How I Do Scrum Chapter 1: First Sprint Planning

This posts series’ goal is to provide the newcomer Scrum Master with concrete steps and resources to implement Scrum. Stakeholders, developers, and managers will also find practical insights to understand and support the process.

Please review my previous post to revisit the special considerations and possible scenarios.

You are now about to celebrate your first Sprint planning meeting. Your short-term goal is to lay out the work to be performed in the Sprint. You already discussed a draft Sprint goal and a few candidate backlog items. That is all that you need for now, the team is ready to kick off the first Sprint.

Tools and materials

1. Some support where you can see and move around the backlog items (like a board, an issue tracker, etc.). If you are working remotely, miro.com will do. In the office, a whiteboard with post-its is what you want. Some software teams prefer to work directly on the ticket system; that’s also okay.

How to do it

1. Start the meeting by explaining the purpose, outcomes, and time box. Use a checklist to make sure you remember everything.
2. Backlog items are either post-its on a whiteboard or movable user stories, tickets, or tasks on the screen. Divide your screen or board into two columns. One is the product backlog filled with items. The other is an empty Sprint backlog.
3. Let the PO propose the goal documented days before (see Chapter 0). With the team’s feedback, ensure it is valuable and doable. Adapt and reformulate it until the whole team reaches an agreement. Write it down and place it in the top-middle of both columns.
4. The developers now choose the backlog items to realize the Sprint goal. Move the post-its or screen elements accordingly. Discuss unclear items, document comments, note findings, and clear out concerns. If you use an issue tracker like Jira, write the new information directly inside the ticket. Once the list is complete, you will have your Sprint Backlog.
5. It is time to work on the plan to deliver the selected items. Guide the team by asking questions like the following:
   a. How exactly are we going to get this done?
   b. What are the next steps?
   c. Are there any technical dependencies to consider?
   d. Do we have all we need to get this done?
   e. What are the potential blockers?
   f. Do we need help from outside the team?
   g. Who are our partners? How do we contact them?
6. Lead the discussion until everyone is satisfied with the outcome. Then, ask two questions:
   a. Does everybody knows what to do?
   b. Are we ready to go?
   The call ends after each member answers “yes” to both questions. Otherwise, keep asking and answering questions, address concerns and eliminate doubts but keep the time box.
7. Close the call by thanking the team for the effort so far, and move on to prepare your first Daily Scrum.

Example two-columns board with backlog items (left) and Sprint backlog (right)

Traps to avoid

1. The team should focus on delivering the goal on time and as agreed upon with the PO. The Sprint backlog contains only backlog items to realize the Sprint goal.
2. It is essential to understand the Sprint goal and discuss its feasibility. However, the team must respect the Product Owner’s decisions and priorities. Sprint goals discussion cannot extend indefinitely.
3. Move technical discussions out of the Sprint planning.
4. When discussing the plan to deliver the Sprint goal, more than creating a step-by-step plan, you want the team to reflect on the agreed backlog items and identify the main challenges and blockers. Expect mistakes and omissions.
5. Decisions and mistakes made during this event are not final, and the team has the rest of the Sprint to inspect and adapt its plans and decisions. It is the Scrum Master’s responsibility to make this happen.
6. Formulating SMART Sprint goals, designing proper increments, and composing effective Sprint backlogs are skills to be learned over time. Do not expect perfection, not even consistency. With the appropriate leadership, improvements will start showing very soon.

Final considerations

Notice that I skipped some popular concepts like incremental delivery, planning poker, or effort estimations. I ignored story points, velocity, and user stories. The reason is simple: I can do without them. At this point, we are still working with no data, preconceived ideas and old habits. Our goal is to get the team going and get a good picture of the overall process. Once the Sprint is rolling, we will start closing gaps, introducing improvements and, sharpen skills.

Up next

The following post is about preparing and moderating the Daily Scrum.

Photo by fauxels: https://www.pexels.com/photo/top-view-photo-of-people-near-wooden-table-3183150/