Eurecat – FPED background
Eurecat is the Technology Centre of Catalonia in Spain, dedicated to research and development of technology for business and industry. Eurecat operates across various fields of research and innovation, including Big Data, robotics, biotechnology, advanced materials, and sustainability, with the goal of helping companies become more competitive through technology adoption.
The FPED unit (Functionalization, Printing, and Embedded) focuses on researching and developing new manufacturing processes and techniques to enhance the functionality and properties of plastic and composite materials, optimizing their production and industrial applications. This includes innovations in more sustainable and recyclable materials or materials with added functionality in finished products.
Our First Contact
In our initial discussions, some FPED unit leaders expressed a need for change. They were looking for ways to adapt better to an ever-evolving environment and felt that Agile methodologies could help them navigate uncertainty.
With our goals aligned, we decided to introduce Agile and Scrum concepts through a training session (a non-certified version of my Certified ScrumMaster training) for all unit members. The training was a success, with most participants leaving eager to implement the new ideas they had learned in their work.
Not long afterward, I arrived at their Mataró offices to help them begin their transformation.
What I found
When starting an Agile transformation, I like to spend the first few days learning everything I can about the organization I’ll be working with, and this time was no exception. Through this discovery phase, I gained a clear understanding of the current organization of the unit.
The head of the unit (a W1 “functional whole business focus” individual) was responsible for establishing the high-level roadmap in alignment with the unit’s strategic vision, managing the budget, and ensuring timely completion of all administrative procedures (including human resource management, bid submissions, and grant applications).
The unit’s various research initiatives were divided across four work teams, known as R&D lines (PSA or Printed Sensors & Actuators, SME or SMart Engineering, PHO or Printed Photonics and IME or In Mold Electronics), each led by a Head of R&D line:
The Head of R&D line acted as the team’s representative on the executive committee, which met periodically with the head of the unit to report on the progress of various initiatives and to plan future efforts (new initiatives, proposals, conferences, etc.). They were also responsible for preparing new proposals (sometimes with help from a researcher) and for managing stakeholders and their expectations, including holding progress meetings, sending updated documentation, or providing live demonstrations. For each of the R&D lines, they could be classified as P1 “functional partial business focus” individuals.
Each R&D line’s researchers conducted R&D work for different initiatives. However, despite being part of a supposed "team," work on each initiative was largely individual, with each researcher in charge of a set number of R&D initiatives (performing all the planning and research/develop tasks needed for each initiative) and minimal collaboration between them except for a small number of their R&D initiatives. At best, we could be describing them as F1 “incomplete multi-skill feature focus” pool, with some characteristics of, or at some times performing as, a team.
Additionally, a Transversal Team (T1 “functional task focus” pool) supported the four R&D lines by performing highly specialized technical tasks. However, the way this team managed requests often led to delays and bottlenecks, slowing down the R&D lines’ workflow.
A summary of FPED’s journey
Rather than detailing every aspect of the Agile Transformation at the Eurecat- FPED unit, I’ll focus on the main actions that helped the unit evolve:
Agile and Scrum training: As a Certified Scrum Trainer, I provided an Agile and Scrum training for all the Eurecat-FPED staff, showing them how the Agile way of working and the Scrum framework could help them achieve their goals in a very challenging environment.
Scrum Masters (SMs): As the Agile Coach leading this transformation initiative, I wanted them to have one Scrum Master for each R&D line, but a mix of reasons, including the budget for the transformation and the high number of ongoing R&D initiatives in each line, made this impossible. That’s why only two researchers were selected to become part-time SMs. Although this slowed the transformation compared to my initial plan, the changes were better received by the Eurecat-FPED members, as they had more time to learn and implement the new ideas.
Agile Change Team (ACT): We created an ACT with a mix of roles from the Eurecat-FPED unit (the head of the unit, the two SMs as Agile experts, a pair of Head of R&D lines, and several team members). This team, using the WaGI Diagram (http://thewagidiagram.com/) , developed a Transformation Backlog and began working with the R&D lines to adopt new management practices and to foster an Agile mindset and way of working.
Head of R&D line Role Transition: Initially, Head of R&D lines managed every detail of the initiatives and the R&D lines, but they began transitioning into Product Owner-like roles. Given that each R&D line had more R&D initiatives ongoing than team members (often more than double), and it was impossible for them to manage such number of Product Backlogs, the Head of R&D lines started to delegate some of their responsibilities to the team. This way, the Head of R&D lines were able to focus on executive committee duties, proposal development, prioritization of the Product Backlogs and key stakeholder management.
Real Teamwork Within the R&D lines: A major effort was made to introduce and adapt Scrum to their context, moving from a setup where each initiative was handled individually by a single researcher to one where the R&D line members, like a "swarm," collaborated on the ongoing initiatives from their R&D line. This shift improved quality and reduced risks associated with the previous model’s lack of redundancy (the "bus factor").
Sharing the knowledge of the Transversal Team: The Transversal Team began mentoring team members from the different R&D lines so that they would have the knowledge to perform their tasks. Due to the capacity of the machines involved in their work, to improve efficiency the Transversal Team members would be involved in the planning and performing of those tasks, pairing with R&D lines team members.
Implementing Agile Ways of Working (WoW) in the Transversal Team: The Transversal Team began developing a Kanban-based approach to serve the R&D lines more effectively, reducing the interruptions that had previously caused delays.
The present
Thanks to the transformation within the Eurecat-FPED unit, the team’s natural adaptability to changes has increased. They are now better able to manage both internal changes (such as staff turnover and absences) and external challenges (like pandemics, new research fields, or new clients).
While the unit’s configuration may look similar from the outside, the internal dynamics have shifted:
while the head of the unit official responsibilities may appear unchanged, and we would still classify him as a W1 “functional whole business focus” individual, his leadership style has evolved significantly. He now grants more freedom and flexibility to the R&D lines, delegating decision-making authority to those closest to the work, resulting in a noticeable reduction in his stress.
The reorganization of the R&D lines has created four distinct teams (PHES, for Printed Health and Environmental Sensors, SME for SMart Engineering, IME for In Mould Electronics and PED for Printed Energy Devices) in which members are now more engaged, effectively collaborating, sharing experiences, and taking on Product Owner responsibilities. Head of R&D lines now function as team members rather than their bosses, focusing mainly on stakeholder management and coordinating proposals for new initiatives within their R&D lines. This have led them to become, from a sum of a P1 “functional partial business focus” Heads of R&D line, and an F2 “incomplete multi-skill feature focus” researches teams, to a P3 “complete end-to-end partial business focus” teams.
And even when the Transversal Team is still a T1 “functional task focus” pool, as they have shared their knowledge with the R&D lines and they are using an Agile Kanban approach, interactions are now smoother, reducing the disruptions that previously slowed down the R&D lines progress.
And the future?
In the coming weeks, Eurecat-FPED’s SMs are planning an event for the entire unit—a retrospective-like event—to review their transformation journey and explore what the future may hold.
While the future remains uncertain, one thing is clear to me: if the Eurecat- FPED teams continue performing, learning, evolving, and pushing their boundaries as they have done so far, they are headed toward a bright future filled with success.
Conclusions
An Agile Transformation, in theory, has the potential to elevate an organization toward the upper-right corner of the Org Topologies Map, where teams improve their capabilities and gain a more comprehensive view of the work, ultimately leading to better decision-making.
In Eurecat-FPED’s journey, we’ve observed this progress. As the team matures in Agile mindset and practices, they are finding a new organizational design that enhance decision-making and reduce previous challenges and risks.
Using the Org Topologies Map at this stage allows Eurecat-FPED to acknowledge their achievements and envision the future: Should the R&D lines continue evolving toward W4 (multi-learning with a whole-business focus)? What should they change to reach that point? We’ll see, and the Org Topologies framework will help us understand their progress along the way!
This experience report presents a personal view on the change story by the credited writer. Should you have alternative views or additional details about this particular company's change story, please do not hesitate to contact Org Topologies and submit your version for publishing.
Elevating Katas (addition of December 2024 by Alexey Krivitsky):
This article by Raul provides great examples of what we now call Elevating Katas.
Elevating Katas are introduced as repeatable, structured patterns or routines introduced into an organization’s ways of working that help teams and leaders build new capabilities, improve system-level performance, and “elevate” their overall approach to value delivery.
Elevating Katas Identified in the Eurecat-FPED Case Study:
Agile and Scrum Training as a Foundation
Introducing Agile and Scrum principles and continuously reinforcing them established a routine of ongoing learning. This laid the groundwork for more adaptive ways of working and set a pattern of iterative improvement across the entire unit.
Agile Change Team (ACT) and Transformation Backlog Creating an Agile Change Team composed of diverse roles and utilizing a transformation backlog (informed by the WaGI Diagram) is a structured, repeatable process to prioritize and implement improvements. Over time, the ACT regularly revisits goals, updates the backlog, and encourages an iterative approach to organizational change.
Head of R&D Lines Transitioning Toward Product Ownership Rather than top-down control, Heads of R&D lines repeatedly practiced delegating responsibilities and focusing on stakeholder management and strategic prioritization. This shift, repeated and refined over multiple cycles, helped the organization progressively align leadership roles with Agile principles, reinforcing a more responsive and value-oriented governance structure.
Evolving from Individual Assignments to Collaborative “Swarming” Teams moved from isolated, researcher-specific initiatives toward collective responsibility and collaboration. By regularly practicing “swarming”—where team members co-own tasks—R&D lines elevated teamwork, increased knowledge sharing, and reduced risk. Repeatedly applying this approach reinforced a culture of continuous improvement and adaptability.
Sharing Specialized Knowledge Across Teams The Transversal Team began mentoring and pairing with R&D team members, transferring knowledge and reducing bottlenecks. This routine of pairing and skill-sharing evolved over time, establishing a kata for capability-building and enabling more resilient, multi-skilled teams.
Implementing Agile Ways of Working (WoW) in the Transversal Team (Kanban):
Introducing a Kanban system and continuously refining it to better serve the R&D lines became a kata that improved flow, reduced interruptions, and ensured smoother cross-team interactions. Iterating on the Kanban approach reinforced an ongoing cycle of measuring workflow, identifying bottlenecks, and making incremental improvements.
