Pros
SAFe - Scaled Agile Framework methodology was implemented many years ago, which was needed to organize the masses of teams. It largely works, but retraining or better onboarding is needed for new employees. There are team members who do step up to the plate and help to foster collaboration, but we need everyone to put their best foot forward.
Cons
1) There is a lot of distrust between major functional groups (e.g. Engineering vs. Product Management). Instead of feeling like everyone is working together to solve issues, there seems to be a lot of finger-pointing, which leads to inefficiencies in decision-making, process re-engineering. 2) There seems to be a diffusion of responsibility that is deep-seated. There is a culture of not showing video in meetings, which gives the sense that everyone is hiding behind their avatars/pictures. It does not help foster open communication. 3) Some functions such as the Program Management function have recently been decentralized, where Program/Project Managers/Release Train Engineers are not rolling up to a centralized PMO. Instead, they have been redirected to report into Engineering. This does not bode well for the neutrality that the RTE function is supposed to have between all functional groups (Engineering, Product, Operations, QA, etc.) Rolling up to Engineering suddenly gives Engineering more weight and again, does not help breed a strong collaborative environment.