Multi-team sprint planning

Henrik KnibergAgile & Lean coach at Crisp, Stockholmhttp://www.crisp.se/henrik.kniberg

Architect & developerMostly Java

ManagerCTO at three IT companies ≈40 developers

AuthorScrum and XP from the Trenches>100,000 readers, translated to 7 languages

Coach & teacherAgile & lean coachWork with Jeff Sutherland & Mary PoppendieckRegularly speak at international conferences

QCon Beijing2009-04-07

Henrik Kniberg

Scrum topology

2

PO

ProductBacklog Team

ProductOwner

1-*11-*1

Henrik Kniberg

Scrum topology

ProductBacklog Team

ProductOwner

1-*11-*1

1 1 1

1 1 2

1 2 1

1 2 2

2 1 1

2 1 2

2 2 1

2 2 2

PO

PO

PO

PO

PO

CPO

Henrik Kniberg

How to form teams?

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Henrik Kniberg

Who defines the teams?Option 1: Teams defined centrally

+ Works+ Fast- Lack of buy-in- Doesn’t harness collective knowledge

Option 2: Teams form themselves from scratch+ Harnesses collective knowledge+ Buy-in- Slow - Might not work

Option 3: Combination of 1 + 2. Preliminary teams defined centrally,teams then allowed to reform themselves

+ Works+ Harnesses collective knowledge+ Buy-in

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Case 1: Bootstrapping agile teams

Henrik Kniberg

Constraints:• 3-8 people per team• Team has PO• Focused & dedicated to shared goal• Independent (can deliver whole story)

Self-organizing to form new teams

CombinedCombined

New

Preliminary team allocation After a week in the kitchen

Henrik Kniberg

Product backlog – 1 or many?

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PO PO

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Multi-team sprint planningSample agenda

9:00 Welcome. Sprint review & retrospective.10:00 Goals & priorities for next sprint11:00 Preliminary backlog allocation12:00 Lunch 13:00 Preliminary commitment per team14:00 Task breakdown & final commitment per team16:00 Wrapup

PO

Henrik Kniberg

Just before the meeting starts

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Sprint demo

10

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Introduction & backlog summary

11

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Preliminary backlog allocation

12

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Scrum of scrums discussing the big picture

13

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Preliminary backlog allocation

14

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Negotiating about backlog allocation

15

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Product owners resolving priority problem

16

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Task breakdown per team

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Wrapup

18

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Meeting retrospective

19

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Typical challenges

People getting bored or feeling inefficientPriority & dependency problems discoveredFatigue”Shared resources” & specialistsRunning out of time

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Henrik Kniberg

RecommendationsMake sure product backlog is ready before the meeting

Priorities must be clearHave a preplanning meeting with POs if necessary

Go to separate location with nice, social atmosphereReserve 4- 8 hours (depending on number of teams)Start with wrapup of previous sprint... then do high-level sprint goal at beginning of meetingAnalog tools (index cards, post-its, flipcharts) rather than computersProduct owners present (or nearby) all the timeEncourage standing Make sure each team has a definition of doneTemplates are useful for new teams1 hour timeboxes

Clear goal (”definition of done”) for each timeboxScrum-of-scrums between each timebox

Handle dependency & priority problems immediately (”stop the line”)Many breaks, lots of fruitKeep all teams until the endEnd with wrapup & meeting retrospective

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That’s it! Thanks?