How to Make Plans That Actually Ship
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This article distils a joint webinar we ran with Hayley Rodd (Easy Agile) and Andreas Wengenmayer (catworkx): “Turn strategy into goals that get delivered.”
It also draws on our companion Easy Agile Podcast conversation with Andreas.
If you prefer to watch or listen first, here are the links:
- Easy Agile Podcast Ep.33 How to Align Teams Through Strategic Goal Setting
- Webinar recording - How to Make Plans That Ship: Prioritise, Fix Dependencies, and Deliver
To follow along hands‑on, we also recommend you grab free copies of the Goal‑Setting and Tracking Template and the 10-Day Team Alignment Sprint Checklist.
TL;DR Plans slip because four basics are left unresolved: the goal is unclear, the list is indulgent, value is implicit, and blockers surface late. Get those four right and you change the room. Fix the basics in one cycle: agree one clear outcome, choose three to five testable objectives, give each a quick Business Value, link real work to those objectives, and hold a short weekly review from one shared board.
Why plan slip in execution
The trouble starts before anyone opens Jira. Leaders announce goals that sound right in the all‑hands, and two weeks later, teams are busy shipping useful work that doesn’t add up to the thing that was promised. We see the same knots showing up in the many rooms we’ve sat in with customers: fuzzy outcomes, too many objectives, no fair way to compare value, hidden dependencies, and a steady drip of mid‑cycle requests that move the posts.
“Teams get bogged down discussing minor details… they’re frustrated about something deeper, but they’re not addressing the root cause.” - Andreas Wengenmayer
What’s underneath the noise
- Strategy that never touches the week’s work. Folks can recite “increase customer satisfaction,” but a developer can’t point to one story and say how it moves a real metric.
- Too much to be truly accountable. Twelve “objectives,” part tasks, part hopes. No one wants to cut; capacity is assumed rather than agreed.
- No shared way to compare value. Reliability vs growth turns political without a quick scale. “Story points are guidance for one team… you shouldn’t compare them across teams,” Andreas said on the podcast.
- Dependencies discovered late. The sequence is wrong, so even great local execution produces rework.
- Mid‑cycle interference. Goals wobble because new requests arrive without the cost being named.
Under all of it sits culture. Can people say the uncomfortable thing early? How does your organisation respond when goals aren’t met? Do people feel safe to ask the probing questions, or does the blame game begin?
What’s good looks like
On the flip side, you can spot a few signs to know it’s working:
- People repeat the outcome the same way.
- The list is shorter than anyone expected.
- Trade‑offs are named without drama.
- The dependencies are on the board before anyone presses start.
- The weekly review feels like a pit‑stop, not a status parade.
The rest of this piece breaks down how teams create that feeling on purpose.
1. Name the outcome so a stranger can test it
the tell is easy to spot: different teams use different nouns for "success" such as conversion, reliability, or a marquee feature, yet nobody can state the one result they’ll stand behind together. That points to an outcome problem rather than a tooling gap.
You need a single, testable sentence that names the customer, the result, and the proof so every stream can trace its work back to the same destination.
“The challenge is to take something complex and explain it in simple terms.”
Try the hallway test Andreas recommends. Ask three people from different teams to repeat the outcome back without notes. If you hear three versions, edit until the words land the same way for everyone. Avoid slogans. Keep two simple proofs that do not require a research project.
If you like a prompt while drafting, the one‑line outcome box in the Goal-Setting and Tracking template is a useful training wheel. Use it to get moving, then park it.
2. Make the honest cut (only three to five objectives)
When objective lists creep into double digits, it’s a sign the group hasn’t decided what matters now.
Rather than run another prioritisation workshop, have an honest conversation about capacity and pride. Say out loud what the teams can realistically deliver once support, incidents and leave are accounted for. Then choose the smallest set of objectives you’d still be proud to ship if nothing else landed.
“Be frank about capacity. Say no when you must.”
Three to five objectives tend to survive this scrutiny. Label which are truly committed and which are stretch. Everything else belongs on a visible “not now” list with a one‑line reason. The mood changes quickly when people can see the shape of the work and the trade‑offs are explicit.
There is a simple test for whether you have really chosen the right objectives. Ask yourself and your team - if you delivered only the committed set, would you still be proud of the cycle? If the answer is no, you are still collecting wishes.
3. Use a tiny Business Value scale to end circular debates
Value conversations stall because reliability, growth and platform health don’t share a common denominator.
And a light Business Value pass gives them one.
Bring the people who can speak for customers, revenue and delivery into the same room and assign each objective a simple 1–10 value with a single reason. Keep the process light - the aim is to avoid politics.
“Business value is a common denominator to make requests comparable.”
In practice, performance work that removes a clear churn risk often scores at the top end. And conversion features that help returning buyers may sit just below when seasonal or dependency risks are real.
The number breaks ties during the cycle, and comparing planned versus actual value at the end sharpens judgement without turning the process into theatre.
4. Connect daily work to the point of the work
Backlogs fill with sensible tasks that don’t add up because objectives live in slides while planning happens elsewhere.
Move the goal into the place where day-to-day work lives.
Add a lightweight field to each work item that names the objective it serves, and make it routine to ask, “Which objective does this advance, and how will we prove it?”
The first week might feels fussy, but by the second, orphaned work will dry up and reviewers will stop arguing about “busy” versus “useful.”
“Delivery depends on collaboration, everything’s an assembly line to some degree.”
A simple weekly spot‑check helps: pick a handful of items at random and trace the thread from story to objective to the proof you named on day one. If the thread breaks, you’ve found your next edit.
5. Treat dependencies like first‑class work
Teams used to tie red string between cards on a wall for a reason: sequencing is where plans fail.
Our advice - keep the spirit, modernise the practice.
Put dependencies on the same board as objectives and give them plain statuses everyone recognises. When the order is sound, call it healthy. When dates are tight or a predecessor looks shaky, say it’s at risk. When today’s order makes delivery impossible without a change, name it a conflict and resolve it before you leave the room.
A quick handshake comment that captures the interface, owners on both sides, and the earliest need date is often enough. Ten minutes spent there saves weeks of drift later.
6. Replace status theatre with a short weekly review
Mid‑cycle, the other failure mode appears: hours disappear into updates while blockers linger.
Swap sprawling status for a tight ritual from one shared board.
Start with the handful of big dependencies and agree the next owner and date. Then run one minute per objective - current status in a sentence, the risk in a sentence, and the next move with a name and a date.
If risk or dates change, reorder the work. Don’t rewrite goals mid‑cycle unless safety or security demands it. Close with a two‑line decision log people can forward instead of scheduling another call.
“Keep it time boxed - one minute per objective, status, risk, next, unblock.”
This way, leaders get a reliable picture without interrupting and teams get protection from thrash - a kind of waste most organisations never measure.
7. Keep KPIs as dials, not a leaderboard
Treat KPIs like instruments, not trophies.
“KPIs are like being on a boat in your control room. They help you see what the engine is doing. While your goals are the course you set.”
Comparing velocity across teams is the classic trap.
People game story points, estimates inflate, trust shrinks. Instead, pick a couple of proofs that actually show the outcome moving.
This way, teams can understand why those numbers matter, and stakeholders will stop asking for dashboards that look impressive but say little.
8. Plan for moving targets without moving the posts
Goals do move, but constant interference makes things worse. If you keep moving goals mid‑cycle, teams never get a clean shot.
“Stick to the goals you agreed. Only adjust them at the right time, during planning, unless there is a genuine security issue.”
When a change is real, write down the trade in the weekly review.
What drops or slips to make room, who owns the move, and how will we know it was worth it. Read it aloud once and add a two‑line note to the log. It is not fancy, but people stop learning about decisions by rumour and the plan stays honest.
Bringing it together
Plans slip for ordinary reasons: the goal is fuzzy, the list is too long, value is argued in circles, and blockers stay hidden until it is late. The counter‑measures are ordinary as well, but they work when they are applied together.
Start by agreeing on one clear outcome that a stranger could test. Choose three to five objectives that would still make you proud if nothing else shipped. Give each objective a simple Business Value so people can settle trade‑offs quickly. Link day‑to‑day work to those objectives so the plan and the backlog live in the same place. Put dependencies on the board with plain labels everyone understands, and meet briefly each week to confirm status, risks and next moves. Keep a couple of honest measures that prove the outcome, and save goal changes for the next planning moment unless you have a genuine safety or security issue.
None of this requires a new philosophy. It does require steady habits, clear language, and enough trust for people to say what is true. That is why Andreas’ advice keeps coming back to simple tests and short conversations that expose trade‑offs early. When a team does these things together, progress becomes visible and delivery becomes predictable.
If you want to go deeper, listen to the podcast with Andreas for the cultural patterns behind these moves, watch the webinar with Hayley and Andreas for how a working room applies them, and try the one‑page goal-setting and tracking template once to help easily implement all these lessons in your team. Use whatever mix helps your team start, then keep the parts you maintain without effort.
Keep goals, work, and dependencies in one Jira view
If your planning and delivery already live in Jira, Easy Agile Programs can hold all these pieces in one shared place. You can:
- Capture your objectives for the cycle, mark Committed vs Stretch, and set a Business Value (1–10) with an Actual score at the end.
- Link epics and stories to those objectives (live‑synced with Jira) so anyone can trace work → objective → outcome during grooming or review.
- Plan on a Program Roadmap with milestones at the top, and schedule work on a Team Planning board that pulls straight from each team’s Jira backlog.
- Map cross‑team dependencies on the Program Board, with clear states (Healthy / At risk / Conflict) and named owners on each side.
- See risks at a glance with risk bars on epics (for example, when issues are scheduled outside the epic’s timeframe) and resolve them in the same view.
- Use Dependency and Objectives reports to see who is blocked, track progress against each objective, and decide what needs attention next.
- Run the weekly review from one screen: a compact Objectives view shows status, linked work, and Business Value; export a PNG for stakeholders who need an update.
Easy Agile Programs doesn’t replace your process. It supports it, reduces “what’s the current picture?” time, and helps distributed teams stay aligned without extra meetings.
Related Articles
ProductHow to Keep PI Objectives Visible in Jira from Planning to Delivery
TL;DR
Too many agile teams set clear PI objectives during Program Increment (PI) planning, only to see them fade into the background as delivery begins. Based on our conversations with program managers, release train engineers, and product owners, this post explores why objectives drift, the hidden cost of losing visibility, and how keeping team PI objectives in Jira with Easy Agile Programs creates alignment from planning through delivery. You’ll learn how to link Jira issues to objectives, measure PI objectives effectively, and keep your Jira Program Board a living source of truth.
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Over the past few months, we’ve spoken with program managers, release train engineers, product owners, and developers about one deceptively simple question: what makes team objectives actually stick? These conversations gave us an unfiltered look at the common pitfalls, the quiet wins, and the practical fixes that make objectives matter beyond the PI planning room.
Why share this? Because too many teams start a Program Increment with clear, energising PI objectives (whether they’re team PI objectives or uncommitted objectives), only to watch them fade from view as the work begins. That loss of visibility has a cost: misaligned priorities, delayed risk detection, and value left on the table.
One Release Train Engineer summed it up perfectly: “The minute those slides are closed, you’re relying on memory. That’s when teams lose the thread.”
Without visible objectives in Jira, the tool teams use every day, the bigger picture starts to blur. Swim lanes drift, dependencies go unnoticed, and progress becomes something you “feel” rather than something you can see.
In this post, we’ll share what our conversations revealed about why PI objectives drift and how keeping them visible inside Jira transforms the way teams deliver. If you’ve ever finished a quarter wondering where the original goals went, this will help you keep them front and centre - from planning through to shipped value.
Why Agile Program Objectives Drift After PI Planning (and How Jira Can Fix It)
In our customer interviews, one message came through loud and clear: the hardest part isn’t setting PI objectives, it’s keeping them alive once delivery starts.
The first few sprints often run smoothly, but as one program manager described:
“About a month in, swim lanes have drifted, and people start making decisions in isolation. Not because they don’t care, but because they can’t see the bigger picture anymore.”
When PI planning objectives sit outside the system teams use every day, they fade into the background. Leaders end up relying on subjective progress reports in meetings rather than real-time data.
As one product owner admitted: “We used to go into steering committee meetings saying ‘we think we’re fine’ because we didn’t have the numbers in front of us.”
The problem is that drift rarely shows up in burndown charts until late, when there’s little time left to correct course. By embedding PI objectives directly into Jira Program Board, teams can spot slippage early enough to adjust priorities or resources, without cutting scope or burning weekends.
The Hidden Cost of Invisible Objectives
Invisibility comes with a price. What looks like a small misalignment in week three can compound into missed delivery dates, reduced trust, and expensive rework by the end of the Increment.
An engineering manager told us:
“The team had been working flat out, but half of it wasn’t on the most important thing. That’s not a work ethic problem, that’s a visibility problem.”
In contrast, organisations that keep agile program objectives in Jira updated throughout the PI report sharper decision-making and more predictable outcomes.
“If an objective was lagging, we could see it in week two, reallocate, and still hit the deadline,” said one customer.
That kind of agility isn’t luck - it’s the result of having a clear, real-time view of where each goal stands and being able to measure PI objectives effectively during delivery.
A North Star in the Jira Program Board
Easy Agile Programs adds an Objectives layer directly to the Jira Program Board. It’s a natural extension of the workspace, not an external dashboard that risks becoming outdated. Program Managers, Release Train Engineers, and Product Owners can create team-level goals in seconds, right alongside sprints and stories.
For customers, this changes the culture around objectives. “When objectives are in Jira, they’re part of the language of the team,” one program manager said. “They’re visible in the same space we do our actual work.”
Another told us:
“I can have a 30-second look before an exec call and know exactly which goals are healthy and which need attention.”
Three Practical Steps to Make PI Objectives Stick in Jira
1. Write team-level PI objectives in plain language
Avoid jargon and write goals anyone can repeat. “If the CFO can’t explain the objective back to you, it’s too complex,” said one lead. Keep it to two to four objectives per team to maintain focus.
2. Score by business value, not just effort
Scoring keeps priority calls grounded in facts, not opinions. “When a new request pops up, we can show how it ranks against existing priorities,” a product owner explained. Business value scoring in Jira makes trade-offs clear and supports SAFe objectives by aligning work to highest value outcomes.
3. Link every Jira issue to an objective
This creates a visible goal flag on the ticket, reinforcing context for developers. “When they see the flag, they instantly know why it matters,” one engineering lead told us. That simple link turns everyday work into visible progress toward shared outcomes, and supports better dependency management when objectives cross teams.
Turning Jira into a Real-Time PI Objectives Tracker
Progress tracking in Easy Agile Programs for Jira isn’t a quarterly exercise - it’s continuous. The Objectives View blends story points completed, dependency status, and value-to-effort ratios into a live dashboard.
One program manager shared how this shifted leadership updates:
“Before, steering committee was 20 minutes of figuring out if we were in trouble. Now we walk in, show the view, and talk about solutions instead.”
Teams use it in different ways:
- Daily stand-ups: filter by objective to surface blockers tied to business goals.
- Backlog refinement: see value scores alongside story points to guide trade-offs.
- Sprint reviews: replace ticket lists with progress bars that tell a value story.
- Retrospectives: compare delivered impact with forecast value to refine scoring.
Your turn: Turn Objectives into Outcomes Everyone Can See
Across our customer conversations, one theme stands out: when PI objectives are visible inside Jira, they stop being a one-time planning exercise and become a continuous guide for decision-making. Teams know where they stand, leaders know where to focus, and everyone can connect the work in progress to the outcomes that matter most.
Keeping objectives in Jira means you’re not managing from memory or chasing updates through multiple tools. You’re working from a single source of truth that’s already embedded in your team’s day-to-day. That visibility creates alignment without extra meetings, reduces the risk of drift, and allows you to respond to change without losing sight of your goals.
As one program manager put it:
“It’s not about adding another tool - it’s about putting the goals where the work lives. That’s what keeps us aligned from planning through delivery.”
If your PI planning goals keep slipping out of sight, it’s time to bring them into the place your teams already live and breathe. Easy Agile Programs turns Jira into a living, shared objectives hub - helping you plan to ship, and then prove it.
Ready to make your objectives as visible as your work? Start a free trial of Easy Agile Programs and turn your plans into measurable progress your whole organisation can see and celebrate.
Your next 30 minutes
- Install Easy Agile Programs from the Atlassian Marketplace – it’s free to evaluate.
- Import your upcoming Program Increment – story points, sprints and existing issues sync automatically.
- Draft three objectives and link a handful of issues. Watch the Board light up with goal flags.
- Share Objectives View with your leadership Slack channel. Collect applause – and funding.
In half an hour you’ll turn opaque plans into a living dashboard that guides every commit.
FAQ: Objectives in Jira and PI Planning
1. How do you link PI objectives to Jira issues?
In Easy Agile Programs, drag and drop any issue onto an objective to create a goal flag. This keeps context visible wherever work happens.
2. What’s the benefit of tracking business value of PI objectives in Jira?
Business value scoring in Jira lets you prioritise by impact, making trade-offs data-driven and transparent to all stakeholders.
3. How does adding PI objectives in Jira help during PI Planning?
Embedding team PI objectives in Jira means the goals you set during PI Planning stay visible and measurable throughout the Increment, reducing drift and late surprises.
4. How do you measure PI objectives effectively?
Use a combination of business value scores, progress tracking in the Jira Program Board, and dependency health to assess whether objectives are on track to deliver their intended outcomes.
- Daily stand-ups: filter by objective to surface blockers tied to business goals.
ProductHow to Prove Your Progress in a PI Sync
TL;DR
Weekly PI Syncs work best when updates are evidence-based, not from anecdotal. When work in Jira is linked to measurable objectives and real-time status is visible, teams see momentum and risks early. Independent research shows that scattered information hides delays and consumes budget; evidence closes that gap.
Easy Agile Programs brings this into Jira. Teams create objectives, link every scheduled issue, and see concise progress bars and value scoring that make the impact clear. The result is faster, confident decisions, fewer update-chasing meetings, and customers see outcomes sooner.
Why tracking progress in Jira beats assumptions
It’s the first weekly PI Sync, and every team lead shares a confident “In Progress” update. By the second sync, a hidden dependency has derailed two of the teams, and leadership wonders how the story changed so quickly. Sound familiar?
PI Syncs work best when updates are anchored in evidence. When each team links issues to clear objectives and shares progress tracked where the work lives in Jira, leaders see momentum and emerging risks early. The conversation can focus on decisions rather than debate.
Research shows the cost of scattered information is real. Atlassian’s 2025 State of Teams reports that leaders and teams waste 25% of their time searching for information, a symptom of poor reporting and fragmented data. When information is hard to find, decisions are slow, and delivery dates slip.
When you connect work to measurable objectives, make real-time status visible, and map dependencies across the PI, you provide everyone with the picture they need to see the logical next step.
The Cost of Hidden Delays
In PMI’s 2020 Pulse of the Profession, organisations wasted 11.4 cents of every project dollar through poor performance. That’s real budget lost because problems stayed hidden until it was too late.
Fast forward to 2023, and Harvard Business Review found that while 89 percent of large companies have a digital or AI transformation underway, they’ve captured only 31 percent of the revenue lift they expected, largely because they can’t verify progress against the outcomes they promised.
The Standish Group paints an even starker picture: just 16 percent of IT projects finish on time, on budget, and on scope. The rest overspend, under‑deliver, or stall altogether.
Getting it wrong is expensive.
Data Beats Guesswork
Intuition absolutely has a place in innovation, but there are much better barometers for risk. Teams that look beyond the ship date and measure success in terms of business value and strategic alignment, as well as customer impact and quality, deliver much better results. PMI’s 2025 research shows teams with high “business acumen” (i.e., robust performance measurement) meet their business goals 83 percent of the time and fail only 8 percent of the time.
Simply put, when you can point to objective data, you make better decisions earlier and improve your chances of maintaining momentum.
Three Capabilities for Reliable Tracking in Jira
To reliably track work and progress on objectives across multiple teams, you need to be able to see those objectives, their status, and their dependencies clearly.
- Link every task to a clear goal
When work connects directly to objectives, teams know why a story matters and leaders can see which goals risk slipping. Tools like Easy Agile Programs let you create tangible objectives inside Jira and link every issue to them. This is the foundation for tracking delivery progress in Jira across teams. - Surface real‑time health signals
Use status pills, dependency maps, and filterable views to expose blockers as they emerge, not as they bite. When teams can spot problems early, they can rearrange sequencing to support each other and keep delivery moving. This is Jira progress tracking designed for teams of teams. - Maintain one source of truth
When progress lives where the work lives, everyone sees the same numbers. No tool‑switching or chasing status updates. Shared context cuts through noise and lets leaders focus support where it counts.
Plans Built for Shipping, Not Shelving
Easy Agile Programs embeds the capabilities you need to reliably track progress towards delivery. Objectives are visible, linked work is clear, dependencies are transparent, and status is current. That means teams can adjust early, before roadblocks cause delays.
Track progress on objectives with clarity
Objectives sit at the top of each increment with a concise progress bar that shows the percent complete and remaining work. Every scheduled Jira issue can be linked to an objective, so effort maps directly to outcomes. Product owners can add business-value scores to focus time where it matters most. The Objectives view and the Objectives Report provide a consolidated read on progress, grounded in Jira data rather than slide decks.
Map dependencies and blockers early
Open the Dependencies view or report to see relationships across teams. Visual links highlight upstream and downstream connections and flag items at risk. Select any link to open details such as owner, due date, and next steps, so teams can act before a small issue puts pressure on the schedule. You can also filter the Program Board by Initiatives to see the contributing epics and stories, plus any dependencies that could affect them.
Teams replace anecdotal updates with evidence they can show stakeholders. Leaders can avoid reactive firefighting to focus on coaching and delivery. Most importantly, customers feel the value sooner because plans that are aligned with objectives deliver outcomes that make a real difference.
Try It: Turn Progress into Proof
Easy Agile Programs installs in minutes, and with our easy setup guide, you can create a digital program board for your teams in Jira with minimal overhead. You can test the full functionality yourself with a free 30-day evaluation period, and once you've given your teams the clear picture of progress they need in Jira, you'll see anecdotal updates transform into evidence-based progress.
- Link every task to a clear goal
Agile Best PracticeThe Planning Emergency Room: Diagnosing and Treating 5 Critical Goal-Setting Pains
Code Red: Another quarter, another planning crisis
Every quarter, planning emergencies flood into organisations worldwide. Teams arrive with urgent symptoms: misaligned goals, scattered priorities, and mysterious dependencies that appear out of nowhere. The waiting room fills with Release Train Engineers clutching their heads, Product Managers buried under impossible wish lists, and Engineering Managers frantically trying to connect daily work to strategic outcomes.
After treating hundreds of these cases, we've identified five critical pains threatening team delivery.
The good news? Each has a proven cure.
Case File #1: Acute Goal Fragmentation Syndrome
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Patient: Wilbur, Release Train Engineer
Presenting Symptoms: Two weeks before planning, his Checkout team talks about conversion, the Platform team focuses on reliability, and the Mobile team pushes for a sales feature. Work has started, but no one can articulate the single result they'll ship together.Clinical Assessment: This is a textbook case of Goal Fragmentation Syndrome. Like a family vacation where dad wants mountains, mom wants beaches, kids want Disneyland, and the dog just wants to stay home - without alignment, everyone ends up miserable.
Diagnosis: Multiple teams speaking entirely different success languages, creating organisational chaos despite individual competence.
Treatment Protocol: One-Line Outcome Therapy
Prescription:
- Write a single outcome statement: "By [due date], we will achieve [specific outcome] for [customer/segment]"
- Reduce KPIs to only those proving this particular outcome's success
- Share and pin the outcome statement in your planning view
- Conduct alignment verification: Ask three people from different teams to state the outcome in one sentence. If their answers differ, the dose wasn't strong enough - refine until crystal clear.
Recovery Note: As one practitioner puts it, "It's not difficult to explain something in a complicated way. The challenge is taking something complex and explaining it simply - that means you understand what you're talking about."
Case File #2: Chronic Priority Overload Disorder
Patient: Sabine, Product Manager
Presenting Symptoms: Drafting objectives with team leads has produced 12 "objectives." Some are tasks, some are hopes. No one wants to cut anything, and capacity reality is being actively ignored.Clinical Assessment: Classic Priority Overload Disorder complicated by people-pleasing syndrome. The patient is trying to make everyone happy simultaneously - a medical impossibility.
Diagnosis: Inability to distinguish between aspirational wishes and deliverable commitments, leading to chronic team burnout and delivery failure.
Treatment Protocol: 3-5 Objective Restriction Program
Prescription:
- Limit to 3-5 objectives per program/quarter (strict dosage - no exceptions)
- Make each objective specific and measurable
- Clearly mark committed vs. uncommitted (stretch) objectives
- Apply the red-pen stress test: "If we deliver only the committed objectives, will we still be proud?"
Recovery Note: Remember, the goal isn't to please everyone just for the sake of it, but to be realistic about what creates genuine value. Sometimes saying "no" is the kindest thing you can do for your organisation.
Case File #3: Value Measurement Confusion
Patient: Lea, Product Owner
Presenting Symptoms: During value discussions with product and engineering, everything becomes "top priority." Without a shared value scale, conflicts feel personal and political rather than objective.Clinical Assessment: The patient suffers from Value Measurement Confusion, where the absence of common criteria turns every decision into a battle of opinions rather than data.
Diagnosis: Everything-is-priority-one syndrome, caused by lack of shared evaluation framework.
Treatment Protocol: Business Value Scale Prescription
Prescription:
- Establish a shared 1-10 Business Value (BV) scale with business owners
- Assign planned BV during initial objective setting (where 10 = highest impact this cycle)
- Use planned BV to resolve conflicts during delivery - higher value wins
- Set actual BV at cycle end to learn and improve future assessments
How It Works: Business Value becomes the common denominator making different requests comparable. Whether you're improving performance, increasing automation, or launching new products, the BV scale creates objective prioritisation criteria.
Recovery Note: When work or priorities clash, let the higher-value objective win without drama. It's not personal - it's mathematics.
Case File #4: Work-Goal Disconnect Syndrome
Patient: Tomas, Engineering Manager
Presenting Symptoms: Planning the next sprint, but cannot demonstrate how team work connects to specific goals. The backlog overflows with tasks disconnected from what matters. Dependencies surface late, causing painful replanning.Clinical Assessment: Severe case of Work-Goal Disconnect Syndrome with dependency detection complications. The patient's team is working hard but can't prove they're working on the right things.
Diagnosis: Invisible connection pathways between daily execution and strategic objectives, leading to wasted effort and surprise conflicts.
Treatment Protocol: Objective Linking Therapy
Prescription:
- Link features and stories to related objectives during planning
- Keep objectives visible in planning view to guide work prioritisation
- Review dependencies early - resolve everything you can see now
- Conduct the two-minute drill: Pick five random work items and verify each owner can identify which objective it serves
Recovery Note: Think of it like engineering a machine - every gear must connect to the larger mechanism. If a team member can't explain how their work contributes to specific objectives, the connection needs repair.
Case File #5: Progress Visibility Deficiency (Return Patient)
Patient: Wilbur (Return Visit)
Presenting Symptoms: Mid-PI cycle, spending more time in update meetings than removing blockers. Risks emerge late. New requests constantly shift goals. The patient appears notably more stressed than first visit.Clinical Assessment: Progress Visibility Deficiency complicated by status-meeting addiction. The patient has developed unhealthy coping mechanisms that worsen the underlying condition.
Diagnosis: Information fragmentation causing reactive rather than proactive management.
Treatment Protocol: Single-Source Rehabilitation Program
Prescription:
- Use one common board for timing, milestones, and dependencies
- Implement simple objectives reporting for progress tracking by team/objective
- Keep objectives consistent - only change work order when necessary
- Run weekly 15-minute reviews using this script: "One minute per objective: status, risk, next unblock"
Recovery Note: Stay aligned from start to finish with one shared view. The goal is self-service information access, reducing meeting overhead while increasing visibility.
Discharge Instructions: Your 5-Step Recovery Plan
Before leaving our Planning Emergency Room, every patient receives these discharge instructions to prevent future episodes:
1. Define Common Outcomes
Create shared, outcome-focused pictures of success. Remember: outcomes matter more than outputs.
2. Create 3-5 Clear Objectives
Mark committed vs. uncommitted work. If you can't be proud of delivering just the committed objectives, your dosage is wrong.
3. Use Simple Business Value Scale
Make different requests comparable with planned and actual value tracking (1-10 scale recommended).
4. Link Daily Work to Objectives
Ensure every team member can explain how their work contributes to specific objectives.
5. Keep One Shared View
Run weekly 15-minute reviews with this proven script: "One minute per objective: status, risk, next unblock."
Take-Home Treatment Kit
Every patient also walks away with a comprehensive treatment kit to prevent future episodes. Our Goal-Setting and Tracking Template and 10-Day Team Alignment Sprint Checklist serve as their team's compact medical chart.
The template works with any planning tools they currently use - no additional software required. Think of it as their team's health monitoring system that transforms our 5-step treatment plan into a repeatable routine.
Bonus: The kit includes a quick-start guide showing how to use each section in under an hour, so the team can implement the treatment immediately.
You can grab a free copy too, if you'd like.
Follow-Up Care
Remember: alignment always beats activity. These treatments work with any planning tools you currently use. The key is consistent application and regular check-ups to prevent relapse.
If symptoms persist or worsen, consider consulting with planning specialists who can provide customised treatment plans for your organisation's specific conditions.
The Planning Emergency Room never closes - but with proper prevention, you'll rarely need our services.