Agile rituals
Sprint planning
Agree why the next sprint matters, what the team can take on, and how it will get it done.
- Time45 to 120 minutes
- People3 to 10 people
- Steps4
What it's for
Sprint planning answers three questions: why this sprint is valuable (the goal), what can be done in it, and how. The goal comes first because it lets the team make trade-offs during the sprint without going back to ask.
Plan to the team's real capacity: holidays, support duty and meetings all count.
How to run it
Agree the goal10 min
One sentence on what this sprint achieves and why it matters.
Check capacity5 min
Who's here, for how many days, and what else is on.
Choose the work20 min
Move items from the backlog that serve the goal, up to capacity.
Plan the how20 min
Break the first items into tasks, and note risks and dependencies.
Tips
- If an item doesn't serve the goal, ask why it's in the sprint.
- Leave slack. A sprint planned to 100% is late on day two.
Where it comes from
From Scrum: the Scrum Guide by Ken Schwaber and Jeff Sutherland describes sprint planning as answering why the sprint is valuable, what can be done, and how.
Pairs well with
Daily stand-up
A short daily check: what moved since yesterday, what's next, and what's in the way, so blockers surface early.
Kanban board
Columns for each stage of the work, with a limit on how much can be in progress, so the team finishes before it starts more.
Objectives and key results
Set an ambitious objective and three or so measurable key results that would show you achieved it.