The ART of Avoiding a Train Wreck: Practical Tips and Tricks for Launching and Operating SAFe Agile Release Trains Paperback – September 28, 2019

40 of us at work are doing a book club with this book. We come from 3 ARTs in the same Value Stream. The books gives so many ideas, along with the rationale for the ideas, that we have lots to talk about every time we meet. In fact, we are so far taking twice as long as expected for each section, since there’s so much to discuss! I highly recommend this for a book club - it’s a great way to get people talking about how things are really working, and where we are taking shortcuts that create more problems than we solve. It also helps us see where we have some good habits, so we can be sure to protect and nourish them. Love this book!

As a Scaled Agile Framework implementer, this book fills the gap between the SAFe certified training and implementation. The Leading SAFe training gives an overview of of what SAFe will look like when up and running. This book fills in holes such as what metrics can be used to measure if SAFe is working? Who should be in the initial training? How do we design teams and fill roles? Having read the book once, the next step is to try the book as a companion on the next SAFe transformation to help guide the transformation and help the release trains after the SAFe implementation is done.

I have recommended this book to so many people I've lost count. My favorite thing is that it is not THEORETICAL, but rather gives real PRACTICAL information including examples from the real world to back it up. This is something we seldom see in Agile and makes me proud to recommend to anyone curious about SAFe or trying to stand up their first release train.

The book is an awesome read and gives lot of insight and practical ideas to keep your ART intact. Few chapters like Staying on track, laying track are pretty insightful. The tip and case study segment help the reader to apply and address the problems systematically.

This book is spot on for so many of us in the trenches of Scaled agile framework-based agility. Knowledge is easy to collect but real word understanding comes with doing. This book is helping our teams and as importantly, our leaders, stay on track!!

Avoiding a Train Wreck in a SAFe transformation is much, much easier to say than do. So many organizational obstacles, so many minds to engage. If you want an ART launch with minimized impediments - you should absolutely read this book.Em and Adrienne have brought to each page careful thought and experiences that provide practical advise for how to wisely use the SAFe Implementation Roadmap. Not one transformation is alike, but many follow similar patterns. Em and Adrienne offer years of learning and practical steps to consider. I would highly recommend if you are considering launching ART's in your enterprise, you seek their advise. If you are comfortable with a section of the book, move on and read what to anticipate, or what may be coming next so you can get ahead of it.Well done Em and Adrienne!

Really appreciate all the tips and tricks Em provide that can only be shared through years of experience. Teaching the SAFe courses and launching a train is really different from launching a successful train that can focus on delivering value successfully. This is a must read for people who want to help their organizations thrive within SAFe.

There are some good ideas in this book, but it is way too overdone. Too many anecdotes, stories, inserts, etc. It reads like a chat room, with a lot of BS.The book has tons of pointless notes, and the way these notes are numbered just does not make sense. Did someone forget to clean it up?This would be a good, maybe a great book, if a decent editor spent some time with it. As is, it looks like a samizdat edition, and it, unfortunately, takes away from its merits

Perfect resource for someone starting or working on ARTs.

This book really helped with getting ready for our first PI planning session. Full of little tips and tricks on SAFe. Highly recommend it.

Real life tips. Concrete content and tons of ideas, best practices and guidelines. An absolutely “must have” regarding SAFe ART.

The authors come with vast experience in implementing Agile at scale. They have provided good tips throughout the book that should help us in the journey.Well, I am not giving a four as against five because the authors seem to get into a marketing mood by talking a lot of trainings for the organization and teams.Otherwise, it is a good and helpful read.