What is sprint planning?
Sprint planning is a scrum session that starts the Sprint. Sprint planning aims to figure out what can be accomplished in a given sprint and how you will do it. The scrum team as a whole collaborates on sprint planning.
Why using Sprint Planning
When the scrum teams meet for sprint planning, they are looking for a set of prioritized items from the product backlog to deliver during the current Sprint. Sprint planning is a meeting that takes place once a week.
In essence, the commencement of sprint planning signals the beginning of the Sprint. Sprint planning is used to fulfill the following tasks as part of the agile development process.
During sprint planning sessions, the product owner, the scrum master, and the development team will discuss and select the most critical items from the product backlog.
The development team assesses the technical feasibility of each item and determines whether or not it is feasible to develop it during the current Sprint of work. As part of this process, the development team breaks down user stories into individual development and testing activities, then used to plan backlog items thoroughly.
The scrum team selects a set of tasks from the prioritized product backlog items and assigns each task to a development team member, following the agile methodology.
The team members use Scrum estimating techniques such as planning poker to estimate the size of the user stories or story points they will be working on. This presents them with an estimate for each work that they have chosen.
The Pros and Cons of making a Sprint Planning
Sprint planning has some advantages.
● An efficient sprint planning meeting brings the entire team to agree on what needs to be done, when it needs to be done, and by whom.
● It serves as a communication channel for the development team. Team members have the opportunity to identify their dependencies, determine their ability to set attainable goals, and plan their work to achieve those goals within the current Sprint while participating in the sprint planning process.
● It aids in the prioritization of the deliverable: The backlog is prioritized by the product owner, with the most important things at the top of the list. The scrum team then takes the stuff from the prioritized backlog and breaks it down into smaller tasks to be completed next Sprint. You will supply the most critical aspects of the system in the first several sprints.
● It helps prevent team burnout: The team members choose the current Sprint’s achievable targets individually, based on their talents and estimates. There is no risk of setting unattainable and unnecessarily stressful goals by a third party, such as the project manager.
On The Other Hand, Sprint planning has some disadvantages. There are, of course, some things to keep an eye out for when Sprint preparation takes place. Even with the greatest of intentions, the planning process can have unintended consequences:
● Poor estimating can fail in a task: It is up to the development team to decide which tasks to complete during the current Sprint based on their best estimations of the workload and skills. If a job is not well defined or estimated, it is possible that they will not be able to finish it as intended during the sprint planning session during the current Sprint.
● Agile scrum expertise is required for successful sprint planning: To have a successful planning session, the team must be comprised of people who are well-versed in the agile scrum framework and its components. The responsibilities of scrum master and product owner should be filled by people who are well-versed in the Scrum methodology and have earned their Scrum certification. Additionally, the development staff should be familiar with the scrum methodology.
Who Should Take Part in a Sprint Planning meeting?
Product owners, scrum masters, and the rest of the scrum team are all expected to participate in the planning process. Sprint planning is a timeboxed event, which means that it has a predetermined duration of time that all participants commit to attending. This makes it possible for everyone to participate.
The length of a sprint planning meeting
The length of time required for sprint planning is determined by the duration of the Sprint. Considering that a sprint would last one week, the sprint planning process should take no more than two hours. As the sprint duration grows, the planning duration increases in proportion to the increase in sprint duration.
If the Sprint lasts for four weeks, the sprint planning process should take eight hours. Product owners offer a general understanding of the scrum team’s goals during sprint planning, which may include new features to be added or modifications to the existing system that are needed to achieve those goals. Then they show the things from the product backlog that have the greatest priority.
How To Conduct a Sprint Planning meeting
The Sprint officially begins at the start of this meeting. The Scrum Master, Product Owner, and team meet to discuss WHAT will be accomplished in the next Sprint and HOW.
In practice, the two often overlap, but it’s critical to have clear actions and goals to get things rolling and organize your team, which you can usually do by splitting the Sprint Planning meeting into two parts:
1. Setting the Sprint’s Objective
While the overall planning is a collaborative effort between the Scrum Master – the meeting’s facilitator – and the Product Owner, it is the latter’s responsibility to make the essential product aspects that the Development Team will work on clear to the Development Team.
2. Deciding How to Execute the Sprint
Assume the squad is about to compete in a Relay race. The two coaches – Product Owner and Scrum Master – have accommodated the team’s training and preparation for the race by explaining rules and tactics.
They’ve given the team the information they need, and now it’s up to the runners to figure out how to cross the finish line with the best possible score.
Conclusion
The fundamental goal of a running Sprint is allowing the development team members to collaborate to identify which product backlog items each will work on and how they will allocate resources to these items.
