John DeereGlobal IT295 Teams
John Deere Used Scrum@Scale to Increase IT Output 165% While Cutting Costs
John Deere's Global IT leaders set out with a simple but ambitious goal: improve speed to outcomes. That meant improving how quickly teams understood customer needs, made decisions, and turned those decisions into results.
Two years into a transformation built around Scrum@Scale, DevOps, and technical upskilling, Global IT had increased output by 165%, reduced time to market by 63%, and lowered labor costs by 20%. Additionally, their Employee Net Promoter Score rose from 42 to 65.
Leadership set five targets for the transformation. Global IT met or exceeded every one.
Two years into a transformation built around Scrum@Scale, DevOps, and technical upskilling, Global IT had increased output by 165%, reduced time to market by 63%, and lowered labor costs by 20%. Additionally, their Employee Net Promoter Score rose from 42 to 65.
Leadership set five targets for the transformation. Global IT met or exceeded every one.
Results at a glance
165%
Increase in output
63%
Reduced time to market
>100%
Estimated return on investment
20%
Lower labor costs
The Need for a New Operating Model
John Deere's Global IT organization needed to fundamentally improve how quickly it could turn customer needs and business priorities into outcomes.
Agile practices had existed in isolated pockets, but teams were using ad hoc frameworks that could not be replicated across the organization. Issues like two-month release cycles and PSI planning slowed feedback, creating what Transformation Lead Josh Edgin called a “mini-waterfall.” Fixed-term projects and extensive upfront requirements locked teams into predetermined plans, making it harder to adapt as customer needs changed. And annual portfolio planning slowed investment decisions, with the best available data sometimes already a quarter old.
For an organization managing more than 400 digital products across roughly 500 teams, incremental improvements were not enough. John Deere needed a consistent Agile operating model that could connect teams to customers, coordinate work across products and portfolios, and scale across Global IT.
Agile practices had existed in isolated pockets, but teams were using ad hoc frameworks that could not be replicated across the organization. Issues like two-month release cycles and PSI planning slowed feedback, creating what Transformation Lead Josh Edgin called a “mini-waterfall.” Fixed-term projects and extensive upfront requirements locked teams into predetermined plans, making it harder to adapt as customer needs changed. And annual portfolio planning slowed investment decisions, with the best available data sometimes already a quarter old.
For an organization managing more than 400 digital products across roughly 500 teams, incremental improvements were not enough. John Deere needed a consistent Agile operating model that could connect teams to customers, coordinate work across products and portfolios, and scale across Global IT.
Five Ambitious Targets
Ganesh Jayaram, then Vice President of Global IT, gave the transformation a four-word vision: improve speed to outcomes. From there, they defined five measurable targets of success:
01
Increase output 125%
02
Reduce time to market 40%
03
Reach a 75% engineering ratio
04
Reduce labor costs 20%
05
Improve employee NPS by 20 points
“
We bet the farm so to speak. We promised we would do more, do it faster, and do it cheaper.
Ganesh Jayaram, Vice President of Global IT, John Deere
Building an Agile Operating Model with Scrum@Scale
John Deere strategically chose Scrum and Scrum@Scale as the foundation of a broader Agile Operating Model. That model was supported by DevOps, technical upskilling, organizational design, and a modernized technology stack. Partnering with Scrum Inc. gave John Deere the training and coaching expertise to implement that model across Global IT.
Scrum gave individual teams a consistent way to prioritize, deliver, gather feedback, and improve. Scrum@Scale connected those teams across products and portfolios, helping John Deere coordinate dependencies and priorities without returning to long planning and release cycles.
They also reorganized work around products, customers, and value streams, creating greater end-to-end ownership and faster feedback. Products could now be classified as Grow, Sustain, or Monitor, with Fix and Exit flags making investment and prioritization decisions more transparent.
Scrum gave individual teams a consistent way to prioritize, deliver, gather feedback, and improve. Scrum@Scale connected those teams across products and portfolios, helping John Deere coordinate dependencies and priorities without returning to long planning and release cycles.
They also reorganized work around products, customers, and value streams, creating greater end-to-end ownership and faster feedback. Products could now be classified as Grow, Sustain, or Monitor, with Fix and Exit flags making investment and prioritization decisions more transparent.
The Results
Every Enterprise Target Met or Exceeded
In only two years, John Deere's Global IT transformation had met or exceeded all five targets leadership established at the outset.
Output increased 165%, against a 125% target. Time to market decreased 63%, against a 40% target. Engineering ratio reached 77.7%, exceeding the 75% target. Labor costs decreased 20%, even with the addition of Scrum and Agile roles. Employee NPS increased from 42 to 65, exceeding the targeted 20-point improvement. John Deere estimated the return on investment from the Global IT transformation at more than 100%.
Output increased 165%, against a 125% target. Time to market decreased 63%, against a 40% target. Engineering ratio reached 77.7%, exceeding the 75% target. Labor costs decreased 20%, even with the addition of Scrum and Agile roles. Employee NPS increased from 42 to 65, exceeding the targeted 20-point improvement. John Deere estimated the return on investment from the Global IT transformation at more than 100%.
Estimated Return on Investment
John Deere estimates the return on its Global IT transformation to be greater than 100 percent.
Financially, 2021 was a banner year for John Deere. The company generated nearly $6 billion in annual net income — far more than its previous record.
Employee Net Promoter Score
Baseline: 42 → Improvement: 65
A score above 50 is considered excellent.
A score above 50 is considered excellent. Global IT improved eNPS by 23 points, exceeding leadership's target of a 20-point improvement.
Global IT Group: Goal vs. Actual
GoalActual
Increased output
125%
165%
Reduced time to market
40%
63%
Engineering ratio
75%
77.7%
Labor cost reduction
20%
20%
John Deere achieved its 20% labor cost reduction through insourcing and strategic hiring, even with the addition of Scrum and Agile roles.
Across Scrum Masters, Product Owners, Agile Coaches, Engineering Managers, UX professionals, and team members, the percentage of the organization with “fingers on keyboards” delivering value through engineering reached 77.7%, exceeding leadership's 75% target.
Internal Training Capacity
+64%
over two yearsClasses led by internal trainers:
2020
25
2021
50
John Deere designed the approach to build its own Agile capabilities. Internal training capacity increased 64% over two years, while the number of classes led by John Deere trainers doubled from 2020 to 2021.
The Foundry
Making Enterprise Agility Sustainable
One of John Deere's priorities was building the internal expertise needed to sustain and expand the transformation long term. The solution was the Foundry, which paired Scrum Inc. experts with John Deere's internal trainers and coaches.
Working from a shared backlog, they developed context-specific Scrum and Scrum@Scale training and coached teams through implementation while transferring that knowledge to John Deere.
Scrum Inc. led the first training wave while John Deere trainers and coaches learned alongside them. By the third wave, John Deere was taking the lead, with Scrum Inc. advising, coaching, and refining the program.
John Deere then scaled the approach through training waves of roughly 40 to 50 teams, combining role-based Scrum training with preparation, immersive coaching, and application to real work.
Working from a shared backlog, they developed context-specific Scrum and Scrum@Scale training and coached teams through implementation while transferring that knowledge to John Deere.
Scrum Inc. led the first training wave while John Deere trainers and coaches learned alongside them. By the third wave, John Deere was taking the lead, with Scrum Inc. advising, coaching, and refining the program.
John Deere then scaled the approach through training waves of roughly 40 to 50 teams, combining role-based Scrum training with preparation, immersive coaching, and application to real work.
Within the first two years:
295 teams completed a full training wave
Approximately 2,500 people completed training
Internal training capacity increased 64%
Classes led by John Deere trainers doubled from 25 to 50
The Foundry expanded its coaching footprint into Mexico, Germany, and Brazil, with a full-scale program launched in India
The Impact Went Even Further at the Team Level
Order Management
John Deere deliberately chose Order Management as the pilot because it was one of Global IT's most complex areas, with extensive dependencies across the organization.
After implementing the new operating model, the teams delivered more than 10x as many functions and features per Sprint and increased deployments more than 15x.
After implementing the new operating model, the teams delivered more than 10x as many functions and features per Sprint and increased deployments more than 15x.
Manufacturing Operations
Manufacturing Operations reduced time to market 87%, increased deployments 400%, and nearly tripled the number of features and functions delivered per Sprint.
Supply Chain Solutions
And when pandemic-era disruption put extraordinary pressure on John Deere's global supply chain, its Supply Chain Solutions teams used Scrum and Scrum@Scale to reprioritize every two weeks, respond to emerging bottlenecks, and continue delivering strategic work.
Within six months of completing immersion, Supply Chain Solutions had:
79%
Reduced cycle time 79%, from 54 days to 11
66%
Reduced time to market 66%, from 89 days to 30
448%
Increased functions and features delivered per Sprint 448%, from 9 to 49
567%
Increased deployments 567%, from 10 to 67
20%
Reduced overall costs 20%
60
Reached a team eNPS of 60
Built to Adapt, Not Just Scale
The value of John Deere's new agile operating model were put to the test when conditions changed.
During unprecedented global supply chain disruption, teams that once relied on long planning cycles and predetermined solutions could reprioritize every two weeks, respond to emerging bottlenecks, and develop new solutions as conditions changed, while continuing to advance strategic work.
For Supply Chain Solutions, that meant adapting to pandemic disruption, material shortages, and a global microchip shortage while John Deere's production lines kept running. As Digital Product Manager Karen Powers reflected, “I can't fathom trying to do that without being this Agile.”
And the impact was spreading. The Agile Operating Model was beginning to move beyond Global IT into other parts of John Deere, including work on the factory floor.
What began as an effort to improve speed to outcomes had become a more responsive way to turn changing customer and business needs into delivered value. As Josh Edgin put it: “The verdict is in.” The Agile Operating Model was “the right thing to do.”
During unprecedented global supply chain disruption, teams that once relied on long planning cycles and predetermined solutions could reprioritize every two weeks, respond to emerging bottlenecks, and develop new solutions as conditions changed, while continuing to advance strategic work.
For Supply Chain Solutions, that meant adapting to pandemic disruption, material shortages, and a global microchip shortage while John Deere's production lines kept running. As Digital Product Manager Karen Powers reflected, “I can't fathom trying to do that without being this Agile.”
And the impact was spreading. The Agile Operating Model was beginning to move beyond Global IT into other parts of John Deere, including work on the factory floor.
What began as an effort to improve speed to outcomes had become a more responsive way to turn changing customer and business needs into delivered value. As Josh Edgin put it: “The verdict is in.” The Agile Operating Model was “the right thing to do.”
From the People Doing the Work
“
Every quality measure has improved. We're delivering things at speeds previously not thought possible. And we're doing it with fewer people.
Josh Edgin
John Deere Global IT Transformation Lead
”John Deere Global IT Transformation Lead
“
We needed to evolve.
Josh Edgin
Global IT Transformation Lead, John Deere
”Global IT Transformation Lead, John Deere
“
We're a company that is walking the talk. We're making investments both in terms of our team members and technology.
Ganesh Jayaram
Vice President of Global IT, John Deere
”Vice President of Global IT, John Deere