What Is Sprint Planning?
Sprint planning is the scrum ceremony where the team decides what to build in the upcoming sprint and how to build it. It sets the sprint goal, selects backlog items, and creates the initial sprint backlog. For a two-week sprint, budget 2-4 hours maximum.
The Sprint Planning Process
Before the Meeting
Ongoing- •Product Owner refines and prioritizes backlog
- •Ensure stories have acceptance criteria
- •Identify dependencies and blockers
- •Send calendar invite with agenda
Part 1: The What
~1 hour- •Product Owner presents sprint goal
- •Review top backlog items
- •Team asks clarifying questions
- •Negotiate scope based on capacity
Part 2: The How
~1-2 hours- •Team breaks stories into tasks
- •Estimate using planning poker
- •Identify technical approach
- •Commit to sprint backlog
After the Meeting
15 minutes- •Update sprint board
- •Share sprint goal with stakeholders
- •Address any immediate blockers
- •Schedule needed technical spikes
Writing Great Sprint Goals
A sprint goal gives the team a shared objective beyond just completing tasks. It answers: "Why is this sprint valuable?"
Complete 15 story points
Launch user authentication so beta testers can create accounts
Why? Points measure effort, not value. Goals should describe user outcomes.
Work on the dashboard
Enable managers to view team performance metrics in real-time
Why? Too vague. Good goals are specific and testable.
Fix bugs and tech debt
Reduce API response time by 50% to improve user experience
Why? Maintenance work still needs clear success criteria.
Estimating with Planning Poker
Planning poker is the most effective way to estimate during sprint planning. The team votes simultaneously to avoid anchoring bias, then discusses differences.
Quick Planning Poker Process:
- 1. Product Owner reads the story
- 2. Team asks clarifying questions
- 3. Everyone picks a card secretly
- 4. Cards revealed simultaneously
- 5. Discuss outliers, re-vote if needed
Common Sprint Planning Problems
Meetings run too long
Signs: Sprint planning takes 4+ hours, team loses focus
- ✓Timebox each agenda item
- ✓Do backlog refinement separately
- ✓Only discuss top priority items in detail
- ✓Park unresolved debates for later
Team over-commits
Signs: Sprint ends with unfinished work, velocity varies wildly
- ✓Use yesterday's weather (average recent velocity)
- ✓Account for vacations and meetings
- ✓Leave buffer for unexpected work
- ✓Start small and add if time permits
Stories aren't ready
Signs: Too many questions, estimates are guesses
- ✓Definition of Ready before sprint planning
- ✓Regular backlog refinement sessions
- ✓Product Owner available for questions
- ✓Spike stories for unknowns first
Team isn't engaged
Signs: Silent meetings, same people always talk
- ✓Use planning poker for estimates
- ✓Rotate meeting facilitation
- ✓Ask quieter members directly
- ✓Make it safe to disagree
Sprint Planning Checklist
1Before
- Backlog is prioritized and refined
- Top stories have acceptance criteria
- Team capacity is known (vacations, etc.)
- Previous sprint is reviewed
- Sprint goal options identified
2During
- Sprint goal is agreed upon
- Stories are estimated (planning poker)
- Team commits to sprint backlog
- Tasks are identified for each story
- Dependencies are flagged
3After
- Sprint backlog is in your tool
- Sprint goal is visible to team
- First day tasks are clear
- Blockers are assigned owners
- Team feels confident in commitment
Key Takeaways
- ✓Sprint planning has two parts: what to build and how to build it
- ✓A clear sprint goal gives purpose beyond completing tasks
- ✓Use planning poker to avoid anchoring and get honest estimates
- ✓Never skip backlog refinement—it makes sprint planning faster
- ✓Commit based on capacity, not pressure
Ready for Your Next Sprint Planning?
Use our free planning poker tool to estimate stories with your team in real-time during sprint planning.
Start Free Planning Poker Session