Inspect and Adapt

Kaizen is about changing the way things are. If you assume that things are all right the way they are, you can’t do kaizen. So change something!

—Taiichi Ohno

Definition: The Inspect and Adapt (I&A) is a significant event held at the end of each PI, where the current state of the Solution is demonstrated and evaluated. Teams then reflect and identify improvement backlog items via a structured problem-solving workshop.

What is Inspect and Adapt in SAFe?

Inspect and Adapt (I&A) is a significant event for continuous improvement. Held at the end of each PI, this event is structured to demonstrate progress, review current and meaningful measurements, and create actionable improvements.

The Agile Manifesto emphasizes the importance of continuous improvement through the following principle: “At regular intervals, the team reflects on how to become more effective, then tunes and adjusts its behavior accordingly.” The I&A amplifies the original principle and creates this time for the entire ART and key stakeholders to engage in continuous improvement.

In addition, SAFe includes ‘relentless improvement’ as one of the four SAFe Core Values. While opportunities for improvement occur continuously throughout the PI, the I&A creates structure, cadence, and synchronization to help ensure time is set aside to identify improvements across the Agile Release Train (ART).

The I&A includes the active involvement of all ART members and stakeholders. The result is a set of improvement backlog items that go into the ART Backlog for consideration in the next PI Planning event. In this way, every ART improves every PI. When multiple ARTs are involved in building a large solution, a similar event can be held to improve their alignment.

The I&A empowers the Agile Teams to take ownership of their work, celebrating achievements whilst also sharing challenges that create learning and change. It creates an important feedback loop, ensuring the organization moves towards its business and customer goals.

How to run an Inspect and Adapt event?

The I&A event consists of three parts:

1. PI System Demo
2. Quantitative and qualitative measurement
3. Retrospective and problem-solving workshop

Participants in the I&A should be, wherever possible, all the people involved in building the solution. For an ART, this includes:

• The Agile Teams
• Release Train Engineer (RTE)
• System and Solution Architects
• Product Management, Business Owners, and other stakeholders

Additionally, Solution Train stakeholders may also attend this event.

Part 1: PI System Demo

The PI System Demo showcases all features developed during the PI. It is formal and requires preparation but typically does not exceed one hour.

Additionally, before or during the demo, Business Owners and Agile Teams assess the actual business value of the team’s PI Objectives to calculate an achievement score. This score is used over time as part of the predictability measure for the ART. This is assessed by comparing each team’s planned versus actual business value, aiming for a reliability range of 80-100 percent to ensure effective planning for the business and stakeholders. This measure excludes uncommitted objectives from planning but includes them in actual achievements.

Part 2: Quantitative and Qualitative Measurement

In the second part of the I&A event, the RTE gathers and analyzes relevant performance metrics, preparing to present them to the ART to evaluate teams’ effectiveness. One of these metrics is the ART’s predictability measure. Additionally, ARTs review measures related to the flow of value across the ART and other measures that are important within the context of the ART. Common examples include the SAFe flow metrics, value stream KPIs, and eNPS. These measures enable a meaningful Part 3 of Inspect and Adapt.

Part 3: Problem-solving workshop

As the final part of the I&A, the ART holds a structured, root-cause problem-solving workshop to address systemic problems. Root cause analysis provides a set of problem-solving tools used to identify the actual causes of a problem rather than just fixing the symptoms. The RTE typically facilitates the session in two hours or less.

A brief retrospective is used to help attendees identify key issues they want to tackle in the problem-solving workshop. This often leads to the formation of new, cross-functional groups that bring diverse perspectives to the issues they want to spend time resolving. All ART stakeholders, such as Business Owners, available customers, and leadership, participate in the groups. They can help remove obstacles beyond the ART’s control, ensuring a comprehensive approach to problem-solving.

Figure 2 illustrates the steps in the problem-solving workshop.

The following sections describe each step of the process.

• Agree on the problem(s) to solve – The groups have self-selected the problem they want to address. Each group spends a few minutes clearly stating the problem, highlighting the ‘what,’ ‘where,’ ‘when,’ and ‘impact’ as concisely as possible. Figure 3 illustrates a well-written problem statement.

• Perform root cause analysis – Also known as an Ishikawa Diagram, a fishbone diagram is a visual tool for exploring the causes of specific events or sources of variation in a process. Team members brainstorm potential causes of a problem, using the fishbone categories seen below, to consider the problem from different points of view.

They then use the 5 Whys technique to explore each cause’s root by asking ‘why’ five times until a suitable root cause is identified.

People – Problems that stem from the way people operate
Process – Problems that stem from the processes in place
Tools – Problems that stem from the way tools are used
Program – Problems that stem from the way the teams and ARTs are structured
Environment – Problems that stem from the organizational culture and environment external to the ART

• Identify the biggest root cause – Pareto Analysis, or the 80/20 rule, helps identify the few causes (20%) that lead to the majority (80%) of a problem. It is useful when dealing with complex issues and many potential actions. Team members vote on the main causes, usually through dot voting, and results are displayed in a Pareto chart to highlight the most significant cause.
• Restate the new problem – The next step is to pick the cause with the most votes and restate it clearly as a problem. Restating it should take only a few minutes, as the teams clearly understand the root cause.
• Brainstorm solutions – At this point, the restated problem will start to imply some potential solutions. The team brainstorms as many possible corrective actions as possible within a short timebox. When brainstorming, aim to generate numerous ideas without criticism, letting imagination fly to explore and combine possibilities.
• Create improvement backlog items – Each group votes on the top three solutions. These solutions are shared with everyone, written up as improvement backlog items, and added to the ART backlog.

The combined process of I&A makes problem-solving a regular, systematic activity, driving continuous improvement.

Note on large solutions: To efficiently address problems, large solutions may necessitate a separate I&A event attended by selected key stakeholders, including primary stakeholders and representatives from various ARTs and suppliers.

How to apply the improvements identified in the Inspect and Adapt?

The I&A represents one component of the ART’s continuous improvement journey. To benefit from it, the ART must implement the improvements it identifies. Participants often identify multiple positive and realistic actions for improvement. It isn’t possible to do them all at once. The ART leadership and Agile Teams must prioritize these actions during the preparation for PI Planning and in regular ART and team backlog reviews. They do this by looking at what will have the most positive impact on achieving the desired PI Objectives. The feasibility, the ART’s future direction, and the existing backlog of work are all considered.

Plans are developed for prioritized improvements, which become work artifacts for teams or stakeholders. Designated responsibilities and a communication plan for how progress will be shared are also developed. Any ART member, including key stakeholders, can assume the roles of owners for these improvements. This approach guarantees the execution of improvements and keeps the ART and wider organization informed.

Implementing changes to workflows, tools, or practices often demands communication and training, not just implementation. Establishing metrics to measure the impact of the improvements may be necessary. This validates the effectiveness of what initially seems like a great idea, ensuring efforts focus on ideas that achieve desired outcomes.

The Inspect and Adapt, as well as the actions taken following the event, drive continuous improvement and collaboration. The practice ultimately delivers better business outcomes and happier employees.