Facilitate, execute and improve your company’s Agile Release Trains

Getting an organization to change takes more than just motivation and a plan. It depends on efficiency, leadership and on everyone working together. With Agile Release Trains (ARTs), you’re working to achieve just that. And it’s up to you as the Release Train Engineer to take the lead. Make sure every team is perfectly aligned, get impediments removed and bring the ART to run increasingly smooth and efficient. Help your organization take any hurdle with ease and embrace change.

 

This three-day Release Train Engineer course will provide you with an in-depth understanding of the role and responsibilities of a Release Train Engineer (RTE) in the SAFe enterprise. You will learn how to facilitate and enable end-to-end value delivery through ARTs and value streams.

You will also learn how to build a high-performing ART by becoming a servant leader and coach, and how to plan and execute a Program Increment (PI) planning event, the primary enabler of alignment throughout all levels of a SAFe organization. After taking the SAFe Release Train Engineer (RTE) exam, you’ll certify as a SAFe 4 Release Train Engineer.

 

Our Release Train Engineer courses are taught by one or two SPCTs (SAFe Program Consultant Trainers). These inspiring trainers are consultants who are active in the field and have extensive SAFe experience in training and implementing SAFe at large organizations.

Release Train Engineer Course

Blog: Servant Leader in Superman’s clothing: Ready to be RTE?

 

During

During this three-day course you will learn to:

  • Effectively perform the role of the Release Train Engineer
  • Apply Lean-Agile knowledge and tools to execute and release value
  • Assist with program and large solution execution
  • Foster relentless improvement
  • Build a high-performing ART by becoming a servant leader and coach
  • Develop an action plan to continue the learning journey

 

After

When you pass the Release Train Engineer exam you’ll receive a SAFe Release Train Engineer certificate, with a digital badge to promote your accomplishment online. A one-year certified membership as a SAFe Release Train Engineer is also included, granting you access to the RTE Community of Practice.

You’ll be provided with a SAFe Release Train Engineer certification usage guide with RTE certification marks and gain access to a variety of learning resources to support certified professionals during their SAFe journey.

 

Didn’t pass the exam? You can try again! Each new attempt will cost $50.

 

More for you as RTE:

Stay updated and keep in touch with each other via the RTE LinkedIn group

 

Three-day course program

The Release Train Engineer course is a three-day training program. Each course day starts at 8:30 and ends at 17:00, and includes a [30-minute] lunch break and [an afternoon break].

 

Topics

During the program, we’ll go into the following topics:

  • Identifying SAFe essentials
  • Learning the RTE role and responsibilities
  • Understanding the ART
  • Planning a Program Increment
  • Executing a Program Increment
  • Collaborating through Value Streams
  • Fostering Relentless Improvement
  • Coaching the ART
  • Continuing the Learning Journey

 

Prerequisites

You’re welcome to attend the Release Train Engineer course when you’ve worked as a Scrum Master for some time, if you want to take the next step and if you’re interested and motivated to become an RTE. If you’ve already been practicing as an RTE, this course helps you hone your skills and gain a better understanding of the intent behind the rituals and principles.

For those who intend to take the SAFe Release Train Engineer (RTE) certification exam, the following prerequisites are highly recommended:

  • Hold at least one current SAFe certification;
  • Have launched or participated in at least one ART and one PI.

 

Exam Details

  • Exam name – SAFe Release Train Engineer Exam
  • Exam format –Multiple choice; Multiple select
  • Exam delivery – Web-based (single-browser), closed book, no outside assistance, timed
  • Exam access – Candidates can access the exam within the SAFe Community Platform upon completion of the SAFe 4 Release Train Engineer course.
  • Exam duration – Once the exam begins, candidates have 120 minutes (2 hours) to complete the exam.
  • Number of questions – 60
  • Passing score – 44 out of 60 (73% pass rate) for RTE 4.6 exam, 40 out of 60 (67% pass rate) for RTE 4.5 exam.
  • Language – English
  • Exam cost – The first exam attempt is included as part of the course registration fee, if the exam is taken within 30 days of course completion. Each retake attempt costs $50.
  • Retake policy – A second attempt on the exam (first retake) can be done immediately after the first attempt. The third attempt requires a 10-day wait. A fourth attempt requires a 30-day wait. Contact support@scaledagile.com for any questions about the retake policy.

  

Professional Development Units (PDUs) and Scrum Education Units (SEUs)

Attending this course means that you may be eligible to apply for 20 PDUs toward your continuing education requirements with the Project Management Institute (PMI) for PMP, PgMP, and PMI-ACP certifications.

You may also be eligible to apply for SEUs under category C, toward earning or renewing your CSP through Scrum Alliance.

Audience

Your organization has embraced the Scaled Agile environment and is working with several Agile Release Teams. The Release Train Engineer course is an advanced training program for the experienced Scrum Master that wants to take the next step and take the lead on the overall program level. Coach all the Scrum Masters in the ART, improve programs and make sure every aspect runs smoothly.
 
After completing this course, you’ll have gained or deepened a thorough understanding of your role and will have had plenty of opportunities to share insights and experiences with your fellow RTEs.
 
Course attendees typically include:

  • RTEs and Solution Train Engineers (STEs)
  • Program and project managers
  • Scrum Masters
  • Leaders and managers
  • Agile coaches
  • SAFe Program Consultants (SPCs)
    • TypeCourse
    • Period 3 days
    • Maximum number of participants:42
    • Level:Advanced
    • Language:English
    • Lunch included:Yes
    • Exam:Yes
    • Incompany:Yes
    • Payment methods:Invoice, iDEAL, CreditCard
    • Examinator:Logo
    • Holger Glaue - Rating: 9/10
      Led by an Extraordinary Coach. A good experianced groop that shared many examples. Time should be extendet, 3 days are very short for the amount of material.
    • Natasha de Vreeze - Rating: 8/10
    • Olivier Verhoek - Rating: 7/10
      I liked the working together. Sharing experiences and thinking about the framework. I missed the theoretical lessons as I just passed the exam after 2 days of studying.
    • Erwin Vervacke - Rating: 9/10
      Trainer was well versed and was able to keep collaboration up and energy high. Location felt a little cramped with 21 people but was well compensated with drinks and snacks. Really loved having the parking garage close to the venue as I travelled by car between Eindhoven and Amsterdam. Overall very good experience!
    • Steven van Dijk - Rating: 8/10
      The teacher was very good
    • Hughan Bolton - Rating: 9/10
      course is good overall but need to enforce prerequisite courses like leading safe.
    • Sam Ervin - Rating: 10/10
      Yuval was an excellent trainer. He was able to read the room very well, keep the class engaged, and provide great examples to explain the content. The facility was great, meals/coffee/snacks were great. Overall I really enjoyed the course and would highly recommend it.
    • Janet Milley - Rating: 9/10
      I appreciated the real world examples and the openness of the instructor. I would have like a little more detail on the text book examples and exam test prep.
    • Wendy Ronitz-Baker - Rating: 10/10
      The location was beautiful and functional. Lunch options and snack options were the best I have ever had for a training class. The Instructor was great! Very knowledgeable, prepared, experienced, easy to understand, patient. He made it fun! Maybe an improvement would be more "indicators" or "call outs" in the course book to make it obvious what the SAFe "accepted practice" or "official stance" is on a topic. We shared a lot verbally, but to review for the test more actual SAFe statements in the book may have been helpful.
    • Hema Roy - Rating: 9/10
      I liked the instructor because he has practical experience with software development and infrastructure platforms, and scaled agile and brings in the pragmatism needed for this course.
    • Giuliana Pritchard - Rating: 10/10
      The content was very relevant. The trainer was excellent. Good insights and practical stories, recommendations, etc. The location was outstanding, very nice hotel with perfect view of the World Trade center. Things to improve: Prior to the class itself, I had to ask several times for info on address, agenda, etc. I couldn’t plan my flight back accurately because I didn’t have those details until the week before class. Also, coffee was only available after 10:00am. Please have it available earlier!
    • Jane Zhitnitsky - Rating: 9/10
      The class was great, the logistics had some glitches.
    • Uttara Roy - Rating: 9/10
      Liked the flow of the course
    • Sundaresan RUNGASAMY - Rating: 10/10
      The sharing of experiences and exchanges with the group. It would have been great to do some test example in the class just to test our understanding of the role and activities of the RTE. Location is great.
    • Sune Hermit - Rating: 9/10
      Good content, nice mix of lectures and discussions
    • Nikolaos Maris - Rating: 10/10
      I liked that the trainer, Kathy Marshak, kept a balance between following the agenda and answering context-specific questions. I would prefer having a PDF version of the slides rather than in printed form.
    • Olof Nilsson - Rating: 9/10
      I liked the idea of many diskussions in pair och triads. So i think that the pedagogic were very good. Excellent planned 3 days in a very good locations.
    • Alexey Ionov - Rating: 10/10
      One big table for all is not the best setup for team exercises.
    • Benoit Cade - Rating: 10/10
      I liked in first the trainer Matt, the planning even if this 3 days were intensive. The other peole and there experience and all the discussion about our experience ant the fact that Matt gave us time to discuss.
    • Ayma Khan - Rating: 10/10
      Course was delivered at a very good pace, the instructor was knowledge and gave good examples.
    • Mark Creasy - Rating: 10/10
      Matt was an awesome instructor. He paired the course learning with very insightful, real world examples that helped me gain a deeper understanding of the concepts being presented.
    • Karuna Dadia - Rating: 7/10
      I think having 2 coaches take courses like SPC & RTE help bcos they can handle providing more feedback on exercises
    • Jacquelin Tripp - Rating: 10/10
      Matt provided real life examples and tried to provide suggestions/solution to problems.
    • Randy Shumpert - Rating: 9/10
      While real world examples are important and helpful, emphasis should be placed on passing the exam. Real world experience comes from working in the field and less important in the class room. This is a difficult balance, but the edge has to be given to knowledge needed to pass the exam as highest priority.
    • Werner Wesenhagen - Rating: 9/10
      The training was very interactive and there was a good balance between focus and breaks. The emphasis was primarily on software driven / commercial organizations. Although this is very logical, I would also like to explore how SAFe would fit in a non-profit product or more service driven organization (with external IT vendors).
    • Nils Oud - Rating: 8/10
      I like all the content; especiall Agile Portfolio Management. Some videos and excercises are outdated or did not make much sense to me. E.g. the clip about the rugby game.
    • Bo Fluitman - Rating: 8/10
      A lot of information in 4 days, but the trainers brought a lot of energy.
    • Patrycja Krajewska - Rating: 8/10
      The training in general was okay. My main remarks concern poor lunch and too big group for such intensive trainings.
    • Sven Petersen - Rating: 7/10
      Trainer were well prepared, passionated about the topic and with a pretty good attitude. Location was in general ok, but the group was simply too large. With around 40 people a training is pretty hard to deliver. I would have prefered if we haf spend more time on how to customize the general model/framework of SAFe according to companies specific situation, circumstances etc.
    • Marijn Wegh - Rating: 7/10
      Content was super. Wat ik erg jammer vond was dat het zo'n grote en gemêleerde groep was. Van mensen die veel ervaring hebben met SAFe tot mensen die er 0 ervaring mee hadden. En die laatsten werkten vertragend. Ik kwam speciaal voor de laatste hoofdstukken, maar die werden op donderdagmiddag afgeraffeld, terwijl we daar vanaf woensdag al mee bezig hadden moeten zijn. Wellicht deze cursus enkel aanbieden voor ervaren mensen of mensen met Leading SAFe.
    • Andre van Dijk - Rating: 7/10
      For me there was a bit too much time spent on the Leading SAFe part and the basics. I would have liked to spent more time on e.g. Value Stream Workshop and real implementation skills.
    • Bert Bouwknegt - Rating: 9/10
      Liked the room for discussion, the location and the trainers. A bit more time boxing on the schedule because we didn't get to het parking spot with questions :-)
    • Anna Skog - Rating: 9/10
      I liked that the trainers used their own experiences and point of views. They were all experts in their fields and not just SAFe agilists. However, I did not like the amusement part case as an example. I experienced it as non-motivating as it did not relate to actual business issues. Also, I'd recommend mixing the tables so that there is not a majority from a common organization or country, if possible.
    • Deb Talapatra - Rating: 8/10
      The trainers were very approachable and knowledgeable however, the training material was exhaustive and despite of the 4 days duration, certain portions had to be sped up.
    • Stefan Roloff - Rating: 8/10
      Individual presentation that fits the time constraint, separate trainer training
    • Maxime Delhorme - Rating: 8/10
      I liked discussion on deeper level. Also it would be nice to touch topics on the enterprise level and talk a bit more about lean portfolio management. Location was really good as well as trainer.
    • Michiel Koster - Rating: 8/10
      The standard content is very Scaled Agile-ish, which is OK but often dogmatic. 6 for that. The training as hosted by Eelco is excellent, with inspiring anecdotes, real-life examples and more interaction. 10 for that. Makes 8.
    • Raymond Sondagh - Rating: 8/10
      Good level of interaction, room for discussion. In my case, it was very beneficial to be in a course with people from only my company.
    • Saskia Bons - Rating: 9/10
      content: very good, answered to all my expectations and questions level: good for beginners (me) and experienced people trainer: very good, he obviously has a lot of experience and tells about it with enthousiasm support: ? planning: good location: the lunch was poor. There were long waiting rows, it was unclear what you could take and what not. It was not very generous knowing the price of the course.
    • Edwin Zwaagman - Rating: 9/10
      Lot of information, up to speed, goed trainer
    • Kirti Bhogle - Rating: 9/10
      The trainer, content of the course, venue and food :) Especially the group exercises
    • Stan Derksen - Rating: 10/10
      Excellent course. Compliments to Eelco. His experience is worth taking the couse at Gladwell.
    • Essi Teräs - Rating: 10/10
      I felt that time always ran out when we were doing exercises, but it probably did not matter, because we had thought about the matter at hand on our own before the collective sharing or learning, and that was probably the point, but I still wanted to say that I wasn't quick enough for the pace :) Also when other people spoke it was sometimes hard to hear them or to understand the (French) accent, so sometimes it might be a good idea for the teacher to repeat what the other person said. I had thought that the class ends at 17.00, so I had to leave to catch my flight before the course ended at 17.30, so I was a bit upset that I couldn't stay until the end (it leaves an unfinished feeling), so maybe it would be good to tell the schedule beforehand. I loved the course, and got a lot from it. I was very happy to attend Eelcos version of it specifically, because he seemed to care that we get the most of it (I've been to two other persons courses before, and haven't had the same feeling), and even to be excited to share with us. This is very special.
    • Krisztian Niesz - Rating: 8/10
      Very much liked that the trainings was focusing on practicing the RTE role and spending full time on the theories. I found it very long though.
    • Signe Pedersen - Rating: 9/10
      There was not enough respect for the time boxes, which meant that we were very busy in the end to get through the curriculum.