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