Agile release trains explained: A practical guide for product managers

The Agile release train (ART) has emerged as a powerful solution for organizations seeking ways to scale Agile methodologies and coordinate multiple teams towards a common goal.

Coordinating 10+ Agile teams without a shared cadence often leads to missed dependencies, unclear ownership, and unpredictable delivery. The Agile release train (ART) was designed to solve this exact problem.

In this guide, you’ll learn about the ART core principles, roles, events, and ceremonies. We’ll also highlight its benefits, challenges, and best practices, and show you how monday dev can help power your Agile release train.

Key takeaways

• An Agile release train (ART) is a cross-functional group of Agile teams that delivers value on a shared cadence across large, complex initiatives.
• ARTs align 50–150 people around common objectives through fixed Program Increments (PIs), synchronized events, and clear roles and responsibilities.​
• Core ART events such as PI planning, ART sync, system demos, and inspect and adapt (I&A) sessions keep teams coordinated and continuously improving.​
• Product managers play a central role by owning the vision, managing the program backlog, and collaborating closely with Release Train Engineers, system architects, and business owners.​
• monday dev gives product and engineering teams a single, flexible place to plan, run, and track Agile release trains — from PI planning and ART syncs to sprints, releases, and retrospectives.

What is an Agile release train (ART)?

An Agile release train (ART) is a cross-functional group of multiple Agile teams that plan, commit, and deliver value together on a shared cadence. It’s a key component of the Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe) that aligns different Agile teams around common business objectives and a single product vision.​

ARTs typically consist of 50-150 dedicated full-time members, organized into 5-12 Agile teams, with the required expertise to define, deliver, and operate the solution, thus eliminating any functional silos.

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By bringing together cross-functional teams and aligning them with business objectives, ARTs enable organizations to deliver value efficiently and effectively in large-scale Agile implementations.

10 key principles for successful ARTs

Here are 10 key Agile release train (ART) principles that help teams deliver value efficiently and effectively within large-scale Agile implementations.

1. Fixed schedule (Program Increments): ARTs operate on 8–12 week PIs to create planning predictability across teams. This fixed cadence reduces mid-cycle reprioritization and stabilizes cross-team dependencies.
2. Bi-weekly development cadence: Teams deliver work in 2-week system increments, enabling regular integration, faster feedback, and fewer late-stage surprises.
3. Known velocity: ART commitments are grounded in historical capacity data, helping teams avoid overcommitment and improving PI forecasting accuracy.
4. Develop on cadence, release on demand: Teams plan and build on a fixed schedule, but release decisions are driven by business readiness — separating delivery predictability from market timing.
5. Cross-functional collaboration: ARTs eliminate functional silos by aligning product, engineering, architecture, and business stakeholders around shared PI objectives.
6. Alignment with value streams: ARTs are structured to deliver value aligned with the organization’s value streams.
7. Autonomy and self-organization: Teams within the ART work in a self-organized manner, promoting innovation and problem-solving.
8. Continuous improvement: Inspect and adapt (I&A) workshops and iteration retrospectives create structured opportunities to refine processes at both the team and program level.
9. Customer-centric approach: ARTs actively involve customers and deliver value to meet their needs.
10. Synchronization and coordination: PI planning events and regular ART ceremonies ensure alignment and commitment to strategic objectives across teams.

Essential roles in your Agile release train

Given Agile release trains typically comprise up to 150 dedicated full-time members and around 12 teams, there’s a mix of core roles that guide the overall ART and several supporting roles embedded within individual teams. Here’s an overview of the roles and responsibilities that help deliver value through the program.

Let’s look at each role in a bit more depth:

Product manager

The product manager owns the product vision and determines what gets built by the ART. They manage the program backlog, including features and enablers, and work closely with internal and external stakeholders to ensure the train is delivering the highest possible value.

Their role centers on prioritization and strategic clarity.

Release train engineer (RTE)

The RTE serves as the servant leader and coach for the ART. They facilitate key ART events, coordinate multiple Agile teams, manage risks, and remove impediments that slow delivery.

Their focus is on execution flow and continuous improvement.

System architect

The system architect is responsible for the overall architecture of the system or product. They provide technical guidance across teams and ensure the architectural vision supports scalability, quality, and long-term sustainability.

They safeguard the technical integrity of the ART.

Business owner

The business owner represents key stakeholders and is accountable for ensuring the ART delivers intended business outcomes, including ROI, governance, and compliance.

They ensure the train stays aligned with organizational goals and measurable results.

Supporting roles in an ART

Beyond the four core leadership roles, Agile release trains include additional stakeholders who contribute to delivery at the team and program levels.

Team-level roles

• Scrum master: Guides teams through Agile processes and best practices and facilitates ceremonies and removes team-level impediments
• Product owner: Owns the team backlog and ensures the team delivers value aligned with program priorities
• Team members: Cross-functional contributors that deliver incremental value through collaboration

Program and system-level contributors

• Epic owners: Define epics and articulate expected benefits and support implementation across teams
• System team: Supports integration across Agile teams and enables end-to-end solution development and demonstrations
• Shared services: Provide specialized expertise (e.g., security, compliance, architecture) and not dedicated full-time to a single ART

External stakeholders

• Customers: Consume ART outputs and validate delivered value

Key ART events, ceremonies, and workflow

Agile release trains operate on a standard cadence, using key events and ceremonies to maintain alignment, facilitate collaboration, and ensure continuous improvement. The ART workflow typically follows these steps:

1. PI planning: PI planning is a 2-day face-to-face or remote event held at the beginning of each program increment (PI) involving all ART members and key stakeholders. Teams align on objectives, plan work, and identify dependencies before committing to a final PI plan.
2. Development iterations: A typical PI includes 4 or 5 development iterations followed by one innovation and planning iteration (see below). During the PI, teams work in 2-week cycles called system increments, following Scrum or Kanban methods.
3. ART sync: The ART sync is a regular bi-weekly meeting facilitated by the RTE that focuses on progress, impediments, and cross-team dependencies. In effect, it’s a parent event combining the product owner (PO) sync and Scrum of Scrums (SoS).

4. System demo: The system demo takes place at the end of each iteration. Teams showcase their work to stakeholders to provide an integrated view of the developing solution.
5. Inspect and adapt (I&A): The I&A event occurs at the end of each PI. Teams review the solution in the system demo, measure progress, and identify areas for improvement to tackle in a structured problem-solving workshop.
6. Innovation and planning (IP) iteration: This is a unique iteration held at the end of each PI. It’s a dedicated time for planning,  innovation, infrastructure work, and continued education, and provides a buffer between PIs for any unfinished tasks.

How to launch your first Agile release train

Launching an Agile release train for the first time requires clear objectives, the right roles, and a repeatable cadence for planning and delivery. Use these steps as a practical starting point:

1. Define your value stream and ART scope: Identify the value stream your Agile release train will support, clarify the products or services in scope, and agree on high-level business objectives.​​
2. Assemble ART roles and teams: Confirm your core roles — product manager, Release Train Engineer (RTE), system architect, and business owners — and group 5-12 Agile teams with the skills needed to deliver end-to-end value.​
3. Build and prioritize the ART backlog: Create a program-level backlog of features and enablers, prioritize it by customer and business value, and ensure each item is ready for PI planning.​
4. Set your cadence and Program Increment (PI) length: Choose a fixed PI length (typically 8-12 weeks), decide how many iterations it includes, and communicate this Agile train schedule across teams and stakeholders.​
5. Run your first PI planning event: Bring the entire release train together to align on objectives, identify dependencies, and agree on a realistic PI plan that reflects the ART’s known velocity.​
6. Inspect, adapt, and refine the ART: After each PI, use inspect and adapt (I&A) events to review outcomes, refine the ART backlog, and adjust roles, cadence, or practices based on what you learn.​

Agile release train vs. other scaling approaches

Agile release trains are not the only option to scale Agile across multiple teams. Frameworks such as Scrum of Scrums (SoS) or Large-Scale Scrum (LeSS) also aim to coordinate teams, though they may use lighter-weight structures and fewer defined roles.

ARTs suit large enterprises that need a clear cadence, strong governance, and explicit alignment between product strategy and execution across many teams. When choosing a scaling approach, organizations should weigh their size, regulatory needs, and appetite for process structure to find the model that best fits their context.​

Measurable benefits of Agile release trains

Implementing an Agile release train (ART) brings several key benefits to organizations that need predictable, scalable Agile release management across many teams.

• Improved alignment: PI objectives and synchronized planning ensure teams commit to shared outcomes, reducing duplicate work and late-stage dependency conflicts.
• Faster time-to-market: Time-boxed PIs create predictable delivery cycles, allowing organizations to launch features incrementally rather than waiting for large, infrequent releases.
• Enhanced quality: Frequent demos, continuous integration, and built-in feedback loops improve the overall product quality.
• Increased predictability: Fixed PI schedules and known velocity enable more reliable roadmap forecasting at the program and portfolio level.
• Better collaboration: ARTs promote efficient cross-team communication and coordination, especially for managing dependencies.
• Increased visibility: Stakeholders can easily track project progress, enabling informed decision-making.
• Reduced risk: Early system demos and integrated increments surface integration issues and architectural gaps before they become costly late-stage defects.
• Continuous improvement: Regular retrospectives and I&A events promote ongoing enhancements of processes and outcomes.

ART challenges and considerations

Agile release trains (ARTs) can present several challenges and considerations. Addressing them requires careful planning, effective communication, and a commitment to continuous improvement throughout the ART implementation process. Here’s what to look out for:

• Resistance to change: Transitioning to ARTs often requires a significant cultural shift, which can cause resistance from team members and stakeholders.
• Lack of visibility: Acquiring a complete picture of all the tasks across every team can be problematic, leading to ineffective resource allocation and missed deadlines.
• Unclear ART velocity: Without a clear understanding of the ART’s capacity, teams may overcommit, resulting in stress, burnout, and failed objectives.
• Coordination difficulties: Managing dependencies and ensuring alignment across multiple teams can be challenging, especially in large or virtual organizations.
• Maintaining engagement: Keeping large teams engaged and committed to the ART’s objectives can take time, impacting productivity and value output.
• Scaling issues: Smaller organizations may find it challenging to implement ARTs due to resource constraints or organizational structure limitations.
• Technology shifts: Adapting to new tools and processes required for effective ART implementation can be demanding for team members.
• Stakeholder management: Aligning stakeholders’ expectations with the ART’s cadence and delivery schedule can be complex.

Best practices for ART success

Here are the top 10 best practices for Agile release train (ART) success:

1. Establish a shared vision: Ensure all team members are aligned around a common goal and understand how their work contributes to it.
2. Prioritize the program backlog: Arrange items in the backlog so the highest-value items for customers are at the top.
3. Implement incremental releases: Enable fast output and quick response to customer feedback by releasing incrementally.
4. Maintain regular ART events: Conduct consistent ART sync meetings and PI planning sessions to address blockers and dependencies and foster collaboration.
5. Allow for flexibility: While adhering to SAFe guidelines, maintain some flexibility to adjust plans when necessary.
6. Foster cross-functional collaboration: Promote efficient communication and coordination across teams, especially for managing dependencies.
7. Provide comprehensive training: Ensure all team members understand the Agile values and principles, the Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe), and the ART events and ceremonies.
8. Gain leadership support: Secure buy-in and active involvement from organizational leaders to drive the ART’s success.
9. Focus on continuous improvement: Regularly conduct retrospectives and I&A events to identify areas for enhancement.
10. Maintain transparency: Keep all stakeholders informed about progress, challenges, and outcomes to enable informed decision-making.

"monday dev empowered us to optimize our GTM approach, resulting in faster, more dependable deliveries"

Steven Hamrell | Director of Product Management

"monday dev empowers us to manage the entire development process on one platform so we can speed up product delivery and improve customer satisfaction"

Mitchel Hudson | Head of Technology

"We're operating in an open, deep trusting, transparent environment with no silos of information. It's about completely opening access to everyone who needs it."

Alan Schmoll | Executive Vice President, Vistra Platform

Integrating AI into modern ARTs

As Agile release trains grow in complexity, AI can help teams spot risks, reduce manual work, and make better decisions based on real-time data. AI-powered insights can surface bottlenecks across boards, highlight dependencies at risk, and forecast whether the ART is likely to meet PI objectives.

Practical examples include using AI to summarize system demos and inspect and adapt workshops, turning lengthy discussions into concise, shareable action items. AI can also categorize incoming work, detect sentiment in stakeholder feedback, and recommend next steps, helping RTEs and product managers keep the ART focused on the highest-impact work.​

Selecting your ART management platform

Choosing the right platform to run your Agile release train is critical for maintaining visibility, coordination, and momentum across many teams. Look for a solution that supports your scaling framework, offers strong program- and portfolio-level views, and makes it easy to connect strategy with execution.

Key capabilities to consider include:

• End-to-end visibility across ART backlogs, PI objectives, sprints, and releases in one place
• Support for core Agile release train events, such as PI planning, ART sync, system demos, and inspect and adapt workshops
• Flexible workflows that accommodate Scrum, Kanban, and hybrid approaches without locking teams into rigid templates
• Collaboration features that keep product managers, RTEs, architects, and stakeholders aligned in real time
• Built-in AI capabilities to automate routine tasks, surface risks, and provide data-driven insights for ART decisions.

Power your Agile release train with monday dev

Built on the monday.com Work OS, monday dev enables product and engineering teams to implement and manage the entire Agile release train lifecycle end-to-end from a single, flexible AI-powered platform. You can scale your Agile delivery from the convenience of Scrum for small teams to the enterprise-wide structure of SAFe for larger organizations.

Here are the key monday dev features that help facilitate collaboration, planning, and execution across multiple teams and levels of the organization:

Manage ART hierarchy from portfolio to feature level

Create boards to manage epics at the portfolio level and features at the program level, supporting the hierarchical structure of an ART.

Run structured, transparent PI planning

Create a dedicated board for PI planning, where each team adds its user stories and tasks and aligns on shared objectives.

WorkCanvas integration

Visualize your PI planning on the whiteboard and integrate tasks from other boards so that everyone can see the same plan.

Coordinate sprint execution across teams

Use a sprint management board to coordinate sprints across all Scrum teams in the ART and ensure a consistent sprint cadence.

Use AI to reduce coordination overhead

Use AI blocks and automations to summarize PI outcomes, flag risks and bottlenecks, categorize work, and trigger reminders to keep Agile release train tasks on track without extra manual effort.

Keep your Agile release train on track

By breaking down traditional silos and creating a synchronized approach to product development, Agile release trains can transform how enterprises approach large-scale software and system delivery.

With monday dev, you can manage your ART and product development cycle in a single, flexible platform — from ideation and roadmaps to sprints and releases — so product managers and developers stay aligned and agile.