Sprint Planner

Purpose

Plan a development sprint: select stories, define sprint goal, estimate capacity, and produce a sprint backlog with risk buffer.

Input: Prioritized backlog (user stories/epics), team capacity, sprint duration, OKRs (optional)
Output: Sprint plan with goal, committed backlog, capacity allocation, and risks Examples: See examples.md for worked input/output.

Workflow

Step 1: Define sprint parameters

Confirm:

• Sprint duration (1–4 weeks)
• Team members and availability (vacations, meetings)
• Sprint goal candidate (from OKR or epic)

Step 2: Calculate capacity

Focus factor: 0.6–0.8 (accounts for meetings, support).

Convert to story points or hours based on team convention.

Step 3: Select backlog items

From prioritized backlog:

• Select stories aligned with sprint goal
• Check INVEST and acceptance criteria completeness
• Identify dependencies between stories

Step 4: Apply capacity guardrails

• Commit to 70–80% of capacity (buffer for unknowns)
• Flag if committed > capacity
• Identify stretch goals (below the commitment line)

Step 5: Define sprint goal

One sentence:

"This sprint we will [outcome] so that [benefit]."

Must be achievable with committed backlog.

Step 6: Document risks

Step 7: Validate

Run Validation checklist.

Decision Rules

Validation

• Sprint duration and capacity calculated
• Sprint goal stated in outcome format
• Committed backlog ≤ 80% capacity
• All committed stories have size estimates
• Dependencies documented
• Stretch goals separated from commitment
• ≥2 sprint risks with mitigations
• Alignment with OKR/epic noted if applicable

Anti-patterns

• 100% capacity — no buffer for interrupts.
• Sprint goal = story list — "complete US-1, US-2" instead of outcome.
• Unsized commitment — pulling stories without estimates.
• Scope creep mid-planning — adding stories after capacity full.
• Ignoring dependencies — committing to blocked stories.

Best Practices

• Sprint goal should be demo-able at review.
• Include refinement time in capacity calculation.
• Prefer completing fewer stories over starting many.
• Align selection with OKR key results.
• Use velocity from last 3 sprints if available.

Output Structure

# Sprint Plan: Sprint [N] — [Dates]

## Sprint Goal
[One sentence outcome]

## Capacity
| Member | Days | Focus | Effective | Points |
|--------|------|-------|-----------|--------|
| **Total** | | | | X |
| **Commit limit (80%)** | | | | Y |

## Committed Backlog
| ID | Story | Size | KR/Epic ref |
|----|-------|------|-------------|

## Stretch Goals
| ID | Story | Size |
|----|-------|------|

## Dependencies
[Story A] blocks [Story B]

## Risks
| Risk | Mitigation |
|------|------------|

## Definition of Done
- [ ] [Team DoD items]

Next Skills