4 Do's and Don’ts during Sprint Planning

 

The Scrum framework's crucial activity of Sprint Planning establishes the goals and methods for achieving Sprint's deliverables. The entire Scrum Team, including the Scrum Master, the product owner, and developers, works together to complete the Sprint Planning. Stakeholders and sponsors, however, might also be invited if their opinions are needed or deemed appropriate. A Sprint is a predetermined time frame in Scrum during which all work must be completed. The idea of sprint planning is relatively simple. However, many Scrum Masters who lead the meeting and Product Owners who define requirements don't properly prepare for and carry out sprint planning. Here you can see list of do’s and don’ts during Sprint Planning:

Do’s

Prepare and prioritize the Product Backlog: 

A product backlog is necessary for sprint planning. However, you must prioritise the things on the Product Backlog before planning. The Product Owner refines each item in the Product Backlog to increase its value. This is crucial for recognizing dependencies and removing uncertainties. Choose the best platform to get highly qualified Scrum training.

Timebox the meeting for Sprint Planning: 

The Sprint Planning meeting will be timeboxed following the Sprint's length. Typically, a Sprint of 15 days to one month lasts 4 to 8 hours. You have already determined the Product Backlog items' priority. Reiterate how the features and elements with the highest priority. If you are looking for safe Agile Training, choose the right platform.

Refer definition of done 

The definition of done is a shared understanding of what DONE means inside the Scrum Team, and it changes as the team gains more technical and product knowledge. The definition of done can help the team more accurately determine how much work to allocate for the Sprint.Fewer items will be on the product backlog as teams will have to work much harder to accomplish each item if the purpose of done includes an exhaustive list of things.

Review team capacity 

Forecasting the velocity is accurate as long as the same team continues to work in a regular sprint cycle. It is preferable to assess available team capacity during planning rather than team velocity if any of these changes or a few holidays are approaching.

Don’ts 

Never impose a velocity match on the development team

Speed is not a reliable indicator of production. Velocity is helpful for forecasting when neither the sprint cycle nor the team composition change.The distance one may travel in an hour through city traffic cannot help but be measured based on highway speed. It is hard to forecast using the previous driver's velocity when there is a change in drivers, much like how a change in drivers would influence speed.  

Don't plan only defects for the sprint 

Focus on reducing defects by modifying the reasons leading to many flaws. Learning the expectations of the stakeholders is aided by having a few stories. Analyze the team's plans for reducing technical debt because the greater total cost of ownership results from more technical debt. Look for opportunities to implement top-notch technical methods like behaviour-driven development, agile analysis, and other XP techniques.

Don’t develop tasks based on skills

The availability of sub-tasks during development, including design, coding, developing test cases, functional testing, and code reviews, promotes a mini-waterfall process. Component-based positions are good since they promote teamwork. Specialized knowledge-based tasks may result in less transparency and more technical debt.

Don’t have a generic sprint goal

A general goal needs to define the sprint's objective clearly. Having a clear sprint objective and organizing the product backlog items around it will help the team maintain focus throughout the development process. Goals like producing high-quality work, fulfilling every need, or completing all backlog items could be better and are included in the definition of done.

Final thoughts

The above mentioned are about the list of do’s and don’ts during Sprint Planning. An in-depth understanding of the dos and don'ts will aid in the smooth running of the Sprint planning process. With the right implementation, the team can understand sprint planning from the right angle, enabling them to achieve long-term success.