majiayu000 Sprint Planning Assistant
Expert assistance for planning sprints, estimating work, and managing team capacity.
When to Use This Skill
- Planning a new sprint
- Grooming/refining the backlog
- Estimating story points
- Calculating team capacity
- Analyzing sprint velocity
- Organizing work priorities
- User mentions: sprint, velocity, capacity, estimation, story points
Sprint Planning Process
1. Pre-Planning Preparation
Review Previous Sprint
sprint = "Sprint 42" ORDER BY updated DESC
Analyze:
- What was completed?
- What carried over?
- What was the velocity?
- Any blockers or issues?
Check Backlog Health
project = PROJ AND sprint IS EMPTY AND status = "To Do" ORDER BY priority DESC
Verify:
- Stories have descriptions
- Acceptance criteria defined
- Dependencies identified
- Estimates added
2. Sprint Planning Meeting
Step 1: Set Sprint Goal
- What is the primary objective?
- What value will we deliver?
- How does it align with roadmap?
Example Goals:
- "Complete user authentication system"
- "Improve page load performance by 50%"
- "Launch payment integration MVP"
Step 2: Calculate Capacity
Formula:
Capacity = (Team Size × Work Days × Hours per Day) - (Meetings + PTO + Buffer)
Example:
Team: 5 developers
Sprint: 10 work days
Work: 6 hours/day (accounting for meetings)
PTO: 2 days (one person out)
Buffer: 20% (for unexpected work)
Capacity = (5 × 10 × 6) - (2 × 6) - (20% of 288)
= 300 - 12 - 58
= 230 hours
Or in story points (if velocity is 40):
Capacity ≈ 40 story points
Step 3: Select Stories
Criteria:
- Aligns with sprint goal
- Has clear acceptance criteria
- Team has necessary skills
- No blocking dependencies
- Fits within capacity
Query for candidates:
project = PROJ
AND status = "To Do"
AND sprint IS EMPTY
AND "Story Points" IS NOT EMPTY
ORDER BY priority DESC, rank ASC
Step 4: Review and Commit
- Total points within capacity?
- Dependencies manageable?
- Risks identified?
- Team agreement on scope?
Story Point Estimation
What Are Story Points?
Story points measure relative effort/complexity, not time:
- Effort: How much work?
- Complexity: How hard is it?
- Uncertainty: How much is unknown?
Estimation Scales
Fibonacci Scale (Recommended)
1 - Trivial: Simple change, < 1 hour
2 - Easy: Small feature, well understood
3 - Moderate: Standard feature, clear path
5 - Average: Typical feature, some complexity
8 - Complex: Significant feature, multiple components
13 - Very Complex: Large feature, high uncertainty
21 - Epic: Too large, should be split
T-Shirt Sizes (Alternative)
XS = 1 point
S = 2 points
M = 3 points
L = 5 points
XL = 8 points
Estimation Techniques
Planning Poker
- Product owner explains story
- Team asks clarifying questions
- Each person picks estimate (secretly)
- Everyone reveals simultaneously
- Discuss differences
- Re-estimate until consensus
Reference Stories
Compare to previously completed work:
- "This is about the same as the login feature (5 points)"
- "This is simpler than the payment integration (8 points)"
- "This is more complex than adding a button (2 points)"
Three-Point Estimation
Estimate = (Optimistic + (4 × Most Likely) + Pessimistic) / 6
Example:
Best case: 3 points
Most likely: 5 points
Worst case: 13 points
Estimate = (3 + (4 × 5) + 13) / 6 = 36 / 6 = 6 points
Factors Affecting Estimates
Increase Estimate For:
- New technology/unfamiliar domain
- External dependencies
- Unclear requirements
- Complex business logic
- Integration with many systems
- High risk/uncertainty
Keep Estimate Lower For:
- Familiar technology
- Clear requirements
- Similar to past work
- Self-contained changes
- Good test coverage exists
Backlog Grooming
When to Groom
- Regular sessions (e.g., mid-sprint)
- Before sprint planning
- When new priorities emerge
Grooming Activities
1. Refinement
- Clarify requirements
- Add acceptance criteria
- Identify dependencies
- Break down epics
- Add technical notes
2. Estimation
- Add story points
- Validate existing estimates
- Re-estimate if scope changed
3. Prioritization
- Order by business value
- Consider dependencies
- Balance quick wins vs. strategic work
4. Cleanup
- Close duplicates
- Archive obsolete issues
- Update stale information
Grooming Checklist
For each story:
- Clear title and description
- User story format (if applicable)
- Acceptance criteria defined
- Story points estimated
- Priority set
- Labels added
- Dependencies identified
- Assignee (if known)
- Sprint ready
Capacity Management
Team Capacity Factors
Available Hours
Base Hours = Team Size × Sprint Days × Hours/Day
Actual Hours = Base - (PTO + Meetings + Support + Buffer)
Focus Factor
Percentage of time spent on sprint work:
Typical: 60-70%
High performing: 70-80%
New team: 50-60%
Velocity
Average story points completed per sprint:
Velocity = Average(Last 3-5 Sprints)
Capacity Planning Example
Team Details:
- 6 developers
- 2-week sprint (10 work days)
- Historical velocity: 45 points
Commitments:
- 1 developer on PTO for 3 days
- 2 developers in training for 2 days
- On-call rotation (1 person, 20% capacity)
Calculation:
Base capacity: 45 points (historical velocity)
Adjustments:
- PTO: -3 days of 1 person = -3 points
- Training: -2 days of 2 people = -4 points
- On-call: -20% of 1 person = -2 points
- Buffer (10%): -4 points
Sprint capacity: 45 - 3 - 4 - 2 - 4 = 32 points
Sprint Anti-Patterns to Avoid
❌ Overcommitment
Loading 60 points when velocity is 40.
Fix: Use historical velocity as guide, add buffer
❌ Under-commitment
Loading 20 points when velocity is 40, to "guarantee" completion.
Fix: Commit to realistic amount, have stretch goals ready
❌ No Sprint Goal
Just a collection of random stories.
Fix: Define clear, valuable objective for the sprint
❌ Splitting Mid-Sprint
Constantly splitting stories after sprint starts.
Fix: Better grooming and estimation up front
❌ Ignoring Dependencies
Starting work that's blocked by external factors.
Fix: Identify dependencies during planning
❌ Gold Plating
Adding unplanned features during implementation.
Fix: Stick to acceptance criteria, capture new ideas as separate stories
Sprint Queries
Stories Ready for Sprint
project = PROJ
AND type = Story
AND status = "To Do"
AND sprint IS EMPTY
AND "Story Points" IS NOT EMPTY
AND description IS NOT EMPTY
ORDER BY priority DESC
Current Sprint Progress
sprint in openSprints()
ORDER BY status ASC, priority DESC
Unestimated Stories
project = PROJ
AND type IN (Story, Task)
AND "Story Points" IS EMPTY
AND status != Done
ORDER BY priority DESC
Sprint Burndown Data
sprint = "Sprint 42"
AND status IN ("In Progress", "To Do")
Carry-Over from Previous Sprint
sprint = "Sprint 42"
AND sprint = "Sprint 43"
AND resolution IS EMPTY
Velocity Tracking
Calculate Velocity
Method 1: Average of Last 3 Sprints
Sprint 40: 38 points
Sprint 41: 42 points
Sprint 42: 44 points
Velocity = (38 + 42 + 44) / 3 = 41 points
Method 2: Weighted Average
Recent sprints count more:
Velocity = (Sprint N × 3 + Sprint N-1 × 2 + Sprint N-2 × 1) / 6
Velocity Trends
Increasing Velocity
- Team is maturing
- Processes improving
- Technical debt decreasing
Stable Velocity
- Team is consistent
- Good predictability
- Sustainable pace
Decreasing Velocity
- Investigate: technical debt? team changes? distractions?
- Address root causes
- May need to reduce commitments
Velocity vs. Capacity
Velocity: Historical output (story points completed) Capacity: Theoretical input (available hours/points)
Use velocity for sprint planning, not capacity.
Sprint Planning Template
1. Sprint Details
Sprint Number: 43
Duration: Jan 15 - Jan 28 (10 work days)
Sprint Goal: Complete user profile functionality
Team Velocity: 41 points (average last 3 sprints)
2. Team Capacity
Team Members: 6 developers
Availability:
- Alice: 10 days (full)
- Bob: 7 days (3 days PTO)
- Carol: 10 days (full)
- Dave: 10 days (full)
- Eve: 9 days (1 day training)
- Frank: 10 days (full, but on-call)
Adjusted Capacity: 36 points
3. Sprint Backlog
Committed Stories (36 points):
- PROJ-101: User profile page (8 pts)
- PROJ-102: Avatar upload (5 pts)
- PROJ-103: Profile editing (8 pts)
- PROJ-104: Privacy settings (5 pts)
- PROJ-105: Profile completion badge (3 pts)
- PROJ-106: Update navigation (2 pts)
- PROJ-107: Profile tests (5 pts)
Stretch Goals (13 points):
- PROJ-108: Social media links (5 pts)
- PROJ-109: Custom themes (8 pts)
4. Dependencies & Risks
Dependencies:
- PROJ-102 blocked until design review (due Jan 16)
- PROJ-104 requires security review
Risks:
- Avatar upload may need third-party service
- Privacy settings have regulatory requirements
Mitigation:
- Start PROJ-101, 103, 106 first
- Spike for avatar service options
- Consult legal team early on privacy
5. Sprint Success Criteria
Must Have:
- Users can view and edit their profiles
- Avatar upload working
- Privacy controls functional
Nice to Have:
- Profile completion indicators
- Social media integration
Definition of Done:
- Code reviewed
- Tests passing (>80% coverage)
- Deployed to staging
- Acceptance criteria met
- Documentation updated
How I'll Help
When you need sprint planning assistance, I will:
- Analyze backlog: Review stories and readiness
- Calculate capacity: Based on team size, availability, velocity
- Suggest stories: Prioritized candidates for the sprint
- Estimate work: Help with story point estimation
- Identify risks: Dependencies, blockers, unknowns
- Track progress: Monitor sprint health
- Provide queries: JQL for sprint management
Example Interaction
You: "Help me plan Sprint 45. Team of 5, one person out for 2 days, velocity is usually around 35 points"
Me: "I'll help plan Sprint 45.
Capacity Calculation:
- Base velocity: 35 points
- Adjustment for PTO: -1.5 points (2 days of 1 person ≈ 10%)
- Buffer (10%): -3.5 points
- Sprint capacity: 30 points
Let me search for ready stories:
[Uses /jira-search with refinement query]
Recommended Sprint Backlog (30 points):
- PROJ-501: Payment gateway integration (13 pts) - HIGH PRIORITY
- PROJ-502: Transaction history UI (8 pts)
- PROJ-503: Receipt email templates (5 pts)
- PROJ-504: Payment error handling (4 pts)
Sprint Goal: Complete basic payment processing flow
Stretch Goals (if time allows):
- PROJ-505: Refund functionality (8 pts)
Should I create these issues or adjust the selection?"