purpose-of-sprint-planning-meeting

Agile Management is a method of Project Management with a systematic, iterative approach whose aim is continuous releases and incorporating customer feedback with every iteration. Agile teams are designed to quickly respond to dynamic market conditions, not only in the software industry but also it works beyond it where changes are frequent.

There are many software and non-software development frameworks that use the Agile methodology. One of the most widely used and successful frameworks is Scrum. Scrum describes a set of meetings, tools, and roles that work collaboratively to help teams plan, design, and manage their work.

The concept of “Sprints” is at the heart of Scrum and Agile methodologies. At the start of a complex project, it is divided into specific sets of work. A Sprint is a short, time-bound period when the Scrum Team works to complete one of these predefined work sets. For a successful Sprint to take place, it should be preceded by effective Sprint Planning.
 

What is the definition of Sprint Planning?
 

Sprint Planning is a critical part of the Scrum process. The purpose of a Sprint Planning meeting is to lay out what can be delivered in the forthcoming Sprint and how that work will be accomplished.
 

What are Sprint Planning objectives?
 

During the Sprint Planning meeting, two things get defined:
 

1. Sprint Goals – If the intent of the Sprint is defined clearly, Sprint Planning becomes more straightforward, and Scrum Team members will be able to complete the Sprint competently. The Sprint Goal has to mention whether the team needs to have a product ready for deployment or whether a specific feature has to be improved, or if certain quality parameters need to be achieved.
    
2. Sprint Backlog items – The Sprint team will list down and commit to completing items in a backlog (Same as “user story” in Agile terminology, where a brief and straightforward explanation of a function is written from a user’s perspective)
    

Information needed for a Sprint Planning session
 

• Backlog items: The team must review backlog items and discuss each of them. The hours or story points, a number that tells the Scrum team how difficult the task is should also be estimated.
   

• Product roadmap: The team must audit the product roadmap, which is a planning tool that keeps track of Sprints and brings transparency to the process. Such a review will check if the process is moving towards what the customer is expecting.
   

• Alignment between backlog and roadmap: The team should check if the backlog items for the next Sprint are working in tandem to support the direction that the product roadmap is taking.
   

Who are the participants in Sprint Planning?
 

Sprint Planning is not an exercise that is conducted by the top management and then simply handed down for execution. The purpose is to bring everyone together and involve everybody in the team, including the customers. The people involved are:
 

Developers –The Developers are responsible for completing the backlog items that are discussed during the last meeting.
 

Scrum Master – Scrum Masters facilitate the meeting and also take into account all the requirements, priorities, and challenges while creating the Sprint Planning. They have to satisfy business needs and balance teams’ abilities and limitations.
 

Product Owner – Product Owners (representatives of the business or the end customer) bring requirements to the meeting and work out what’s possible and not along with the other members.
 

What’s the Sprint Planning process?
 

The Sprint Planning process is briefly described in the following steps:
 

1. Presenting the Sprint Goal and the roadmap – The meeting begins with the Scrum Master presenting the goal of the Sprint. They show how the Sprint Goal will help to move down the product road map.
    
2. Technology and operations focus – All team members contribute information that should be taken into account and are significant for planning the Sprint.  Subjects such as which backlog items were done recently, the technical lessons and observations from the recently finished tasks, team capabilities, and team concerns are debated.
    
3. Presenting target velocity – Once the goal and the operational matters are settled, the Scrum Master presents the volume of work that will be taken up. This is done using a metric called “target velocity for the Sprint”. It is measured in terms of story points (explained above), which the team must agree upon. During Sprint Planning, the group decides on the backlog items to complete to match the target velocity (e.g.12 items with an estimated target velocity of 24 story points).
    
4. Defining Definition of Done (DoD) – DoD is what the team needs to accomplish for each backlog item in the Sprint to be labeled as “done.” The Scrum Master spells out the compulsory and the optional items in the DoD and discusses them with the team.
    
5. Deciding on maintenance work – The Scrum Master presents the current state of product quality, including deficiencies and any concerns raised by customers. Decisions about maintenance work and rectifications are discussed and decided by the team.
    
6. Distribution of workload – To complete the backlog items selected, will require different skills.  The work items will be distributed amongst the team members depending on their area of expertise.
    
7. Achieving consensus – At the end of the planning process, the Sprint Planning should be something that builds consensus within the team. The Scrum Team should understand and accept that there could be a few members who have reservations and yet be willing to work with the plan for the common good. 

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Conclusion
 

Sprint Planning is the beginning of the Scrum Sprint and involves the entire team and the Stakeholders discussing what is to be achieved and how to go about it. A Sprint Retrospective ends the Sprint and focuses on what took place and how to improve the Sprint process as a whole.