NOTES ON DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION
Effective Sprint Planning
by Marianne Kay
Sprint planning is one of the key events in Agile methodology. It’s a meeting when the team aligns on what business value will be delivered in the next sprint, which tasks will need to be completed, and who will do the work. A sprint typically runs for 2 weeks, which is long enough to allow the team to create meaningful work while engaging in effective planning. Agile methodology is most commonly used by software development teams, but other fields can benefit from effective and frequent planning sessions too.
FORMAT AND STRUCTURE
Sprint planning isn’t the easiest meeting to run well, because it requires both a deep understanding of the big picture and the detailed breakdown of the steps required to achieve the tactical goals. There is a lot involved, so a clear agenda is really useful in keeping everyone on track. Let’s take a look at the building blocks of good sprint planning.
Vision—The product owner outlines the context for the work and the product goals. The product owner provides the first draft of what the sprint goals might be, but leaves enough room for the team to decide the scope of what can be achieved in the next sprint and what the implementation methods are.
Constraints and Priorities—The team considers constraints such as the tools it has on hand or the limited resources available. Priorities such as attending conferences, providing customer support, and onboarding new team members are also noted as factors that will reduce the time and focus available for achieving the sprint goals.
Capacity—The team uses empirical data showing how the last three sprints went to calculate capacity for the next sprint. Capacity is then adjusted for planned holidays and absences. When the team is aware of its capacity, the members are less likely to overcommit or overpromise.
Sprint Backlog—The team decides which work items from the backlog can contribute to achieving the sprint goal. Ideally, the backlog items are written in the format of user stories, with a clear focus on the benefit to the customer. This ensures that the work completed in the sprint delivers business value. Bigger backlog items that cannot be completed in one sprint may be broken down into several smaller items.
Well-Defined Sprint Goals—Good sprint goals are clear and specific. They serve as a communication tool between the team and stakeholders. “Continue working on Feature X” is not very specific, and the scope of work is not clear enough. However, “Complete visual designs for Feature X” is a more specific goal, which provides clarity and accountability.
TIME FRAME
For a sprint that’s 2 weeks long, planning shouldn’t take more than 4 hours. It’s important to allow enough time to discuss any concerns about the goals, the individual work items, or the methods of implementation. Looking closely at work items often stimulates conversations about risks, dependencies, or even simply a lack of clarity that was never addressed before. These conversations prevent avoidable mistakes.
BENEFITS
Effective sprint planning ensures that the team can focus on the agreed-upon priorities without distractions. Let’s talk about the other benefits.
Clarity—A sprint-planning meeting provides the perfect opportunity to explore any aspects of the work that aren’t well understood. While not all concerns can be fully addressed in a single meeting, all questions can be captured and all vague statements can be reframed as work that is required to take place in order to gain a better understanding.
Predictability—People are known to be bad at providing reliable estimates. Most people are overly optimistic and assume they can deliver a lot more than is realistically possible. Teams that use empirical data from previous sprints to determine team capacity tend to be more predictable, with some mature teams consistently delivering between 80% and 120% of their planned work.
Focus—Having a single sprint goal allows the team to prioritize its work effectively. The sprint goal doesn’t need to cover every single task that will be done in a sprint, but it creates focus around the work that is most important. It makes it easier for team members to say no to requests that have lower priority and to concentrate on delivering business value.
TIPS AND TRICKS
Sprint planning marks the beginning of the sprint, but its success depends on all of the preparation work that happens beforehand. A clear vision and road map, well-defined requirements, and an agreed-upon definition of “done” are prerequisites that must be developed before effective sprint planning can happen.
It is also important that everyone on the team feels comfortable to ask questions and raise concerns without a fear of negative consequences. Not all concerns may be easily articulated during sprint planning; in fact, some contributions may take a form of a niggle or a gut feeling that is difficult to communicate well. When open and honest conversations are possible, team members will help each other to formulate or alleviate concerns no matter how small or ambiguous they may seem at the start of the conversation.
Sprint planning benefits from a healthy attitude toward risk. The team should be able to see calculated risks as valid opportunities to try new things. Cultivating an atmosphere that encourages this level of confidence takes time, but it’s never too late to start fostering a culture in which making a mistake is seen as a learning opportunity, not a failure.
CONCLUSION
Effective sprint planning makes Agile teams more predictable and confident. It serves as a communication tool between the team and the stakeholders. For complex products, sprint planning helps to uncover ambiguity and break up large, complex items of work into manageable tasks. Any business can adapt the key concepts of frequent and efficient planning in order to improve its performance. |
MARIANNE KAY (