Sprint Planning Facilitator

Overview

Prepare for and facilitate effective sprint planning sessions. Produces capacity analysis, recommends stories based on priority and capacity, identifies dependencies and risks, and provides structured meeting agendas.

Core principle: Sprint planning should result in a realistic commitment with clear goals—not an overloaded wishlist.

When to Use

• Preparing for upcoming sprint planning
• Calculating team capacity after absences factored
• Selecting stories from refined backlog
• Identifying cross-team dependencies

Output Format

sprint_planning:
  sprint_number: "[N]"
  sprint_dates:
    start: "[YYYY-MM-DD]"
    end: "[YYYY-MM-DD]"
    working_days: "[N]"
  
  capacity_analysis:
    team_members:
      - name: "[Name]"
        role: "[Role]"
        availability: "[%]"  # 100% = full sprint, 80% = 1 day off, etc.
        notes: "[PTO, training, etc.]"
    
    total_capacity:
      available_person_days: "[N]"
      historical_velocity: "[Points from last 3 sprints]"
      recommended_commitment: "[Points range]"
      capacity_confidence: "[High | Medium | Low]"
  
  sprint_goal:
    primary: "[One sentence goal]"
    success_criteria:
      - "[Measurable outcome 1]"
      - "[Measurable outcome 2]"
  
  recommended_stories:
    committed:
      - id: "[Story ID]"
        title: "[Title]"
        points: "[N]"
        priority: "[P1 | P2 | P3]"
        assignee_suggestion: "[Name or skill needed]"
        dependencies: ["[Dependency if any]"]
        risk_flag: "[None | Low | Medium | High]"
    
    stretch:
      - id: "[Story ID]"
        title: "[Title]"
        points: "[N]"
        condition: "[When to pull in]"
  
  dependencies:
    internal:
      - story: "[Story ID]"
        depends_on: "[Story ID]"
        type: "[Blocks | Informs | Shares-data]"
    
    external:
      - story: "[Story ID]"
        depends_on: "[External team/system]"
        status: "[Confirmed | Pending | At-risk]"
        mitigation: "[If at-risk]"
  
  risks:
    - risk: "[Description]"
      likelihood: "[High | Medium | Low]"
      impact: "[High | Medium | Low]"
      mitigation: "[Plan]"
  
  carryover:
    from_previous_sprint:
      - id: "[Story ID]"
        title: "[Title]"
        remaining_points: "[N]"
        reason: "[Why not completed]"
  
  meeting_agenda:
    pre_planning:
      - "[Preparation item]"
    planning_part_1:  # What to build
      duration: "[Minutes]"
      activities:
        - "[Activity]"
    planning_part_2:  # How to build
      duration: "[Minutes]"
      activities:
        - "[Activity]"

Capacity Calculation

Step 1: Calculate Available Days

sprint_days: 10  # 2-week sprint
team_size: 5

availability:
  - name: "Alice"
    days_off: 0
    available: 10
  - name: "Bob"
    days_off: 2  # PTO
    available: 8
  - name: "Carol"
    days_off: 1  # Training
    available: 9
  - name: "David"
    days_off: 0
    available: 10
  - name: "Eve"
    days_off: 3  # Conference
    available: 7

total_person_days: 44  # vs 50 theoretical max

Step 2: Apply Focus Factor

focus_factor: 0.7  # Account for meetings, support, etc.
effective_capacity: 31  # 44 × 0.7

Step 3: Convert to Points

historical_velocity:
  sprint_n_minus_1: 34
  sprint_n_minus_2: 28
  sprint_n_minus_3: 31
  average: 31

# Adjust for capacity difference
normal_capacity: 35  # person-days in those sprints
this_sprint_capacity: 31
capacity_ratio: 0.89  # 31/35

recommended_commitment: 28  # 31 × 0.89, rounded
commitment_range: "25-30"  # ±10% for uncertainty

Sprint Goal Framework

A good sprint goal is:

Sprint Goal Template

By the end of this sprint, [user segment] will be able to [capability]
as measured by [success metric].

Example:

By the end of this sprint, beta users will be able to complete the full onboarding flow as measured by 80% completion rate in testing.

Story Selection Algorithm

Priority Order

1. Carryover - Finish incomplete work first
2. Committed dependencies - Unblock other teams
3. Sprint goal stories - Primary objective
4. High-value backlog items - Based on priority
5. Tech debt - Allocate 10-20% capacity
6. Stretch - If capacity remains

Selection Criteria

include_if:
  - Story is refined (acceptance criteria defined)
  - Story is estimated
  - Dependencies are resolved or scheduled
  - Required skills available this sprint

flag_if:
  - Story larger than 1/3 sprint capacity
  - Story has external dependency
  - Story is first of its type
  - Story touches unfamiliar code

Dependency Mapping

Dependency Types

Dependency Visualization

Story A ──blocks──> Story B ──blocks──> Story C
                         │
                         └──informs──> Story D

External: API Team delivery ──blocks──> Story E
          Status: Confirmed for Day 3

Risk Assessment

Common Sprint Risks

Meeting Agenda Template

Pre-Planning (Before Meeting)

• Backlog prioritized and refined
• Capacity calculated
• Dependencies identified
• Carryover assessed
• Sprint goal drafted

Planning Part 1: What (60 min)

1. Review capacity (5 min) - Present availability, velocity
2. Propose sprint goal (10 min) - Discuss and refine
3. Review carryover (10 min) - Remaining work from last sprint
4. Select stories (25 min) - Walk through recommendations
5. Confirm commitment (10 min) - Team agreement

Planning Part 2: How (60 min)

1. Task breakdown (40 min) - Stories → tasks
2. Identify risks (10 min) - Surface concerns
3. Assign initial owners (5 min) - Who starts what
4. Confirm understanding (5 min) - Questions, clarifications

Common Mistakes

Output Checklist

Before sprint planning is complete:

• Capacity calculated with availability factored
• Sprint goal defined and agreed
• Stories selected within capacity
• Dependencies mapped and confirmed
• Risks identified with mitigations
• Carryover addressed
• Team has committed (not been committed to)