GuideRolesEventsWorkflow

SAFe Events

Inspect & Adapt

Inspect & Adapt (I&A) is a significant event at the end of each PI where the ART demos the full PI increment, reviews quantitative and qualitative results, and conducts a structured problem-solving workshop to identify and commit to improvements for the next PI.

PI-level improvement · Timebox: 3–4 hours

Overview

Inspect & Adapt (I&A) is a significant event at the end of each PI where the ART demos the full PI increment, reviews quantitative and qualitative results, and conducts a structured problem-solving workshop to identify and commit to improvements for the next PI.

Event Ownership

Owned / Facilitated By
RTE (facilitator of all three parts)
Facilitate the PI System Demo portion — the comprehensive demo of the full PI increment
Lead the quantitative and qualitative review of PI performance metrics
Facilitate the problem-solving workshop using structured techniques
Ensure improvement items are captured and added to the next PI’s backlog

Who Should Be Present

All ART Members
Participate in the demo, contribute to the quantitative review, and engage in the problem-solving workshop
Business Owners
Evaluate the PI increment, assess PI Objective achievement, and provide feedback on business value delivered
Product Management
Present feature completion data, customer feedback, and market insights gathered during the PI
RTE
Facilitates all three parts, presents flow metrics, and ensures the workshop produces concrete improvement items

Preparation Checklist

01RTE: Gather PI metrics — predictability (planned vs. achieved objectives), velocity, quality, flow data
02Teams: Prepare their portions of the PI System Demo
03Product Management: Compile feature completion data and customer/market feedback
04RTE: Select a problem-solving technique appropriate for the top improvement area
05All: Reflect individually on the PI — what went well, what should improve

Facilitation Techniques

Click any technique to expand details and learn when to apply it.

Three-Part Structure

Part 1: PI System Demo (demo the integrated increment). Part 2: Quantitative/Qualitative Review (metrics + discussion). Part 3: Problem-Solving Workshop (root cause analysis and improvement planning).

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Fishbone (Ishikawa) Diagram

For the problem-solving workshop, use a fishbone diagram to analyze root causes of the top problem. Categories: People, Process, Tools, Environment, Dependencies, Skills. Teams brainstorm causes in each category.

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5 Whys Root Cause Analysis

Ask ‘Why?’ five times to drill past symptoms to the root cause. Simpler than fishbone but effective for focused problems.

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Improvement Backlog Prioritization

After the workshop, teams vote on the most impactful improvement. The top item goes into the next PI’s backlog as a committed improvement story with an owner.

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Tips & Tricks

01
Limit Improvements
Limit the improvement commitment to 1–2 items. Ten improvements means zero get done
02
Use Real Data
Use real data in the quantitative review — predictability percentage, velocity trends, escaped defects
03
Root Cause Focus
The problem-solving workshop should produce a root cause, not just a symptom to patch
04
Celebrate First
Celebrate PI achievements before diving into improvements — acknowledgment fuels motivation
05
Track Across PIs
Track I&A improvement items across PIs. If the same problem recurs, the solution wasn’t deep enough

Anti-Patterns to Avoid

Add Improvement to PI Backlog: The top improvement item from I&A must be added as a committed story in the next PI’s backlog. If improvements only live on a side list, they never compete for capacity and never get done.
Metrics Dashboard Update: Update the ART metrics dashboard within 24 hours of I&A. Make PI-over-PI trends visible so the ART can see whether improvements are working.
I&A Retrospective on I&A: Periodically (every 2–3 PIs), run a meta-retrospective on the I&A event itself. Is it producing real improvements? Is the format engaging? Are teams seeing results from past improvement commitments?

Success Takeaways by Role

What each participant should walk away with when this event is run well.

Teams

Understanding of how their work contributed to PI outcomes; shared ownership of the top improvement; commitment to specific actions

Business Owners

Comprehensive view of PI value delivered; confidence in the ART’s ability to self-improve; influence on improvement direction

RTE

Data-driven view of ART health; a prioritized improvement item with a concrete action plan; insights for coaching focus

The ART

Renewed energy from celebrating achievements; a single, focused improvement commitment for the next PI; stronger team-of-teams identity

Cross-Framework Definition
See Inspect & Adapt in the glossary
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