Remediate Legacy Policies and Practices means actively questioning and eliminating outdated rules, processes, and habits that hinder the flow of value. Many organizations cling to practices that once made sense but now lead to waste, slowdowns, or frustration. SAFe explicitly identifies this as one of the eight accelerators for flow.
Practical relevance
Typical examples of obstructive legacy policies:
• Approval processes with multiple management levels for minor decisions.
• Documentation requirements that generate more effort than benefit.
• Meetings without a clear purpose that are held only out of tradition.
• Budgeting models that prevent innovation (annual budgets instead of lean portfolio management).
• Organizational silos that make collaboration difficult.
Remediation practices:
• Value stream mapping → reveal where policies are hindering flow.
• Experimentation → suspend or simplify rules on a trial basis.
• Lean governance → establish lean decision-making processes.
• Sunset reviews → regularly review processes and guidelines.
Typical misunderstandings
❌ "Policies are inherently bad" – no, they provide guidance, but need to be adjusted regularly.
❌ "We don't have any legacy policies" – every organization accumulates obstructive routines over the years.
❌ "This is only a topic for management" – teams are just as much in demand when it comes to questioning old routines.
Relevance for organizations
• Flow acceleration: Speed is created by eliminating unnecessary rules.
• Cultural change: Organizations learn to critically examine existing routines.
• Employee satisfaction: Less bureaucracy increases motivation.
• Innovation: New practices can be introduced more easily.
Without systematic remediation, organizations slow down over the years—the real danger is not a lack of processes, but too many old, unreflective processes.
Practical example
A corporation required three management signatures before a team was allowed to start a cloud experiment. Duration: up to 6 weeks. After introducing lean budgeting and clearly defined guardrails, the team was able to start pilot projects independently. Result: More innovation, shorter time-to-market, significantly higher satisfaction.
Application outside of SAFe
The principle is universal:
• Startups: Regularly eliminate unnecessary routines before they become crippling.
• Project management: Adapt old PMO standards instead of rigidly adopting them.
• Change management: Resistance is often hidden in policies → make it visible in a targeted manner.
• Public sector: Reduce bureaucracy without losing governance.
How good coaches use the principle in practice
• Policy reviews: Hold regular "What's holding us back?" workshops with teams and managers.
• Have the courage to escalate: Make obstructive rules visible and open them up for discussion.
• Experimentation: Test "sandbox approaches" before policies are finally changed.
• Cultural work: Promote awareness that changing rules is normal—not breaking taboos.
CALADE perspective
At CALADE, we don't see legacy policies as ballast, but as a mirror of the past. We help organizations identify and eliminate obstructive routines and replace them with lighter, more effective practices. We combine lean governance, Living Transformation®, and agile approaches to design policies that enable flow rather than hinder it.
Related terms
• Lean Portfolio Management (LPM)
• Governance
• Value Stream Mapping
• Continuous Improvement (Kaizen)
• Organizational Debt
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