SAP projects often come with a reputation: long timelines, rigid structures, and a tangle of documentation that doesn’t always match the outcome. Many teams have faced the frustration of working through layers of business analysis, hundreds of user stories, and overly complex architectural diagrams—only to discover that the end product feels misaligned with the original goal.
So where do Agile Pods fit into that picture?
Can a model designed for speed, adaptability, and cross-functional ownership actually work in the world of ERP systems, compliance-heavy environments, and enterprise-wide change?
The short answer: yes. But not without adjustments.
Let’s break down what that really means.
Why Agile Fails in Some SAP Projects (and Why It Doesn’t Have To)
There’s a recurring story in SAP implementations: after months of planning, modeling, and documentation, the project moves into “development”—but the requirements are vague, the backlog is massive, and no one seems to know what the product is supposed to do.
This isn’t just a communication issue. It’s a structural one.
When development is driven by siloed roles—solution architects over here, business analysts over there, devs somewhere in the middle—the complexity becomes unmanageable. Technical tickets pile up with hundreds of acceptance criteria, but very little clarity. Business expectations evolve, but they’re trapped in static documents.
This is exactly where Agile Pods can make a difference.
Because instead of assigning work to isolated roles, you bring together the right mix of skills: development, architecture, business analysis, design, QA. And align them around one goal: delivering a working solution that meets business needs.
But that only works if the pod isn’t treated as a task executor. It has to be an owner of outcomes.
Agile Pods in the SAP Context: What Needs to Change
Some SAP environments are not built for agile delivery. They’re designed for stability, governance, and process adherence. And those things matter—especially in industries like manufacturing, healthcare, or finance.
So when you introduce an Agile Pod into that system, it needs to do more than just “go fast.”
It needs to respect the constraints, understand the broader architecture, and build solutions that won’t break when integrated with legacy systems or critical workflows.
That means:
- The pod must include senior, certified SAP professionals with deep domain experience.
- Backlog refinement needs to be constant, not just a phase.
- Collaboration with business users is non-negotiable.
- Documentation isn’t abandoned—it’s just kept lean and purposeful.
- Tech decisions are made close to delivery, not locked in months earlier.
Agility here isn’t about skipping steps. It’s about sequencing them better, and empowering people closer to the problem to make decisions faster and with full visibility into the business impact.
What About SAP Activate?
SAP Activate is SAP’s official implementation methodology. It provides a structured, phase-based approach—starting with discovery and ending in deploy—with a strong emphasis on Fit-to-Standard processes and SAP Best Practices.
For some, this might seem at odds with Agile Pods. But in reality, they’re highly compatible.
While SAP Activate outlines the what and when (e.g. project phases, governance checkpoints, accelerators), Agile Pods define the how—how the work gets done day to day. In fact, SAP Activate includes Agile and Scrum principles within its own framework. It encourages iterative delivery, early feedback, and working software over rigid plans.
The key is knowing how to integrate the two:
- Use Activate phases (e.g., Prepare, Explore, Realize) to structure the broader timeline.
- Use Agile Pods as the delivery engine within those phases, especially during Realize and Deploy.
- Use Fit-to-Standard workshops as starting points for the pods’ backlog.
- Treat each pod as a team responsible for delivering end-to-end business outcomes, not just technical tasks.
This allows organizations to meet compliance, align with SAP’s official playbook, and still gain the speed, ownership, and adaptability that Agile Pods provide.
That’s why at Inclusion Cloud, we don’t just assemble pods with strong engineering skills, we build them with the specific context of SAP in mind. As official SAP partners, we train our consultants under the SAP Activate methodology, combining agile principles with SAP’s best practices for implementation. This ensures each pod is technically capable and also aligned with SAP’s phased approach to delivery—from fit-gap analysis and blueprinting to configuration, testing, and deployment.
SAFe and Pods: A Common Ground for Scaled Delivery
In larger organizations—especially those running multiple SAP workstreams—SAFe (Scaled Agile Framework) is often adopted to bring alignment and governance to agile practices at scale.
At first glance, SAFe and Agile Pods might look like two different worlds. But they actually work very well together.
SAFe provides a structure for coordination; Agile Pods provide the execution power. They’re not contradictory, they’re complementary.
Think of SAFe as the enterprise’s operating system. It synchronizes strategy, portfolios, and delivery trains. Agile Pods are the autonomous delivery teams within that system, shipping real features sprint after sprint.
This model is ideal for SAP programs that span several modules or business units. It allows each pod to focus on a clear business outcome (e.g., implementing SuccessFactors onboarding or integrating S/4HANA with a legacy finance system) while staying aligned with the broader strategic roadmap.
Done right, this combination means agility at the edges with alignment at the core.
How We Build SAP-Ready Pods at Inclusion Cloud
Not every team can handle the responsibility that pods require—especially in high-stakes SAP environments. That’s why at Inclusion Cloud, we focus on building pods with the right expertise from the start.
We use an AI-powered recruiting engine that maps the ideal profile to your project’s needs, then filters candidates based on:
- SAP certifications and proven implementation experience
- Technical depth across key modules (S/4HANA, SAP BTP, SuccessFactors, etc.)
- Soft skills like communication, collaboration, and problem-solving
Every candidate goes through a double validation process:
- A first round with our HR team, who verifies experience, credentials, soft skills, and overall fit.
- A second round with senior technical leaders from our SAP practice, who assess solution thinking, architectural understanding, and readiness to operate in cross-functional agile environments.
Only then do we form a pod that’s truly aligned with your goals—and capable of owning them.
This model drastically reduces ramp-up time. You’re not starting from scratch. You’re bringing in a team that’s worked together, understands the SAP landscape, and knows how to deliver under agile principles.
From process to ownership: why this matters now
There’s a broader shift happening across IT and enterprise delivery models.
Companies aren’t just buying platforms—they’re buying outcomes.
They don’t want an ERP. They want faster financial closes, better inventory visibility, streamlined HR onboarding.
And that changes what delivery needs to look like.
Agile Pods fit this evolution because they’re structured around accountability, not just participation. They’re built to own a problem, iterate toward a solution, and stay connected to business value along the way.
In SAP projects, where complexity and scale can make that hard, pods offer a way to bring agility without abandoning discipline.
But it only works if the team inside the pod is experienced enough to handle ambiguity. It also needs to be aligned with the business to build digital products that truly support internal teams or deliver exceptional customer experiences.
Final Thoughts
So—are Agile Pods compatible with SAP?
Not by default. But with the right structure, experienced consultants, and alignment with both SAP Activate and SAFe, they can offer a more agile and outcome-oriented way to tackle complex SAP delivery.
When pods are staffed with certified professionals who understand the SAP landscape—not just technically, but also in terms of business impact—they bring something that’s often missing: the ability to adapt without losing control. They work within guardrails, but move faster. They collaborate across silos, but remain accountable.
That balance matters. Especially in SAP projects, where small missteps upstream can disrupt entire processes downstream, and where the cost of rework is high—not just in money, but in lost momentum.
Agile Pods don’t eliminate complexity. But they give you a better way to navigate it: with clear ownership, short feedback loops, and teams built to take responsibility for the outcome.
Executive Q&A: Making Agile Pods Work in SAP Projects
What kind of ROI can I expect from using Agile Pods in an SAP implementation?
ROI from Agile Pods comes from one major shift: instead of waiting until the very end of a project to see value, you start seeing returns in phases. In a traditional SAP rollout, the business often waits 12–18 months before experiencing any improvements, which means capital is tied up with no immediate return. With Agile Pods, usable features are delivered incrementally.
For example, your finance department might see automated reporting or faster month-end closing processes only a few months after project kickoff. Similarly, a manufacturing company could benefit from improved inventory visibility even before the full supply chain module is live.
These early wins generate measurable ROI sooner, build stakeholder confidence, and reduce the perception that SAP projects are just “black holes” of time and budget. Over the life of the program, this staged delivery approach reduces rework and ensures investments are aligned with evolving business priorities, making the overall return stronger and more defensible to the board.
What are the biggest risks if we switch from a traditional SAP project model to Agile Pods?
Shifting from a well-known, structured delivery model to Agile Pods carry challenges if not handled correctly. However, we can summarize them to three main ones:
- Staffing pods without certified SAP professionals: While agile delivery requires speed and flexibility, SAP is complex, and cutting corners on expertise can lead to costly misconfigurations or compliance issues later on.
- Cultural resistance: Organizations with a history of rigid governance and top-down project management often struggle to adapt to a model where decision-making is distributed and pods own outcomes end-to-end.
- Technical risk: pods may move faster than some legacy systems or external integrations can support. If unchecked, this creates gaps or bottlenecks that undermine the benefits of agility.
Can Agile Pods help avoiding a “big-bang” SAP go-live?
Absolutely. Big-bang go-lives are one of the most stressful aspects of SAP programs. They require switching over massive portions of the business in a single moment, often leading to service disruptions, frustrated end-users, and in some cases, financial or compliance risks.
Agile Pods reduce that risk by allowing delivery to be broken down into smaller increments. For example, instead of migrating your entire finance, HR, and supply chain processes all at once, you could prioritize finance first, test it with real users, stabilize it, and then move to the next function. Because each pod owns a complete outcome, the business can validate live functionality in real-world conditions before scaling further.
This phased approach not only lowers the risk of downtime but also gives executives more control over sequencing—aligning releases with market conditions, regulatory deadlines, or internal readiness. In practice, it transforms go-live from a “cliff jump” into a series of manageable steps.
How would Agile Pods change the way to work with SAP vendors or system integrators?
Traditionally, working with SAP vendors or system integrators has meant large work packages, predefined deliverables, and long waits before progress becomes visible. This creates a “black box” dynamic where executives often feel disconnected from day-to-day delivery.
Agile Pods flip this relationship by making delivery transparent and outcome-driven. Because pods are structured to deliver working features in short cycles, you see progress as it happens, and you can directly connect investments to business results.
But this also reshapes vendor contracts.
Instead of negotiating based on hours billed or individual tasks, many executives are now structuring agreements around outcomes—like reducing the order cycle time, improving compliance reporting, or cutting month-end close by several days. So, with pods, vendors become accountable partners rather than just resource providers, which aligns their incentives with your business goals, making SAP delivery more strategic and less transactional.
Is better start with a pilot Agile Pod for SAP or move the entire program into this model?
For most organizations, the smartest path is to start with a pilot. Jumping into a full-scale pod model without testing it in your environment can create unnecessary risk. A pilot pod allows you to focus on a contained, high-value outcome—like streamlining employee onboarding in SuccessFactors, or automating part of the procurement process in S/4HANA. This limited scope lets you measure how pods perform in your culture, governance model, and technical landscape.
Once the pilot proves its value—both in terms of tangible business outcomes and smoother collaboration—you can scale the approach to larger, multi-module SAP initiatives. The “start small, scale fast” model gives you the best of both worlds: low entry risk with the option to expand once leadership, business users, and IT all see the benefits. It also creates a success story that can be used internally to build confidence and justify further investment in the approach.