Sprint Planning
- Pronunciation
- SPRINT PLAN-ing
In short
Sprint planning is the Scrum event that starts each sprint, where the team agrees on a sprint goal, selects backlog items it can finish and plans the work.
What is sprint planning?
The whole Scrum team takes part: the product owner explains the most valuable items at the top of the product backlog, and the developers decide how much they can take on. The Scrum Guide describes three topics: why this sprint is valuable, captured as a sprint goal; what can be done this sprint; and how the chosen work will get done, often by breaking items into smaller tasks.
The result is the sprint backlog: the sprint goal, the selected items and the plan for delivering them. The developers own it, and while details can change as they learn more during the sprint, the goal stays fixed. Teams use their recent velocity and the time actually available, after holidays and other commitments, to avoid overcommitting.
Sprint planning is timeboxed to at most eight hours for a one-month sprint, and usually much less for the common two-week sprint. Good preparation keeps it short: if backlog items have already been refined, with clear acceptance criteria and rough estimates, planning becomes a focused conversation instead of a marathon.
A common misconception is that sprint planning is a manager assigning tasks. In Scrum the developers choose how much work they can realistically do and plan it themselves, and the sprint goal, not a full list of tasks, is the commitment that guides decisions when something unexpected comes up.
Key takeaways
- Sprint planning opens each sprint in Scrum.
- It sets a sprint goal and selects backlog items to complete.
- The developers plan the how and own the sprint backlog.
- It is timeboxed to eight hours for a one-month sprint.
- Refined backlog items keep planning short and focused.
Readers ask
How long should sprint planning take?
The Scrum Guide sets a maximum of eight hours for a one-month sprint, and shorter sprints usually need proportionally less, often an hour or two for a two-week sprint.
What is a sprint goal?
A short statement of what the sprint is meant to achieve, such as "Customers can pay with saved cards". It gives the team focus and flexibility in how they reach it.
Who attends sprint planning?
The whole Scrum team: the product owner, the Scrum Master and the developers. Others can be invited to give advice, but the developers decide what they can deliver.
See also
- SprintTeams & Process, p. 26A sprint is a fixed-length period of one month or less, often two weeks, in which a Scrum team works toward one goal and produces a usable product increment.
- ScrumTeams & Process, p. 21Scrum is an Agile framework in which a small team delivers a product in fixed-length cycles called sprints, using defined roles, events, and artifacts.
- Product BacklogTeams & Process, p. 17The product backlog is a single ordered list of everything a team might do to improve a product, such as features, fixes, and technical work.
- VelocityTeams & Process, p. 31Velocity is the amount of work an Agile team completes in one sprint, usually the total story points of finished items, used to forecast future sprints.
- Product OwnerTeams & Process, p. 18The Product Owner is the Scrum accountability responsible for maximizing a product's value by deciding what to build next and ordering the product backlog.
- TimeboxingTeams & Process, p. 29Timeboxing is setting a fixed maximum time for an activity in advance and stopping when it runs out, keeping work focused and forcing decisions about scope.
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