Planning Guide
Scrum Lite guide to development planning.
Planning to Plan: Preparation
Product Backlog Refinement
- Ensure top priority items are properly refined.
- Stories should include clear acceptance criteria.
- Dependencies should be identified and mapped.
Capacity Planning
- Calculate team capacity for the sprint.
- Account for planned time off, holidays, and meetings.
- Consider other commitments outside sprint work.
- Factor in historical velocity data.
- Reserve capacity for unexpected issues (typically 10-20%).
Sprint Planning Meeting Structure
Part 1: What Will Be Done
- Review and confirm sprint goal with team.
- Assess highest priority product backlog items.
- Discuss acceptance criteria in detail.
- Clarify any technical or business questions.
- Confirm team's understanding of requirements.
- Select items that align with sprint goal.
- Consider team capacity and velocity.
Part 2: How It Will Be Done
- Break down selected items into specific tasks.
- Estimate effort for each task (usually in hours).
- Identify technical dependencies.
- Consider different development approaches.
- Plan for potential risks and mitigation strategies.
- Document technical decisions and assumptions.
- Create initial task assignments.
Estimation Techniques
Story Point Estimation
- Compare stories to previously completed work.
- Consider complexity, uncertainty, and effort.
- Achieve team consensus on estimates
- Document estimation rationale.
Task-Level Estimation
- Break stories into tasks of 4-8 hours
- Include all aspects of development:
- Design and coding
- Testing and documentation
- Code review
- Integration and deployment
- Account for collaboration time
- Consider dependencies between tasks
Advanced Planning Techniques
Sprint Flow Planning
- Map out task sequence and dependencies
- Create swim lanes for different work types
- Plan for parallel work streams
- Identify critical path items
- Build in buffer for blockers
Risk Management
- Identify technical risks
- Plan spikes for unknown areas
- Include contingency time for complex items
- Document assumptions and constraints
- Create backup plans for high-risk items
Success Metrics and Monitoring
Sprint Health Indicators
- Burndown chart tracking
- Velocity consistency
- Story completion rate
- Technical debt accumulation
- Team satisfaction levels
Daily Adjustments
- Review sprint burndown
- Update remaining task hours
- Identify impediments early
- Adjust assignments as needed
- Maintain sprint goal focus
Best Practices
Team Engagement
- Ensure full team participation
- Encourage questioning and discussion
- Validate understanding through feedback
- Build consensus on commitments
- Maintain focus on sprint goal
Time Management
- Keep planning timeboxed (maximum 8 hours)
- Use timeboxed discussions for complex items
- Take regular breaks
- Park detailed technical discussions
- Schedule follow-up sessions as needed
Documentation
- Record key decisions
- Document technical approaches
- Note assumptions and dependencies
- Capture action items
- Update sprint backlog
Quality Focus
- Include testing tasks
- Plan for code reviews
- Consider non-functional requirements
- Include documentation tasks
- Plan for technical debt reduction