Events (ART & Team)

Published date: April 15, 2024, Version: 1.0

In Agile, an Agile Release Train (ART) is a term used in the Scaled Agile Framework SAFe® to represent a long-lived team of Agile teams, typically consisting of 50-125 people, that delivers value in a specific value stream. ARTs align teams to a common mission and vision, facilitating the coordination and integration of their work into larger solutions. Within the context of an Agile Release Train, several events take place to foster collaboration, communication, and delivery.

 

Here are some key event definitions:

Girl in a jacket

  1. PI (Program Increment) Planning: This is a crucial event that occurs at the start of each Program Increment, which is a timeboxed period (usually 8-12 weeks) in which an ART delivers a fully integrated increment of product. During PI Planning, all teams within the ART gather to align on the objectives, define the work to be done, and create a plan for the upcoming increment.
  2. System Demo: At the end of each PI, there is a System Demo where teams squads the epics and user stories they've completed during the increment. It showcases the integrated and working solution, allowing stakeholders to provide feedback and validate the progress.
  3. Inspect and Adapt (I&A) Workshop: This event occurs at the end of each Program Increment. During the I&A Workshop, teams and stakeholders retrospect on the previous increment, identify improvement opportunities, and formulate action plans to address challenges and enhance their performance in the next increment.
  4. ART Sync: In SAFe®, the ART sync is a twice-weekly event that takes place at the ART level. Representatives from different Agile teams come together to coordinate their work, discuss dependencies, and address any impediments that might be impacting their collective progress.
  5. Backlog Refinement: While not exclusive to Agile Release Trains, backlog refinement is a regular event where teams review and prioritize items in their backlog. This event helps ensure that the backlog is prepared for upcoming PI planning and that the team has a clear understanding of the work ahead.
  6. Value Stream Workshops: These workshops occur occasionally and involve key stakeholders, product managers, and business owners. They aim to align on the strategic direction of the value stream, prioritize initiatives, and understand customer needs better.
  7. System Architect/Engineering Sync: This event brings together the System and Solution Architects and other technical leads to address architectural concerns, resolve dependencies, and ensure architectural alignment across the ART.
  8. Release on Demand: While not a specific event, Release on Demand is a concept within SAFe® where ARTs strive to deliver value to customers whenever it's ready and validated, rather than following fixed release schedules.

Remember that the specific events and their names might slightly vary based on the implementation of Agile and SAFe® in different organizations, but the core concepts and purposes of these events should remain consistent.