Sprint Planning
Sprint Planning is one of the 5 Scrum events.
It occurs at the start of each Sprint and is timeboxed to 8 hours. For shorter Sprints, it is common to proportionally shorten the timebox.
The result of Sprint Planning is a Sprint Backlog that details the work to be carried out in the Sprint and a Sprint Goal that explains why it is valuable
Inputs for Sprint Planning are:
- A Product Backlog with ready Product Backlog items that have been refined to make them small enough to get Done in a Sprint.
- Attendees who are prepared to discuss the most important Product Backlog items and how they map to the Product Goal.
- A Definition of Done that helps the Developers in forecasting how much work to plan for the Sprint.
- The Developers capacity & past performance to help them forecast how much work may be possible.
- The latest Increment.
In Sprint Planning, the Scrum Team collaborate on three topics:
- Why is the work in the Sprint valuable?
- What can be done this Sprint?
- How will the chosen work get done?
The whole Scrum Team collaborates to define a Sprint Goal that communicates why the Sprint is valuable.
The Developers then select Product Backlog items to include in the current Sprint. Selecting the right amount may be a challenge. Scrum Teams generally improve at this with experience.
For each selected Product Backlog item, the Developers plan the work necessary to create an Increment that meets the Definition of Done. This may involve breaking the work down into smaller units in order to better understand it. How the work gets done is up to the Developers.
The Sprint Goal, the Product Backlog items selected for the Sprint, plus the plan for delivering them are together referred to as the Sprint Backlog.
Not all work in the Sprint Backlog has to contribute to the Sprint Goal. The Sprint Backlog does not have to be perfect or complete by the end of Sprint Planning. The minimum requirement is a Sprint Goal and enough planned work for the first days of the Sprint. Further planning can take place during the Sprint where needed.
Others may attend Sprint Planning to provide advice. It is a good practice to make sure they understand enough about Scrum to positively contribute to the event.