Scaling Agile Delivery: Agile Release Trains, PI Planning and Lean Portfolio Management – Paris, 30 Nov – 4 Dec 2026

Programme overview

Introduction:

Scaling agile delivery becomes necessary when several teams build one product and team-level practice no longer keeps plans, dependencies and funding aligned. Without a shared cadence, trains of teams block each other, portfolios fund projects instead of value streams, and leaders see activity rather than outcomes. This Core Concept course equips delivery leads to compare scaling frameworks, design agile release trains, run PI planning, manage cross-team dependencies and connect delivery to lean portfolio management. Participants rehearse a full planning event in simulation and produce a Scaling Agile Roadmap for their own organisation.

Course Objectives:

• Judge when and how far to scale agile delivery by assessing team count, product coupling and coordination cost
• Compare SAFe, LeSS, Nexus and Scrum@Scale and select a scaling approach that fits a product and its organisational constraints
• Design an agile release train around a value stream, with team types, interaction modes and roles at scale defined
• Facilitate PI planning and manage cross-team dependencies, risks and objectives through a programme board
• Connect train delivery to lean portfolio management, epic flow and flow, predictability and outcome metrics
• Produce a Scaling Agile Roadmap with launch sequence, coaching capacity and checkpoints for an own organisation

Target Audience:

• Delivery leads responsible for coordinating several agile teams working on one product or solution
• Programme managers accountable for integrating multi-team delivery and cross-team dependencies
• Agile coaches responsible for launching and improving trains of teams
• Product management leads who own vision, roadmap and prioritisation across teams
• Portfolio and transformation office managers who fund and govern value streams

Course Outline:

Day 1: Why, When and How Far to Scale Agile Delivery

• Scaling Triggers: Team Count, Product Coupling and Coordination Cost
• Organising Around Value: Operational and Development Value Streams
• Team Topologies: Stream-Aligned, Platform, Enabling and Complicated-Subsystem Teams
• Team Interaction Modes and Cognitive Load Mapping
• Scaling Readiness Assessment and Cross-Team Dependency Heat Map

Day 2: Scaling Frameworks Compared

• SAFe Structure: Agile Release Trains, Value Streams and Lean Portfolio Management
• LeSS and LeSS Huge: One Product Backlog, Feature Teams and Requirement Areas
• Nexus: Nexus Integration Team, Cross-Team Refinement and Integrated Increment
• Scrum@Scale: Scrum of Scrums, Executive Action Team and Executive MetaScrum
• Framework Selection Matrix Including Disciplined Agile Delivery

Day 3: Agile Release Trains and PI Planning

• Agile Release Train Design: Team Composition Around a Value Stream
• Roles at Scale: Release Train Engineer, Product Management and System Architect
• PI Planning Agenda: Business Context, Team Breakouts and Management Review
• Programme Board: Cross-Team Dependencies, Milestones and Integration Points
• PI Objectives, Business Value Scoring and Confidence Vote

Day 4: Lean Portfolio Management, Pipeline, Metrics and Pitfalls

• Lean Portfolio Management: Strategic Direction, Investment Funding and Lean Governance
• Epic Flow: Portfolio Kanban States, Epic Hypothesis and Cost of Delay Ranking
• Continuous Delivery Pipeline and DevOps Practices at Overview
• Metrics at Scale: Flow Time, Flow Load, Predictability and Outcome Measures
• Scaling Pitfalls: Hierarchical Overlay, Renamed Roles and the Illusion of Agility

Day 5: PI Planning Simulation and the Scaling Agile Roadmap

• PI Planning Simulation for a Multi-Team Release Train
• Dependency Collision Scenario: Replanning After a Shared Platform Delay
• Portfolio Review Scenario: Funding an Epic Across Two Value Streams
• Scaling Agile Roadmap Drafting: Launch Sequence, Coaching Capacity and Checkpoints
• Scaling Agile Roadmap Presentation and Peer Challenge

Skills You Will Gain:

• Value Stream Mapping
• Scaling Framework Selection
• Release Train Design
• PI Planning Facilitation
• Cross-Team Dependency Management
• Lean Portfolio Governance
• Flow and Predictability Measurement
• Scaling Roadmap Planning

Why Attend This Course:

• Return with a Scaling Agile Roadmap that sets the launch order, coaching needs and checkpoints for your own trains
• Rehearse a complete PI planning event, including a dependency collision, before running one with live teams
• Choose between SAFe, LeSS, Nexus and Scrum@Scale on evidence rather than vendor preference
• Compare scaling experience with peers from software, banking, telecoms, energy and public service delivery

Conclusion:

Scaling agile works when teams are organised around value and share one cadence, one plan and one view of flow. The course moves from the triggers for scaling, value streams and team topologies, through a comparison of SAFe, LeSS, Nexus and Scrum@Scale, to release train design, roles at scale and PI planning, then lean portfolio management, the delivery pipeline, metrics and scaling pitfalls. The final day runs a planning simulation and produces a Scaling Agile Roadmap ready for use.