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Sprint planning

What is it? #

Sprint planning meetings take place at the start of every sprint. They are used by the team to agree what work to deliver for that given sprint.

They are an opportunity to reflect on the project’s goals and roadmap, and to prioritise the most valuable work that pushes the project forward. They should give the team clarity about what they need to focus on and why. They can help build consensus about the direction the team and project are going in. They typically last about an hour.

Who should be invited? #

Sprint planning should involve everyone in the delivery team - this should usually include dxw and the client teams together. This is important as it helps establish a close working team with a shared understanding of what’s important.

Preparation #

A well run sprint planning session takes some preparation. Investing the time up front will help your team be clear on what they need to focus on.

During the meeting #

Have a facilitator for the meeting - usually the product manager or delivery lead. As a team:

Once you have a prioritised set of work for the sprint that the team are happy with, people should refer back to this on a daily basis to pick up work. You can use it in daily standups to track progress. If you get a sense that the scope is creeping or the team doesn’t have the skills or the size you need, then do something to address this.

Project boards and tickets #

We typically use Trello to create project/product roadmaps, as well as sprint boards. Clients occasionally have other similar services in place, such as Jira.

Creating tickets in the right way helps the team be clear on what they need to do. Below are some tips for writing good tickets.

Generally, try to avoid:


Last updated: 9 May 2023 (history)