Which aspect of the Continuous Delivery Pipeline (CDP) includes Gemba?

Gemba is a Lean practice of going to the actual place where value is created or work is performed to gain first-hand knowledge. In the context of the SAFe Continuous Delivery Pipeline, Gemba walks are a key technique used during Continuous Exploration (CE). Product Managers and teams use Gemba to observe users in their natural environment, understand their context and pain points, and gather insights that inform hypotheses and the creation of new Features. This direct observation is fundamental to the customer-centricity principle that drives CE.

B. Continuous Deployment is a technical practice focused on deploying validated features into a production-like environment; it does not directly involve user observation like Gemba.
C. Release on Demand is the process of making value available to customers. While it involves monitoring, Gemba is an upstream input activity, not part of the release process itself.
D. Continuous Integration is the technical practice of frequently merging and testing code changes, which is internal to the development team and does not involve Gemba.

1. Scaled Agile, Inc. (2023). Continuous Exploration. Scaled Agile Framework. Retrieved from https://www.scaledagileframework.com/continuous-exploration/. The article explicitly lists "Understand the customer (Gemba)" as a practice within the "Collaborate and Research" part of CE.

2. Scaled Agile, Inc. (2023). Customer Centricity. Scaled Agile Framework. Retrieved from https://www.scaledagileframework.com/customer-centricity/. This article describes Gemba as a key tool for achieving market and user research.