Facilitating the PI Planning Ceremony with Easy Agile Programs

Purpose and objective of PI Planning

The purpose of PI planning is to bring together multiple Agile teams working within a program or large project to align their efforts, synchronize their plans, and establish a shared understanding of the upcoming Program Increment. It is collaborative and structured and the aim is to set the direction and priorities.

Key users (roles & responsibilities)

• Release Train Engineer (RTE): The chief facilitator for the Agile Release Train (ART), they coordinate and facilitate the PI Planning event. The RTE collaborates with Product Management, Scrum Masters, and other stakeholders to ensure a successful planning event and to address any impediments or issues that may arise.
• Product Manager: Define and prioritize the program's features, user stories, and objectives. Working closely with stakeholders and customers to understand their needs and ensure that the product vision is effectively communicated to the Agile teams.
• Product Owners (POs): Collaborate with stakeholders, gather requirements, and maintain the team's backlog. Actively participate in backlog refinement, estimation, and commitment during PI Planning.
• Scrum Masters: Facilitate Agile team discussions, promoting collaboration and considering team perspectives in the planning process.
• Agile Teams: Responsible for delivering committed features and stories, actively participating in PI Planning, estimating work, identifying dependencies, and aligning plans with other teams.
• Business Owners/Stakeholders: Represent organization and stakeholder interests, providing input, clarifying priorities, and aligning work with the overall business strategy during PI Planning.

Facilitating PI Planning with Easy Agile Programs

User goal

As a Release Train Engineer (RTE) my goal during the PI Planning event is to guide and support the Agile teams, stakeholders, and Product Management in collaboratively planning and aligning their work for the program increment, ensuring clear objectives, effective communication, and commitments for successful execution.

Scenario

The PI Planning event is scheduled for a large-scale software development program. As the RTE, I need to ensure that all key parts of the agenda are met including: sharing business context and the product vision, team breakout sessions, and being able to review and adjust plans.

Set higher level priorities and business initiatives

• Create and schedule third level issues

• Create milestones

• Create and schedule issues onto the program roadmap

Team breakout sessions

• Schedule issues from the backlog

• Quick create issues

• Estimate issues and set sprint capacity

• Create objectives

Review and adjust plans (ART level)

• Manage and address dependencies and risks (can be done on the program board and the team planning board)

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