The Inspect and Adapt (I&A) event is a structured workshop held by an Agile Release Train (ART) at the conclusion of every Program Increment (PI) within the Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe). This dedicated time provides a mechanism for the entire ART and its stakeholders to reflect on the progress made during the previous PI. It functions as a formal, recurring checkpoint designed to systematically evaluate the solution being built and the process used to build it. The I&A ensures that organizational learning is prioritized before the next major planning cycle begins.
The Purpose of Inspect and Adapt
The underlying philosophy of the I&A is rooted in continuous improvement, ensuring that the development process itself is subject to constant refinement. This event is designed to close the Plan-Do-Check-Adjust (PDCA) learning loop for the Agile Release Train, transforming reflections into concrete, actionable steps. The goal is about institutionalizing learning and making measurable improvements to the flow of value.
To guarantee this self-assessment occurs, the I&A provides a structured, dedicated time slot that is mandatory for the entire ART, typically lasting between three and four hours. By carving out this protected time, the organization prevents the pressure of ongoing development from causing teams to skip the necessary assessment and adjustment. This mandatory review ensures the ART systematically identifies and addresses impediments to accelerate the delivery of business value in future increments.
The Program Increment System Demo
The Inspect and Adapt event begins with the Program Increment System Demo, which is the first major component of the agenda. This demonstration showcases the fully integrated, working solution developed by all teams within the Agile Release Train during the preceding iteration cycle. It serves as a moment of validation, allowing everyone to see the tangible results of their collective efforts against the stated intent.
Attendance at this demo extends beyond the ART members to include stakeholders, Business Owners, and sometimes even customers, ensuring broad organizational alignment and feedback. The primary objective is to objectively measure the progress against the PI Objectives that were set during the PI Planning session. This is where the ART confirms whether they delivered what they promised to the business.
This is a functional demonstration focused on validating the business value delivered through shippable software and hardware components. The demo provides concrete evidence of solution fitness, enabling stakeholders to interact directly with the new capabilities and provide immediate, informed feedback. This transparency ensures the entire organization shares a single, integrated view of the product’s current state. The focus remains strictly on the validated capabilities and whether they meet the established acceptance criteria.
Quantitative Measurement and Review
Following the System Demo, the I&A agenda moves to the Quantitative Measurement and Review, focusing on data-driven performance analysis. This segment involves an objective examination of how effectively the Agile Release Train operated using empirical data.
The centerpiece of this review is the PI Predictability Measure, which compares the business value that was planned in the PI Objectives to the actual business value delivered and accepted by the Business Owners. A score consistently outside the target range indicates a systemic issue with planning accuracy or execution reliability.
The review also incorporates flow metrics that provide insight into the efficiency and speed of the value stream, such as flow efficiency and flow time, which tracks the total time a feature takes from concept to deployment. Analyzing these data points helps the ART identify bottlenecks or process inefficiencies that require deeper investigation. This data-backed approach ensures that the subsequent problem-solving phase is grounded in objective evidence.
The Problem-Solving Workshop
The final portion of the I&A agenda is the Problem-Solving Workshop, where the insights gathered from the System Demo and the Quantitative Review are translated into actionable process improvements. This is a structured event designed to move the Agile Release Train beyond simple discussion to definitive action by focusing on the most impactful systemic issues.
The workshop begins by having the entire ART collaboratively identify the biggest problem or bottleneck that hindered their performance during the previous PI. Participants often use techniques like weighted short voting, where each person is given a limited number of “votes” to distribute among the identified issues. This method quickly establishes consensus on the single most impactful problem the group must solve, moving swiftly to Root Cause Analysis (RCA).
The RCA phase is where the ART drills down to understand the systemic drivers of the identified problem, rather than simply treating the symptoms. Structured techniques are employed, such as the 5 Whys, which involves asking “why” repeatedly until the fundamental cause is exposed, or the Fishbone (Ishikawa) Diagram, which categorizes potential causes into major areas like process, people, tools, and environment.
This exploration transforms vague complaints into a clear cause-and-effect chain, ensuring that the resulting solutions address the true source of inefficiency. For instance, a low PI Predictability score might be traced back to a lack of dedicated time for Product Management refinement, which is the actual root cause requiring systemic change. The goal is to produce a well-defined problem statement rooted in a specific system failure.
Once the root cause is established, the workshop transitions into brainstorming and developing potential solutions. The teams generate ideas, which are then evaluated based on their impact, feasibility, and the effort required for implementation. This consideration ensures that the proposed improvements are effective and practical for the ART to execute in the next cycle.
The final step involves prioritizing the most promising solutions, often using a simple matrix or modified voting system. These chosen solutions must be clearly defined as concrete, measurable action items, transforming the abstract idea into a tangible deliverable. To guarantee implementation, these action items are formally documented as Improvement Stories or Features, and ownership is explicitly assigned to an individual or team within the ART to ensure accountability.
Integrating Improvements into the Next Program Increment
The effectiveness of the Inspect and Adapt event is determined by the integration of the identified improvements into the flow of work. The I&A is structured so that it is not a terminal event but rather the starting point for the next continuous improvement cycle.
The action items defined and prioritized during the Problem-Solving Workshop must be translated into actionable work items, typically Improvement Stories or Features. These items are fed into the Agile Release Train’s backlog. This ensures that fixing systemic issues is prioritized alongside the development of new business functionality during the PI Planning session.
By treating process improvements as first-class citizens in the backlog, the ART ensures the necessary structural changes are allocated capacity and resources. Assigning explicit ownership guarantees accountability and implementation, completing the Plan-Do-Check-Adjust learning loop.