Sprint Planning

1. Understand the context

• Read the project README/CLAUDE.md for mission, status, and next steps
• Read the backlog (product/**/backlog.md) and story map (product/**/story-map.md)
• Identify what's already built by exploring the codebase
• Identify the sprint timebox (dates, deadlines, events)

2. Propose a sprint goal

• Write a single sentence that captures the sprint's purpose
• Frame it as a user outcome, not a task list
• Example: "A dancer landing on the festival page can sign up and join a group dinner."

3. Select stories

• Pick stories from the backlog that serve the sprint goal
• Prioritize the minimum set that validates the hypothesis
• Flag stories to defer with rationale (not essential, validate first, etc.)
• Identify the critical path — which stories block others

4. Estimate each story

• Explore the codebase to ground estimates in reality
• Use the /estimation skill or apply the same 5-factor scoring (Complexity, Uncertainty, Effort, Risk, Dependencies)
• Use modified Fibonacci: 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13
• Create issue YAML files at issues/<n.n>-<slug>.yml:

title: "<story title>"
story: <n.n>
epic: <epic name>
persona: <persona>
release: <MVP|R1|R2>
estimate: <points>

description: >
  <user story in As a... I want... So that... format>

factors:
  complexity: <Low|Medium|High>
  uncertainty: <Low|Medium|High>
  effort: <Low|Medium|High>
  risk: <Low|Medium|High>
  dependencies: <Low|Medium|High>

rationale: >
  <why this estimate, grounded in codebase reality>

5. Create GitHub infrastructure

Run these in order:

Milestone

gh api repos/{owner}/{repo}/milestones --method POST \
  -f title="<sprint name>" \
  -f due_on="<YYYY-MM-DDT23:59:59Z>" \
  -f description="<sprint goal>"

Labels

Create epic labels (epic:<name>) and estimate labels (1pt, 2pt, 3pt, 5pt):

gh label create "epic:<name>" --color "<hex>" --description "<epic description>"
gh label create "<N>pt" --color "<hex>" --description "Estimate: <N> story point(s)"

Issues

For each YAML file, create a GitHub issue with:

• Title from title field
• Body with description, estimate, factors table, and rationale
• Labels: epic label + estimate label
• Milestone: sprint milestone

Project board

gh project create --owner <owner> --title "<sprint name>"

• Add all issues to the project
• Move sprint stories to "Todo"
• Move already-done stories to "Done"
• Create a "Review" column if it doesn't exist

Close done issues

If stories are already implemented, close them with a comment explaining what's built.

6. Document the sprint

Create engineering/sprint-<N>.md with:

• Sprint goal
• Dates and timebox
• Links to board and milestone
• Sprint backlog table (story, points, issue link)
• Already done section
• Deferred section with rationale
• Critical path diagram
• Definition of Done checklist
• Hypothesis and success criteria

7. Commit and PR

• Create branch pm/sprint-<N>-planning from main
• Commit issue YAMLs + sprint doc
• Push and create PR targeting main

8. Present the summary

Show the final sprint at a glance:

• Total points (committed vs done vs deferred)
• Board link
• PR link
• Key risks or open questions

• GitHub CLI (gh) installed and authenticated with project scope
• Backlog and story map exist in the repo
• A clear deadline or timebox for the sprint