The document outlines the process and objectives for conducting a release planning event. It discusses:
- Helping determine how much work must be done and how long it will take to have a releasable product through estimating the backlog.
- Creating a release plan that provides initial commitments, goals and objectives, identifies risks and dependencies, and allows informed decision making.
- The release planning process which involves story mapping, breakout sessions to organize and estimate stories, aligning work across teams, and finalizing the release plan.
2. AGENDA
Why is this important?
When should the team release plan?
What does release planning look like?
Closing your release plan and what comes
next?
3. An event, not a meeting
Will seem chaotic at times
May seem slow at other times
There is a “method to the madness”
4. Helps the Product Owner and whole team to determine how
much MUST be developed, and how long that will take before
they have a releasable product.
Serves as a guide to which the team can progress
Shows how iterations fit into the “whole”
Extends visibility past a single sprint to help make informed
decisions
Gives the scrum team(s) a chance to understand the complete
set of functionality in the product
5. Create a Release Plan that provides the following:
Initial agreement, update current commitments
Allows external teams/sources to understand goals and
objectives
Risks and Dependencies to be identified
To allow the organization to make informed decisions and
support the plan
Where
you
are
Where
you
want to
be
Lots and
lots of
work
6. Backlog readiness
Team has a better understanding of the whole picture
Understanding of what it takes to release
Baseline that has the stakeholder confidence because they
were invited into the process
Collective ownership of a plan
Outlines the impact of incoming work
7. Whenever you need greater than 1 sprint’s worth of visibility
into the plan
Multiple teams are potentially involved
After you have established the team(s) velocity
8. Will take 1-2 days of planning and
at least a few weeks of
preperation
Story mapping can happen
before or during, but it will
stretch the planning session
if done together
3-4 times a year based on
average
PO, Team, SH(s)
Product backlog
Prioritized backlog by PO
Estimated backlog
What is the purpose you hope to
accomplish
Release theme
Current state of team
Velocity?
DoD
Will everyone be in attendance
(contingency plans)
Key members
9. All necessary members to complete the project in attendance
Opening the session
PO will go over the Product Vision
Essential for teams to be able to see the whole picture
PO will represent the Product Roadmap
Organizes themes of features
Updated 3-4 times per year
Event Purpose
Acceptance criteria for session
Agenda and Schedule
Working agreements
10. The team(s) breakout to:
Organize the backlog(s)
Line up stories in priority order
Clarify AC
Identify potential sprint boundaries (velocity, current estimations,
key dates)
What starts to happen…
Reality vs. Plan starts to emerge
Stories will emerge that do not fit into the plan – fail fast
Tradeoffs start to happen
11. Photos from Story Mapping session in Lincoln for the IDR team (7/9/15)
13. After the team(s) breakout a “Walk the Walls” activity happens
An opportunity for the teams to walk the room and talk to other
teams.
Identifies potential dependencies
Identifies duplicated efforts
Helps to align work between teams
After a “Walk the Walls” happens or if only 1 team, now it is an
opportunity for the PO to “Walk the Wall” with the SH(s).
Once complete, feedback and information comes back to the
teams for another breakout session to work on changes and/or
“solidify” current plan
14. Team(s) come back together to share plans
Go over any decisions made
Go over any action items and set boundaries around them
Team Commitment
Step through session criteria to verify all AC’s have been met
Quick closing retro
Thank everyone for the participation
Head into Sprint Planning which should be much easier
“Plans are worthless but planning is everything.”
Dwight D. Eisenhower