What the checklist is for
Launching an Agile Release Train on a date certain works when the few things that must be true on day one are true. SAFe's readiness checklist names them. Nine are needed: without them the first PI Planning does not happen or does not hold. Six are desirable: they make the first PI smoother but can be finished during it.
Trainyard keeps the checklist on the ART launch canvas next to the launch timeline (content, cadence, teams, leadership), so each item sits on the lane that prepares it and the readiness score is the share of needed items done.
Needed before PI Planning
| Item | The question to answer |
|---|---|
| Planning scope and context | Is the scope (product, system, technology domains) of the planning process understood? Have we identified our value stream(s) and Agile Release Train(s)? |
| Release Train Engineer | Have we identified the Release Train Engineer? Do they understand the scope of the role in preparing the organization and preparing for the PI Planning event? |
| Planning timeframe, iteration and PI cadence | Have we identified the PI Planning dates, the iteration cadence, and the PI cadence? |
| Agile Teams (SM/TCs, POs) | Does each team have an identified Scrum Master/Team Coach and Product Owner? |
| Team makeup/commitment | Have we identified cross-functional Agile Teams? Are there dedicated team members on every team? |
| Agile Team attendance | Are all team members attending PI Planning, whether in person or involved remotely? |
| Executive, Business Owner | Do we know who will set and present the business context and strategy? Do we know who will assign business value and accept the plans? |
| Business alignment | Is there reasonable agreement on priorities amongst the Business Owners and Product Management? |
| Architecture vision and development practices | Do we know who will present the architecture vision and required development practices? |
Desirable
| Item | The question to answer |
|---|---|
| System Team | Has the system team been identified and formed? |
| Shared Services | Have the shared services (User Experience, Architecture, etc.) been identified? |
| Other Attendees | Do we know what other key business and technology stakeholders should attend? |
| Agile Lifecycle Management (ALM) tooling | Do we know how and where iterations, PIs, features, stories, measures, etc., will be maintained? |
| Development infrastructure | Do we have a strategy for using and improving the Continuous Delivery Pipeline? |
| Quality practices | Is there a strategy for applying built-in quality practices? |
How trainers use it
- In the SPC class (Launching an Agile Release Train) and the RTE class (Organizing the ART), the checklist is the exercise: each team scores a case study Y, N or Depends and defends the calls.
- In a real launch, the RTE owns it and reviews it at each weekly launch sync; items move to done only with a named owner.
- The score is honest by design: desirable items do not count towards readiness, so a train cannot look ready by finishing the easy things.
Updated 2026-10-22. SAFe® is a registered trademark of Scaled Agile, Inc. All guides.