Chapter 10 Sprint Planning

Fixing Your Scrum — Pragmatic Programmers (69 / 114)

👈 Coach’s Corner | TOC | Marathon Planning Events 👉

Development Team Member:
Does Scrum ever end? I feel like we’re running on a hamster wheel heading nowhere.

Todd was working with a team at an insurance company when he witnessed the following scenario:

The Scrum team was an hour into the sprint planning event and there was a collective feeling that it had just begun. They spent this first hour exploring the meaning of a single product backlog item. They clarified the user-story format, added acceptance criteria, and drew a mockup of the user interface on a whiteboard. After the development team estimated the item, the product owner became unsure whether the value was worth the effort and started debating whether the item should be built at all. The team was stuck.

This pattern continued with the next product backlog item. The Scrum master became restless and called for a break as the meeting reached the two-hour mark. The development team had yet to bring a single item into the sprint. The Scrum master thought to himself, “How in the world are we ever going to build this complex portal if we can’t even create a plan for a sprint?!”

When the event resumed, the product owner was gone–he had to run to a meeting with stakeholders. The parting advice he gave was to “fill the sprint backlog and I’ll check to see if I like what it looks like this afternoon”. So that’s exactly what the development team did. They quickly created a bunch of slapdash PBIs so they could end the meeting and get to work.

As development work began, there was no cohesion within the Scrum team as to the expected outcome. Issues surrounding the scope of sprint backlog items became the focus of most daily scrums. Fifty percent of the sprint was spent trying to define the scope of the work for the sprint. The whole team was frustrated.

Did that scenario sound familiar? If so, you’re not alone. We often run across situations like this: planning meetings that drag on forever, product owners who aren’t always available when the development team needs them during this event, and PBIs that aren’t detailed enough to get the work started. This leads to chaotic sprints, low-quality increments, and strained teams.

Related posts:

It looked like a boring summer ahead until an opportunity to cross the world for a visit to the Australian Sunshine Coast unexpectedly came up. Having dear friends around the world is the best gift…