The Next Wave of Agility: From Agile Release Trains to Large-Scale Collaboration Networks - Dr. Wolfgang Brandhuber

Hosted by Renaud Granier (https://www.linkedin.com/in/renaud-granier/), live from the SAFe & AI Summit 2026 in Amsterdam, this episode of Agile Amped features Dr. Wolfgang Brandhuber, SAFe Fellow and SPCT, and one of the foremost authorities on large solution delivery within the Scaled Agile Framework. Wolfgang opens with a foundational reframe agility is not a methodology it is the act of building and sustaining collaboration networks. Every agile framework, from Scrum to SAFe, is orchestrating the same six properties: mutual knowledge, transparency of contribution, freedom to roam, a shared definition of success, end-to-end autonomous delivery, and psychological safety. Remove any one of these and the network begins to break down. He traces agility through four waves: team (10 people), multi-team coordination (50), Agile Release Train (120) and makes the case that the fourth wave is already here: solution trains of 400 to 480 people. The mechanics are different at each level, and the jump to solution trains is no more intuitive than PI planning seemed the first time you encountered it. The key insight: the solution train level is exclusively about refinement, not execution. It creates and continuously updates a large solution roadmap, an aligned view of direction across all ARTs from which each train branches a one-PI execution plan at PI planning. This structure unlocks a qualitatively higher class of complex problems: legacy replacements, post-merger system integrations, cross-system dependencies that have resisted resolution for years or even decades. Wolfgang closes with his current work with the DAG 30, a private peer group of the 30 most valuable brands in German-speaking countries, where several companies with mature ART landscapes are now working toward a common standard for large-scale agility. His advice for getting started: run your first solution train conference, bring 60 to 100 representatives together, and build the overarching roadmap. The collaboration shift happens immediately. Connect with Dr. Wolfgang Brandhuber: • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-wolfgang-brandhuber-a30300ab/ • Website: https://scaledagile.com/ • Recommended reading: Team of Teams - General Stanley McChrystal