Release Trains as value engines

The board game Gizmos as a metaphor for Release Trains

For my birthday, I was gifted and played my first game of "gizmos" tabletop board game. The core concept is building a machine that can produce energy, convert resources, and score points. In this game, you must choose from a variety of cards that represent various parts of your machine, such as converters, generators, collectors, and reactors. You also must manage your resources, such as energy marbles and file cards, and optimize your actions, such as picking, building, researching, and filing. The goal is to create the most efficient and effective machine that can deliver the most value (aka points) to you as a player.

There is a similar concept in the world of software development, the agile release train (ART), and it is an engine that can deliver value to the customer. An ART is a team of teams that work together to deliver solutions based on a common vision and roadmap. An ART consists of distinct roles and responsibilities, such as product owners, scrum masters, developers, testers, and (most importantly) business owners. Each of these roles need to manage their resources, such as timeboxes, backlogs, and dependencies, and optimize their actions, such as planning, executing, reviewing, and improving. The goal is to create the most efficient and effective solution that can deliver the most value to the customer.

So how are these two concepts similar? Let me draw some parallels for you:

- Both gizmos and ARTs are composed of smaller parts that work together to achieve a larger goal. In gizmos, these parts are cards that represent distinct functions of your machine. In ARTs, these parts are team members that represent various aspects of your solution.

- Both gizmos and ARTs require careful selection and coordination of the parts. In gizmos, you have to choose the cards that best fit your strategy and complement each other. In ARTs, you have to align the work that best fits your vision and collaborate with each other.

- Both gizmos and ARTs involve trade-offs and constraints. In gizmos, you have to balance your resources and actions to maximize your points. In ARTs, you have to balance your scope and quality to maximize your value.

- Both gizmos and ARTs rely on feedback and improvement. In gizmos, you have to test your machine and see how it performs. In ARTs, you have to inspect your solution and see how it meets the customer's needs.

As you can see, there are many similarities between the "gizmos" tabletop board game and the agile release train as an engine to deliver value to the customer. Both are examples of complex systems that require creativity, collaboration, and adaptation. Both are fun and rewarding ways to challenge yourself and learn new skills. And both can help you achieve your goals in an efficient and effective way.