What is an Agile Release Train (ART)?

An Agile Release Train (ART) is best characterized as a team of Agile teams that collaborates to develop and deliver solutions. This concept originates from the Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe), which is designed to enable large organizations to implement Agile practices at scale. An ART typically comprises multiple cross-functional teams that coordinate their efforts to ensure that they work towards a shared objective, delivering value in a cohesive and synchronized manner.

The collaboration among these teams within an ART helps in aligning stakeholders and ensuring integration of various components of the software being developed. The focus is on delivering potentially shippable increments of products every ART increment, which typically lasts for a set duration, often around 8-12 weeks. This alignment not only facilitates better communication among groups but also enhances the ability to plan and execute larger initiatives effectively.

Other options do not accurately capture the essence of an ART. For instance, sprint planning is primarily a technique used within individual Scrum teams to plan their work for the upcoming sprint, and not a concept that applies to the broader methodology of Agile Release Trains. A software tool for managing Scrum teams may facilitate certain Agile processes but does not define a concept like ART itself. Meanwhile, a framework for individual team retrospectives refers specifically to reflecting on past work