Dynamic Agility · Dynamic ART
Dynamic PI Planning
This guide turns the Dynamic PI Planning deck into a web-native page for diagnosing the dependency structure of an Agile Release Train, evolving dynamic ARTs through fracture planes, and adapting PI Planning to the real communication and collaboration needs of the train.
Diagnosis
What kind of Agile Release Train do you have?
The first part of the deck distinguishes six ART types. The central question is: on which level can the train respond to change — team, group, or ART level?
Negligible dependencies
Teams can decide mainly on team level.
Lightweight dependencies
Only a few teams have dependencies; most planning can stay local.
Independent groups
Groups of teams have internal dependencies, but only weak dependencies between groups.
Groups with light cross-links
Group-level planning dominates, but some train-wide alignment remains useful.
Train-wide dependencies
Most teams influence each other; decisions mostly need train-level visibility.
Full train coupling
Every team is heavily dependent on every other team; the train responds as one system.
Concept 1
Create dynamic ARTs through fracture planes.
A Type 6 train can accidentally reinforce a technical monolith. The deck shows how business- aligned fracture planes, APIs and Solution Areas can evolve a train toward Type 3 or Type 2, where more decisions can happen at group or team level.
Concept 2
Adapt PI Planning to the ART type.
The same PI Planning agenda blocks can be held with everyone together, in Solution Areas, in individual teams, or with representatives. Dynamic PI Planning chooses the smallest collaboration structure that still creates sound decisions.
Paradigm shift
Dynamic frameworks adapt to the needs of the people.
Fixed frameworks give structures to follow. Dynamic frameworks use communication and collaboration needs as the central design input.
Exercise 7 · 15 minutes
Dynamically adjust PI Planning.
Find a promising PI Planning structure, agree on the structure to try in the next planning event and visualize dynamic changes over time with different post-it colors.
Diagnose the ART type
Clarify whether decisions happen on team, group or ART level.
Design the structure
Decide which blocks happen together, in groups, in teams or with representatives.
Visualize change
Use colors for current PI, next PI and target structure.
Debrief trade-offs
Discuss benefits, costs and facilitation risks of the selected structure.
Distributed PI Planning
Design a time-zone-aware planning event.
The final part of the deck shows a one-day workshop: put the PI Planning agenda in the center, add time slots for each time zone and redesign blocks where the human load or overlap window becomes painful.
Central agenda
Write Vision, Breakouts, Plan Review, Adjustment, Final Review and Retro.
Time zone 1
Add the first location’s local time slots.
Time zone 2
Add the second time zone and inspect overlap windows.
Time zone 3+
Add further locations and redesign blocks where needed.
Next step
Use PI Planning as a dynamic collaboration design surface.
Collaboration Maps show where groups of teams naturally form. Dynamic PI Planning adapts the planning event so the ART can evolve toward the dependency structure it actually needs.
Back to Synchronizing Roles Open Collaboration Maps Open Workshop Map