The Sprint Planning meeting is a two-part meeting where the team commits to a sprint goal for the next two-week sprint with a complete sprint backlog of prioritized product requests, their tasks, and sizes. The first part of the meeting is when the Product Owner presents the highest priority stories from the Product Backlog and discusses them with the team so that there is a shared understanding of what the work is. The second part of the meeting is when the team determines how they will accomplish the work and makes their commitment for the sprint.
Attendees
Delivery Team
ScrumMaster (Owner)
Product Owner
Stakeholders (optional)
Agenda
Part One – What work needs to be done
Review the Product Vision and Roadmap (Product Owner)
Product Owner reviews this to help focus the team.
Should be brief – typically not more than 5minutes
Review and discuss Product Backlog items that are candidates for this sprint (Product Owner)
Capacity Planning (ScrumMaster)
ScrumMaster reviews dates for next sprint with the team. Consider holidays, long meetings/trainings (half-day or longer), and vacation when calculating working days for each team member.
Daily capacity used is typically 5 hours per team member.
Part Two – How that work will be accomplished
Pull backlog items (stories, bugs, etc) into sprint (Team)
The Team, not the Product Owner, selects (in priority order) how many backlog items they feel confident that they can deliver at the end of the sprint.
If needed, review Definition of Done and update (ScrumMaster/Team)
Task out and estimate pulled backlog items (Team)
For each item pulled into the backlog, the team breaks down the work into smaller
Estimate each task in hours (16 hrs max). Most tasks should be able to be completed in a day.
Define sprint goal (Team and Product Owner)
Make commitment (Team)
ScrumMaster Responsibilities
Ensure that the meeting happens each Sprint and that all needed attendees are present and participate
Make sure everyone understand the purpose
Product Owner Responsibilities
Prepare and bring an updated release forecast and update the attendees on the state of the backlog and forecast
Prioritize the backlog and ensure the top priority stories are ready for the team
Team Responsibilities
Commit to work to be done during sprint
Cadence/Duration
Sprint planning should be held on the first day of a new sprint. The recommended time for the Sprint Planning meeting is two hours per week of sprint (i.e. four hours for a two-week sprint).
Meeting Prerequisites/Preparation
Make sure that these are done before each meeting.
Sprint Goal should be up-to-date and visible
Current progress toward the Sprint commitment in the form of completed work, remaining work, and what is in progress
Current Sprint Burndown chart indicating progress toward the Sprint Goal and ideal effort needed to reach the goal
Anti-patterns
These are patterns or behaviors that lead to inefficient or ineffective meetings. They should be addressed whenever found.
The information provided in this content is meant for general informational purposes only and should not be regarded as professional guidance for specific business scenarios. Results may differ depending on your organization’s circumstances. It is recommended to consult with a qualified industry expert before acting on this information.The coaches at Agile Velocity are available to address any inquiries you may have.