Sprint Planning

stop starting and start finishing

relay race vs marathon

we need to pass the baton to the other teams in the org every Sprint

Solving half of the problems is better than creating half-solved problems

better to have 80% of User Stories 100% done than 100% User Stories 80% done

considerations

minimize the hand-offs wall

show penny game

Can some parts be QAd while you are still working?

When you are starting work on your Bug or User Story

always think about QA

make notes to suggest the procedure

Agile/Lean secret

mindset: care about each other's success

a team at a sports game: you want them to win

unlike in school

where students get their assignments

only concerned with their grades

imagine how safe you would feel, knowing that everyone on the team is rooting for your success

that's why Agile is tough: you can't force care, trust, and respect--you have to create conditions for it to grow

invite it to happen

and that, in turn, will bring hyper productive performance

trust and safety allows us to

drop the armour

be more authentic in our communications

ultimately results in better performance

unleash the potential of people

what is the difference between thin knowledge and thick knowledge

empathy for the next step

OODA loop

rapport

atmosphere we want: friendly, playful, yet generative and useful

ask questions

remember our DTA

what positive advances you expect this Sprint?

not a discussion

< 30 seconds

play Apollo 13 "finest hour" video

how would you like this meeting to be?

what would make this meeting good?

what do you need to make this meeting successful?

for you

colour describing the team

Why

We are here to plan our next Sprint

We are going on a Journey in a Jeep through the Jungle

Journey-Jeep-Jungle

Jeep: our Work Process

it is in our Span of Control

Jungle: Work Flow

shaped as Work Load

the Sprint Backlog?

Journey: Work Execution

how we accomplish movement of Jeep through Jungle

for the next 2 weeks we are going on a journey

What

We'll discover the goal or theme

map of the jungle

deliverables and activities

what do we bring for the journey?

How

We'll do this the usual way

what/how

What if

Let's reserve some time to talk about today's plan as well

language matters because it can communicate intent

planning

setting and achieving goals

making dreams a reality

manifest your creative intent through the application of your will

we are magicians

unlike some other meetings, here

we will make decisions

these decisions will often have impact on the whole company

we set the expectations for the rest of the org

we need to be predictable so that other stakeholders can make plans

we will make a commitment to achieve a goal by adopting a course of action to be carried out by the Team

the commitment is that the team will prioritize certain items

this means that with the exceptions of emergencies

we prioritize the list of work items that we commit to deliver

helping with a priority item is more important than starting on a new non-priority item

use priority field?

this value of such commitment will become even more pronounced when we will begin working with our new partner

by making them wait

either via

inflexible architecture

insufficient communication

buggy software

just being late

The Scrum Guide suggests limiting Planning for 2-week at 4 hours

we have been completing these meetings in 2 hours

we have been completing Planning without dwelling too much on the how part

but it is important because

there are two distinct parts to Sprint Planning: the what and the how

understanding the work items

and understanding how the work will be executed to complete the work items

we might even have to adjust the what with the better understanding of the how

keep in mind that, this is most important

the plan is not the goal. the goal is the goal

the plan can change to better accommodate the goal

What is trying to happen?

where is tension?

Why is this Sprint valuable to the Stakeholders, and how will they validate that they received something valuable?

What is the outcome and the impact that we want to make in the next 2 weeks?

we want to maximize the impact

note that it is possible to work very hard, and not make any impact

Who owns the Sprint Goal?

it is your goal

Sprint Goal will help to

align and focus the team

maximize the value of the work produced

we can work very hard and still not produce something valuable

imagine a ship that is moving very fast but in circles

Goals in Scrum

Product, Sprint, US

sense of purpose

what are our intended results?

priorities

complete the high priority work items first

even at the expense of not completing lower priority work items

everyone helps

this will happen if we own the SG

we have to care about and we will care about something we co-created

something besides the work items in ADO

e.g.

KTs

LLs

workshops

Dev Team Learning

Skills Radar Learning decisions/commitments

Postman

understanding of what

PO presents work

prioritized, ordered Product Backlog

team goes over every single item

READY or actionable state

everyone necessary to make the decision about the team's needs and capabilities should be present

potentially other stakeholders

do not overcommit

undercommitting is preferrable

SM plays devil's advocate

encourage team to ask questions

this part is over when

team thinks there is enough work for the Sprint

we have a candidate

understanding of how

task out

checklist is fine

advanced teams

WBS activities

avoid cookie-cutter stage names

what are the different activities that we need to work through to complete each WI

potentially estimate tasks in ideal hours

swarming: use breakout rooms

go over the same WIs, create tasks?

hmm, think more on that

PO

steps back

what if

try and delay assigning owners to WIs

Why Small Batches?

when we make commitments/predictions, we place a bet that we can honour the commitments

therefore we should endeavour to prove as quickly as possible, to strengthen our conviction...

if there is a way to prove that our bet was solid and that it will pay off, we should do it