Sprint planning objectives are essential to the success of the project because they give your team a purpose in each sprint. I’ve felt the pain of sprint planning without clear objectives, and it feels like a waste of time. Even if you have a great sprint, what did you really accomplish? If you set specific goals, you’re not just completing tasks. You’re actually making progress on your project’s overall vision.
Understanding Sprint Planning Goals
Sprint planning goals are the key results that a development team aims to accomplish in a sprint. Defining these goals gives the team a clear purpose for a short period of time. Defining sprint goals has been one of the most effective strategies for setting specific sprint objectives, as it significantly improves the outcome of projects.
Sprint goals are a key step to connect the product backlog, which contains a prioritized list of features, improvements, and bug fixes, with the work of the development team.
In agile project management, I can’t overstate the importance of defining sprint goals. They ensure that teams of any size are focused on delivering value during each iteration. In my experience, teams that define their sprint goals are more productive and produce higher quality work.
Setting sprint planning goals also encourages collaboration. Defining specific objectives for the sprint creates alignment, meaning that team members have a shared goal to work toward together. When team members have a shared goal, they’re more likely to communicate and work together to solve problems. An essential tool for managing these goals is the sprint task list, which helps teams stay organized and focused throughout the sprint.
Characteristics of Effective Sprint Goals
Good sprint goals meet the SMART criteria. They are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time·bound. This framework helps ensure the goals are both clear and actionable.
Sprint goals should be challenging, but still achievable. They should really push the team to do their best work, but not feel like the goal is impossible. If goals are too easy, I’ve seen teams lose motivation. If they’re too difficult, I’ve seen teams become discouraged.
Balancing shorter term sprint goals with the longer term project goals is key. Each sprint should move the project forward and making progress toward the larger vision of the project.
Examples of good sprint goals include:
- Implementing the user authentication feature set (login, registration, password reset)
- Optimizing database queries to reduce average page load time by 30%.
- Building and testing the shopping cart (adding, removing, and updating items functionality)
- Developing and integrating the payment processor with at least two payment options.
The Sprint Planning Process
Sprint planning meetings are formal gatherings where the team sets the agenda for the upcoming sprint. They usually include the product owner, scrum master, and development team.
The product owner outlines the top items from the product backlog, and the development team discusses these items, asking questions and determining what they can accomplish.
Sprint planning meetings are time-boxed to no more than eight hours for a one-month sprint (and shorter sprints allocate proportionally less time to planning). This timeboxing keeps the conversation on topic and ensures the team doesn’t overcommit.
I’ve learned from experience that including all team members in setting the agenda ensures better results. You can use techniques like round robin discussion or breakouts to make sure everyone contributes. It’s also important to follow sprint planning best practices to maximize the effectiveness of these meetings.
Aligning Sprint Goals with Product Backlog
Prioritizing product backlog items is the whole point of sprint planning. Therefore, the product owner should arrive at the meeting prepared to discuss which items should be done next.
Selecting the right items for the sprint at hand is a matter of balancing priority with the team’s capacity. The product owner’s job is to select the items that will do the most to achieve a business goal that the team has capacity to complete.
For effective sprint planning, the sprint goal needs to make sense from a broader business perspective. You should be able to articulate why each sprint took place after the fact.
Sometimes, larger backlog items will need to be broken down into smaller goals for the sprint. Use the user story mapping technique or apply the INVEST criteria to test whether that item is ready to be worked on in a sprint.
Estimating Team Capacity for Sprint Goals
When forecasting team capacity, consider team size, skill set, planned time off, etc. Also, factor in non-development work like meetings or writing documentation.
Analyzing historical data is one of the best ways to set goals. You can analyze past sprints to estimate how much work the team can likely accomplish. This data will help you set reasonable expectations.
A general rule of thumb is to assume each team member will be 4-6 hours productive in a day. This accounts for the inevitable context switching and non-sprint work.
Velocity is a common metric used to forecast the amount of work the Developers will complete in the next Sprint. We look at historical velocity to set achievable goals.
I like to balance committed goals (what the team knows they can deliver) with aspirational goals (stretch goals) in order to add some stretch to our goals while ensuring reliability.
Crafting Sprint Goal Statements
A clear and well-written sprint goal statement tells the development team what they are working to accomplish. Therefore, each goal statement should be brief, yet detailed.
Write in plain, clear language in your goal statements. Don’t use any jargon or overly technical terms that stakeholders outside of the development team won’t understand.
Make sure you can measure the goal in the sprint goal statement. You should be able to look at the progress during the sprint and then say, “Yes, we did that thing.”
Here are a few examples of effective sprint goal statements:
- Implement core user profile functionality with photo upload and bio editing (and test)
- Optimize top 5 slowest database queries from last month’s audit to improve system performance
- Create all necessary API endpoints for messaging in the mobile app
- User testing on the new checkout flow and then implement at least 3 high priority changes from user feedback)
Measuring Sprint Goal Achievement
It’s important to establish success criteria for sprint goals. These criteria should be quantifiable and the entire team should agree upon them at the beginning of the sprint.
Put progress tracking systems in place to ensure goals are being met. The daily stand up is a great time to discuss progress and any obstacles standing in the team’s way.
Visual aids like burndown charts are helpful for a team to track their progress. These charts make it immediately apparent whether the team is likely to achieve their sprint goals.
I also suggest conducting check ins throughout the sprint. In these short meetings, the team can evaluate their progress and adjust as necessary. The sprint review at the end of the sprint is crucial for assessing goal achievement and gathering feedback.
Common Challenges in Sprint Goal Setting
Overcommitting/underestimating team capacity is a common problem that results in either rushed work or unmet goals. Regular retrospectives help teams get better at estimating their capacity over time.
Poorly defined or lack of goal specificity can lead to misdirected efforts. Always ensure sprint goals are clearly defined and understood by the team.
Misalignment between the sprint goal and the broader product vision is wasted work. Keep the broader product vision in mind when setting sprint goals to ensure they contribute to the broader project’s success.
To solve for each said challenge:
- Planning poker to help teams more accurately estimate their capacity
- Definition of Ready for backlog items
- Regularly reviewing and refining the product roadmap
- Open discussion about team capacity and workload
Best Practices for Successful Sprint Planning
It’s important to prepare before the sprint planning meeting. The product owner should have a groomed backlog, and the team should be prepared to discuss and estimate work.
Facilitating a team discussion is the key to success in a sprint planning meeting. Create an environment where everyone feels comfortable contributing to the discussion. You can use discussion techniques such as timeboxing to control the length of the meeting.
Documenting the sprint goals and communicating them is an important step. The team should know what the goal of the sprint is. You can post the goal somewhere in the room where the team will be working during the sprint. You can use a digital tool, or you can use a physical board.
Ensuring the team commits to the objectives of the sprint ensures you will achieve them. At the end of planning, confirm everyone agrees and understands what the team is signing up for. Understanding the agile scrum framework basics is crucial for effective sprint planning and goal setting.
In Summary
Sprint planning goals are essential to effective agile project management. Goals give teams a sense of purpose, ensure everyone is working toward the same objective, and keep the team on track. Using SMART goals and including team members helps you create effective sprint goals that accomplish short-term goals while working toward the broader vision of the project.
Ensure you estimate team capacity correctly, write specific goal statements, and track progress. With experience, you’ll become excellent at sprint planning and make your team more productive and successful.
