How is Agile Release Train Launched & Executed?

Adopting Agile solutions involves designing an efficient ART to achieve your set goals within pre-estimated time at a defined cost. Agencies offering agile consulting services in USA can help you launch and execute successful ARTs in no time!

SAFe agile training is instrumental in understanding the significance of, the structure and deployment of Agile Release Trains or ARTs for successful implementation of complex projects, delivering maximum business value, and completing the project within the deadline under the allocated budget.

Adopting Agile solutions involves designing an efficient ART to achieve your set goals within pre-estimated time at a defined cost. However, before you decide to launch and execute your ART it is necessary to understand the principles governing an Agile Release Train.

The 5 Principles Governing SAFe Agile Release Trains (ARTs)

An ART is a self-organizing team of people with Agile mindsets. It comprises various Agile teams from various organizational domains such as development, testing, security, architecture, DevOps, and so on. These Agile teams comprising the ART execute projects following a particular time frame known as PI or Program Increment. The 5 foundational principles of SAFe Agile Trains are as follows:

1. ARTs should follow a value creation and value delivery framework for regular planning and timely release.
2. ARTs should have a universal iteration and sprint cycle within the specific PI.
3. ARTs should be aware of organizational vision, clearly defined goals, and objectives & benchmarks.
4. ARTs should implement a continuous system integration culture by incorporating collaborative efforts of each team at every sprint to keep releasing developments at a steady pace.
5. ART should respect customer feedback, internal reviews, and quality analysis reports at the system level.

Roadmap To Launch And Execute An Agile Release Train

Now that you are aware of the definition and basic principles of an Agile Release Train, it is necessary to understand how to launch and execute one successfully for the benefit of your organization. Agencies offering agile consulting services in USA can help you launch and execute successful ARTs in no time!

1. SAFe Program Consultants (SPC) Training: You need to train your SPCs and equip them with the right knowledge and expertise for desired Agile transformation. SPCs are responsible for implementing SAFe in your organization in USA and educating stakeholders and leaders to drive Agile Release Trains (ARTs) in the right direction.

1. Lean-Agile Leaders Training: Lean-Agile leaders are responsible for adopting Agile solutions, understanding and implementing SAFe values and principles, and facilitating Agile adoption in the organization for better outcomes. Therefore, for a smooth Agile transformation journey, training Lean-Agile Leaders up to the best standards is mandatory.

1. Identify Value Streams: Agile Release Trains are procedural systems. Therefore, it is necessary to define all project goals such as solution building, validation, deployments, etc clearly in the beginning. This way you can drive the ARTs to their destination within a defined time frame and budget. 

1. Organize Agile Teams & ARTs: Providers of agile consulting services in USA can help you build an efficient roadmap to successfully align Agile teams and ARTs to meet desired milestones. Organizing ARTs and Agile Teams involves collaboration, leadership support, reduced dependencies, well-managed DevOps activities, and more.

1. Define Roles Of All Members Of ARTs: The vital roles in an ART should be clearly defined to guide the System Architect, Release Train Engineer, Scrum Masters, Product Owners and help them perform to the best of their capabilities to achieve customer satisfaction.

1. Prepare Program Backlog: It is necessary to determine the scope and vision of a particular task to create program backlogs or PIs and store vital information about upcoming features, developmental work, and so on. It is essential to understand the future behavior of the system to provide the Agile teams with a vision to build the product in small increments.

1. Train The Teams: SAFe Agile Training is crucial for teams to deliver maximum value and meet expectations at the end of each sprint. Training is a key component of ART to ensure on-time high-quality product delivery.

1. Carry Out PI Planning: PI planning includes conducting face-to-face meetings to empower and align members of an Agile team with a shared vision and mission to accomplish the tasks and execute successful delivery.

1. Set Launch Date In Program Calendar: Scheduling the first PI event after launching an ART is the next step in the program calendar. The PI calendar consists of schedules and events such as system demos, ART synchronization, Inspect & Adapt (I&A), etc.
2. Planning Iteration & Executing Innovation: Innovation and planning iteration is imperative for absorbing any variances in estimates, refining backlogs, and conducting I&A workshops. Innovation and delivery work in regular but small increments help ARTs to reach their destination on time.

Conclusion

Launching SAFe Agile Release Trains and adopting Agile solutions to drive innovation and organizational excellence may be a challenging task. But with the right kind of guidance in the form of Agile consulting services from the best industry experts in USA, launching efficient ARTs becomes a cakewalk. To know more about our SAFe Agile Training program, visit https://www.idtcs.com/agile-transformation/.