Sprint Planning

What is sprint planning?

Sprint planning is how agile product development teams kick off a new sprint. It’s a working session where the whole Scrum Team gets together to decide what they’ll work on over the next sprint and how they plan to do it.

Led by the Product Owner or Scrum Master, this meeting sets the direction for the sprint. The Product Owner comes prepared with a prioritised product backlog – essentially, your potential to-do list – and the team collaborates to select the most valuable items that align with the overall product goal. Together, they break down the work, estimate effort, and build a shared understanding of what success looks like for the sprint.

It’s not just about task selection. Sprint planning links the day-to-day work of the Engineering Team with the bigger picture of the product strategy and business strategy. Occasionally, others might be invited to the session if they can offer useful input or context.

By the end of sprint planning, everyone should be aligned and clear on what’s being delivered and how the team plans to deliver it.

Why is sprint planning important? 

Sprint planning is crucial in setting your team up for a focused, productive sprint. When done right, it brings structure to your workflow, clarity to your Product Team, and alignment to your goals. It’s where strategy meets execution.

It’s fair to say that the majority of Product Managers these days work in an agile environment and follow agile product development, and sprint planning is one of the core ceremonies in the agile framework. 

If you’re following Scrum, sprint planning isn’t optional; it’s essential. It’s the meeting that gets everyone on the same page before the sprint begins, ensuring the team knows what they’re doing, why they’re doing it, and how they’ll get it done.

A solid sprint planning session gives your team:

• A clear sprint goal that ties work back to the product vision
• Agreement on what can realistically be achieved within the sprint
• Visibility into what’s carrying over from the last sprint (and why)
• An honest look at team capacity – factoring in time off, meetings, and other commitments
• A chance to surface blockers, risks, and dependencies before they derail the work
• Space to incorporate recent feedback from stakeholders
• A shared understanding of the priorities and how they connect to the bigger picture
• Confidence that they’re working on the right things

By the end of sprint planning, your team should walk away with two key outcomes:

1️⃣ The Sprint Goal – A high-level summary of what the team aims to achieve
2️⃣ The Sprint Backlog – A committed set of backlog items the team will deliver during the sprint

Why do Product Managers need to know how to do sprint planning?

If you’re a Product Manager, chances are, sprint planning isn’t just something happening around you. It’s something you actively drive.

In many teams, Product Managers wear more than one hat. You’re not just setting the product vision,  you’re also stepping into the Product Owner role. That means you’re responsible for prioritising the backlog, defining the sprint goal, and helping the team connect the day-to-day tasks to the bigger product strategy. You’re not just in the room during sprint planning, you’re there to help shape the entire conversation.

Here’s why it matters:

• You bring the strategy. You know where the product’s headed and why. Sprint planning is your chance to align the team’s work with that direction.
  
• You help prioritise. Not everything can fit into a single sprint. You help the team focus on what delivers the most value right now.
  
• You give context. Developers need more than tickets — they need clarity. You’re there to explain the “why” behind the work.
  
• You keep it grounded. By understanding team capacity and dependencies, you help make sure the sprint plan is ambitious and achievable.
  
• You represent the customer and the business. You’re the voice in the room making sure what gets built actually solves problems that matter.

So yes, sprint planning might be a Scrum ceremony – but it’s also a critical Product Management skill. Knowing how to run (or support) a great sprint planning session means fewer surprises, better outcomes, and a team that’s aligned around building the right things, faster.

What are the core outcomes of sprint planning? 

By the end of the meeting, your team should walk away with answers to three key questions: Why is this sprint valuable? What can be done in this sprint? And how will the work get done?

These are the pillars that hold the sprint together. If even one is wobbly, you’re likely to feel it later in missed goals, blocked work, or confused teammates. Let’s break them down.

1. Why is this sprint valuable? 

Before diving into the backlog, your team needs to understand why this sprint matters. What’s the focus? What impact are you aiming for? This is where the Sprint Goal comes in — a clear, concise statement that ties the upcoming work to the broader product strategy or customer need.

To answer this question, the Product Owner (or the PM depending on team structure) needs to come in with a well-prioritized backlog and a sense of the bigger picture. What’s changed since the last sprint? What feedback have you received from users or stakeholders that impacts your direction of travel? What’s the most valuable thing the team can accomplish right now? This goes beyond working on what’s doable, it’s about what’s meaningful.

Getting alignment on value upfront means your team understands the purpose of their work. 

2. What can be done in this sprint? 

Once the goal is clear, it’s time to figure out what work can realistically be delivered. This involves reviewing the product backlog, estimating effort with the aid of impact mapping, and understanding team capacity. Not everything will fit, and that’s okay. Sprint planning is where you decide what should fit.

To get this right, you need to factor in availability (is half the team off on holiday?), complexity (how tricky are these initiatives?), and dependencies (do you need work from another team to move forward?). It’s a collaborative conversation where Developers, Designers, and the Product Owner work together to agree on a feasible scope.

This question is essential because it anchors expectations. It turns ambition into action. A sprint that’s overcommitted or vague sets the team up for stress, rework, and misalignment. Getting this part right gives the team confidence they’re set up to succeed.

3. How will the work get done? 

With the why and what in place, the final piece is the how. This is about breaking down backlog items into tasks, identifying who’s doing what, and surfacing any blockers or risks early. It’s the tactical layer of how the team will actually move the work forward during the sprint.

Here, Developers typically take the lead. They discuss the implementation approach, divide stories into smaller tasks, and raise any red flags.

Answering this question brings the plan to life. It turns ideas into executable steps and helps the team kick off the sprint with clarity, not confusion. When the “how” is overlooked, you risk wasting the first few days of the sprint just trying to figure out where to start.

How do you run sprint planning? 

Sprint planning is often done in a sprint planning meeting, which marks the beginning of each sprint. This meeting sets the stage for the team’s work, ensuring everyone is aligned on the goals, scope, and execution plan for the upcoming sprint.

Let’s run down how that should go: 

✅ Step 1: Set the Sprint Goal

Begin by defining a clear and concise sprint goal. This goal should articulate the primary objective of the sprint and how it contributes to the overall product vision. Collaborate with the team to ensure the goal is achievable and provides value to stakeholders.

Why it’s important: A well-defined sprint goal provides direction and focus, helping the team make informed decisions throughout the sprint.

📋 Step 2: Review the Product Backlog

The Product Owner presents the prioritized product backlog items to the team. These items should be well-refined, with clear acceptance criteria and estimates BEFORE the sprint planning meeting. The team discusses each item to ensure a shared understanding.

Why it’s important: Reviewing the backlog ensures that the team is aware of the most valuable work items and can provide input on feasibility and dependencies.

📊 Step 3: Assess Team Capacity

Evaluate the team’s capacity for the upcoming sprint by considering factors such as team members’ availability, holidays, and other commitments. This assessment helps in determining how much work the team can realistically take on.

Why it’s important: Understanding capacity prevents overcommitment and promotes sustainable pace, leading to higher quality outcomes.

🧮 Step 4: Estimate Effort (Set Story Points)

For each backlog item under consideration, the team estimates the effort required, often using story points. Techniques like Planning Poker can facilitate consensus on estimates.

Why it’s important: Estimating effort helps in forecasting the amount of work the team can handle and aids in sprint planning and tracking.

🧩 Step 5: Select Backlog Items for the Sprint

Based on the sprint goal, team capacity, and effort estimates, the team selects the product backlog items to include in the sprint. These items collectively form the sprint backlog. Pay attention to the story points of what you’re including so that your overall sprint backlog doesn’t exceed your limit and you end up with too much work.

Why it’s important: Selecting the right set of items ensures that the team is focused on delivering value and meeting the sprint goal.

🛠️ Step 6: Break Down Tasks

The team decomposes each selected backlog item into smaller tasks. This helps with better understanding, assignment, and tracking of work during the sprint.

Why it’s important: Task breakdown enables more accurate tracking of progress and helps in identifying potential blockers early.

🔄 Step 7: Identify Risks and Dependencies

Discuss any risks, dependencies, or blockers associated with the selected backlog items. Plan mitigation strategies and assign responsibilities to address these issues.

Why it’s important: Proactively identifying and addressing risks during sprint planning means smoother execution and reduces surprises during the sprint.

📅 Step 8: Finalize the Sprint Plan

Review the sprint goal, selected backlog items, and task breakdown. Make sure everyone is aligned and committed to the plan. Document the sprint backlog and communicate it to relevant stakeholders.

Why it’s important: Finalizing the plan solidifies the team’s commitment and provides a clear roadmap for the sprint.

What are the do’s and don’t when sprint planning? 

Sprint planning doesn’t have to be painful. Here are some tips to help you make sprint planning go a little easier:

Do keep your sprint goals realistic

Ambition is great. Overcommitment? Not so much. Set goals that stretch your team just enough to grow, but not so far that they snap. A sprint goal should be achievable, measurable, and tied to actual product outcomes, not wishful thinking.

Don’t be rigidly tied to your sprint plan

Look, it’s good to have a plan in place and a direction to follow, but if you’re welded to your sprint backlog like a stiff piece of wood, unable to move or change, then that’s not very agile, is it?

Your sprint planning needs to remain flexible and able to react to feedback. If groundshattering feedback comes in or something breaks, you need to be willing to switch priorities. 

Do determine your definition of done

If “done” means something different to every person on the team, you’re in trouble. Agree on your definition of done and what “done” actually means before you commit to any work. Does it include QA? Documentation? Deployment? Get aligned early so there are no awkward surprises later.

Don’t overcomplicate the meeting

Sprint planning should be structured, not stuffed. If you’re deep-diving into every backlog item or turning it into a debate club, you’ve missed the point. Keep it focused. Keep it collaborative. Save the side quests for after the meeting.

Do keep your backlog tidy at all times 

Sprint planning revolves around taking initiatives from your product backlog and deciding what you’re going to focus on. You’re going to want to make sure that the items in that backlog are properly refined and up-to-date by the time sprint planning rolls around. Your sprint planning meeting shouldn’t double as a backlog triage session.

Keep your backlog groomed – meaning stories are clearly written, prioritized, and ready to roll. That way, you’re not wasting valuable time trying to figure out what a task even is or whether it still matters. Think of it as prepping your ingredients before cooking.

Don’t ignore team capacity

Planning a sprint without checking your team’s availability is like throwing a dinner party without knowing how many people are coming. Make sure you understand who’s off on holiday, who’s overloaded, and what non-sprint work might sneak in. Your team isn’t a machine, they’re humans, and their bandwidth matters.

How long should sprint planning take? 

Sprint planning should always be time-boxed. In other words, set within a fixed time limit to keep things focused and efficient. A common rule of thumb is to allocate one hour of planning for every week in your sprint cycle.

So, if you’re working in two-week sprints (which many teams do), the sprint planning meeting should take no more than two hours. That’s your upper boundary: not a mandatory target. If your team is well-prepared, aligned, and your backlog is in good shape, there’s no reason you can’t wrap things up sooner.

The key is to give the team enough time to have meaningful conversations about goals, priorities, and capacity, without letting it drag into a never-ending backlog debate. A well-run sprint planning meeting gets everyone aligned, clears up questions, and sets the stage for a productive sprint. All without stealing half your day.

The secret to staying within the timebox?

• Keep your backlog groomed ahead of time
• Come in with a draft sprint goal
• Make sure everyone knows their role in the discussion

That way, you spend less time in the meeting and more time doing the work that actually moves things forward.

Who’s involved in sprint planning? 

Sprint planning is a team effort. It’s not something one person can run solo. This session is all about getting the right voices in the room so your team can plan a realistic, valuable sprint with everyone on the same page. That means bringing together the full cross-functional crew.

Here are the key players you’ll want in your sprint planning meeting, and why they matter:

🧭 The Product Owner

The Product Owner is responsible for making sure the team is building the right thing. They bring clarity around the product backlog, exploring what’s in it, why it matters, and how it maps to the bigger product goal. During sprint planning, the Product Owner helps prioritize items, define what success looks like, and answer questions about the “why” behind the work.

📌 The Product Manager

Sometimes the Product Manager is the Product Owner, depending on how your team is structured. But even when they’re separate roles, the PM still plays a crucial part. They provide strategic context, exploring why this work matters for users, how it fits into broader product objectives, and what success means from a customer and business perspective. The PM is often the voice of the customer in the room.

🔁 The Scrum Master

Think of the Scrum Master as the facilitator of the session. Their job is to make sure the sprint planning meeting runs smoothly and sticks to its purpose. They help remove blockers, coach the team on Agile practices, and keep the conversation productive, not derailed by rabbit holes. If the team starts veering off course or diving too deep, the Scrum Master is there to steer them back.

👩‍💻 The Development Team

This includes Engineers, Designers, QA – anyone who’s going to be actively working on the sprint backlog. Their input is critical. They estimate effort, flag risks, surface dependencies, and let the team know what’s realistically achievable within the sprint. These are the folks doing the work, so their voices need to be heard and trusted.

📣 Optional: Stakeholders or Subject Matter Experts

Depending on the complexity of the sprint, you might invite a stakeholder, a UX researcher, or an exec to provide input on a specific feature or requirement. They’re not required attendees, but their insight can help the team make better decisions, especially when something new or high-risk is on the table.

Planning ahead

Sprint planning might seem like a routine meeting, but it’s a crucial Scrum ceremony where strategy meets execution. It’s your team’s chance to pause, align, and move forward with purpose. When done well, it brings clarity to the work, connects the dots between tasks and outcomes, and gives everyone the confidence they’re tackling the right things.

Whether you’re leading the session or simply contributing, knowing how to run a solid sprint planning meeting is a key part of building better products. 

In terms of building better products, we’ve got a great resource on how to build AI products the right way as a Product Manager, a key topic for all PMs in this day and age. Well worth downloading a copy 👇.