ART: Agile Release Train

What is an Agile Release Train (ART)?

Agile Release Train (ART) is a type of Agile team that is long-lived and meant to be scalable as a business grows. It comprises multiple Scrum teams that work together to achieve a common goal. The ART method prioritizes frequent synchronization and ensures that all teams start and end their sprints on the same days, and follow the same dates for testing and deploying new features.

The Agile Release Train first emerged as a response to the problem of scaling Agile development beyond the traditional single team. Having multiple Scrum teams working together on a single product makes it possible to deliver features more quickly and efficiently than ever before.

The Agile Release Train (ART) method is based on the following principles:

1. Teams should be long-lived and organized according to business functionality.

2. Teams should be self-sufficient, i.e., able to design, build, test, and deploy their features without the help of other teams.

3. Agile Release Train should frequently synchronize to ensure that all teams work on the same product and that no team is lagging behind.

4. Agile Release Train should be designed to be scalable, meaning that it can accommodate more teams and products as the business grows.

Why teams use Agile Release Train 

There are a few key reasons why teams might use the Agile Release Train strategy:

1. To speed up the product delivery process

2. To improve communication and collaboration among team members

3. To create a more predictable release schedule

4. To simplify the management of large projects

5. To ensure that all teams are working towards the same goal

Agile Release Trains also give high priority to value delivery, enabling teams to focus on the most important issues at any given time and deliver features that provide the maximum value to their customers.

How to implement Agile Release Train into your team

If you're looking to implement ART into your team, the most important thing you need to know is what Release Train Sync Meetings are.

These meetings are where all the teams involved in Agile Release Train come together to ensure that everyone is on track and knows what they need to work on. They also serve as troubleshooting meetings, where teams can aptly sort any issues into categories based on the Scrum team best suited to resolving them.

The frequency of these meetings will vary depending on the size and complexity of your project, but they should generally be held at least once a week. You may also need to hold special sync meetings before and after each major release to ensure that everything is on target.

Release Train Sync Meetings are also essential for ensuring that all teams work towards the same goal. By having everyone on the same page, you can avoid duplicate work and ensure that everyone is pulling their weight. To help with this, Release Train Sync Meetings need a Release Train Engineer (RTE) to facilitate and keep things on track.

The Release Train Engineer is essentially the conductor of the ART orchestra and is responsible for ensuring that all teams are working in harmony. They do this by monitoring the progress of each team, identifying any potential roadblocks, and making sure that everyone is aware of their tasks and responsibilities. Additionally, they communicate with stakeholders to ensure that everyone knows the product roadmap and what to expect in the near future.

Make sure to familiarize yourself with release train sync meetings and the role of the Release Train Engineer. These meetings are essential so that everyone clearly understands what they need to do and when they need to do it to be successful.

Final Thoughts

The Agile Release Train is a great way to improve team communication and collaboration while also speeding up the product delivery process. By using Agile Release Train, teams can work together towards a common goal, ensuring that all features are delivered on time and at maximum value.

If you're looking to implement Agile Release Train into your team, GoRetro can help you get started. It has various retrospective tools that make implementing the Agile Release Train method easier than ever before. Plus, it's completely free, so you can start improving your team's productivity today!