The Inspect and Adapt (I&A) event is a structured, mandatory occurrence held at the conclusion of every Program Increment (PI). It serves as a mechanism to drive continuous improvement in large Agile organizations. The event brings together all teams and relevant stakeholders to assess the delivered value and the efficacy of the processes used to create that value. This collective learning process is fundamental to evolving delivery capabilities.
Understanding the Inspect and Adapt Event
The I&A event is built around two distinct actions: reviewing the results of the previous increment and identifying improvement actions for the next one. This dual function aligns with the terms “Inspect” and “Adapt,” ensuring a disciplined approach to organizational learning. The session typically lasts three to four hours and involves the entire Agile Release Train (ART), including technical teams, Product Management, Business Owners, and management.
The event shifts the focus from team-level retrospectives to systemic issues impacting the program’s ability to deliver value. Gathering all relevant parties facilitates a shared understanding of what transpired during the PI, moving past individual team perspectives. This collective view sets the stage for defining improvements that address cross-team dependencies and larger organizational challenges.
The First Agenda Item: PI System Demo
The I&A agenda begins with the PI System Demo, which provides a comprehensive, end-to-end showcase of the integrated solution delivered during the Program Increment. This formal presentation confirms that the work of all teams on the ART has been successfully integrated and tested. The demonstration focuses on how delivered features satisfy the original PI Objectives, providing evidence of value delivered.
This demo is distinct from the frequent, smaller demos that occur during the iteration, as it presents the cumulative progress of the entire ART. Product Management often facilitates this part, ensuring stakeholders see the functionality in the context of the business value it provides. The demonstration allows stakeholders to offer immediate feedback on the solution’s functionality and completeness, which is valuable for adjusting the subsequent PI’s priorities and technical direction.
Reviewing Performance with Quantitative Metrics
Following the demonstration, the agenda transitions to a review of quantitative metrics, assessing the ART’s performance during the increment. This data-driven analysis moves the conversation from functional output to process effectiveness, providing objective evidence of how the program is operating. A central focus is the Program Predictability Measure (PPM), which quantifies the reliability of the ART in meeting its commitments.
The PPM is calculated by comparing the planned business value for each PI objective against the actual business value achieved. A healthy ART operates within an 80 to 100 percent predictability range, confirming that planning assumptions are accurate and execution is dependable. Other metrics reviewed include flow metrics (such as lead time and cycle time) and quality indicators (like defect density). Analyzing these trends helps the ART identify bottlenecks and understand the dynamics of their workflow.
The Core of Improvement: The Problem-Solving Workshop
The most substantial portion of the I&A event is the Problem-Solving Workshop, which represents the “Adapt” function by driving structured process improvement. This is where the ART moves from inspecting results to generating actionable solutions for systemic issues. The workshop is a focused, time-boxed session designed to unearth the root causes of problems identified during the PI or highlighted by the metrics review.
Setting the Stage and Defining Scope
The workshop begins with the facilitator, often the Release Train Engineer, setting the context and defining the scope for the session. Based on the metrics review and earlier retrospective activities, the ART agrees on the top one to three problems that have the largest impact on performance and value delivery. Focusing the ART’s attention on a limited number of high-impact issues ensures energy is concentrated on solvable systemic challenges rather than minor, isolated incidents.
Root Cause Analysis
Once the problem is clearly defined, teams engage in structured root cause analysis to move beyond surface-level symptoms. Structured techniques, such as the ‘Five Whys’ or the ‘Fishbone Diagram’ (also known as the Ishikawa diagram), are employed to systematically investigate the causes. The Five Whys technique involves repeatedly asking “why” a problem occurred until the underlying systemic cause is uncovered. The Fishbone Diagram helps visualize potential causes by categorizing them into areas like people, process, tools, or environment, allowing for a comprehensive diagnostic approach.
Identifying Improvement Actions
The final phase of the workshop is dedicated to generating and defining concrete improvement actions based on the discovered root causes. Teams brainstorm potential solutions and then converge on a small number of feasible, high-leverage actions. These actions must be specific, measurable, and assigned a clear owner for follow-through. For example, a vague goal like “improve communication” must be transformed into a specific step, such as “establish a weekly dependency sync meeting between Team A and Team B.”
Synthesizing Findings and Preparing the Next Increment
The I&A concludes by synthesizing the findings from the Problem-Solving Workshop and ensuring the improvement actions are formally captured for execution. The identified actions are prioritized and placed into the ART Backlog, often as program-level Enabler Features or Stories. This transitions the retrospective learning into tangible future work for the upcoming Program Increment.
Formalizing these actions within the backlog ensures they receive the necessary resources and focus, rather than being treated as optional activities. The ART must commit to completing these improvements in the next PI to close the continuous improvement loop. This follow-through transforms the I&A from a reflection session into an engine for organizational adaptation and performance enhancement.