One of the myths about agile is that in agile there is no planning. This myth probably stems from comparison with waterfall approaches, where detailed up-front planning is the norm. In agile, there is still a need to plan over a long period of time, commit to a completion date, plan resources, and align the product to a strategic vision. But instead of detailed planning at the beginning, agile planning is spread throughout the entire development process, and it involves all team members, not just one individual who is the designated project manager.
Agile planning and estimation breaks down development into small units which can deliver value to a customer. Teams plan for what they can accomplish to satisfy a customer in a short period of time. Some examples of agile planning are during daily standups, during sprint planning meetings and during release planning.
In this workshop, delivered at the Together in Excellence 2020 conference, we covered topics related to agile planning including
- What are the levels of agile planning?
- How do we create the initial product backlog?
- How do we estimate user stories?
- What is the initial team velocity?
- How do we create a product release plan?
- What is the estimated product budget and target completion date?
Each topic was discussed with examples and exercises which allowed the workshop participants to experience agile planning in practice.