Sprint Planning

Would you ever run a race without a destination? Of course not, and the same is true for sprints, which is why planning is so important.

Sprint planning is a Scrum event where the team decides what they want to deliver in a sprint — and how they’ll do it. 

In this article, we’ll examine sprint planning in project management in detail, including key roles, basic inputs and outputs, and a step-by-step sprint planning checklist. Let’s dive in!

What is sprint planning?

Sprint planning is an Agile event where the team meets to decide what goals will be achieved during that sprint. 

In a sprint planning meeting, the team will usually review the backlog, select items they believe they can finish, and discuss how they will accomplish the work. 

For Agile sprint planning, the goal is to create a clear, shared plan, so that everyone knows what to focus on and how success will be measured.

Why is sprint planning important?

Wondering why you should carry out sprint planning? Here are a few of the ways it brings value to your sprints:

• Ensures team alignment: Everyone understands what needs to be done and works together toward a common goal.
• Allows backlog selection: The team chooses the most important tasks to work on, maximizing the value being delivered.
• Defines a clear goal: The team’s efforts are focused on one shared target for success.
• Increases commitment: Team members agree on what they will accomplish, increasing accountability and motivation.

Who attends the sprint planning?

Sprint planning isn’t a solo activity: It’s where the whole Scrum team comes together to decide what will be accomplished in the upcoming sprint. 

The table below demonstrates how each role has specific responsibilities to ensure the meeting is effective and the team is set up for success. 

Want a deeper dive into each role? See our detailed guides on the role of the Scrum product owner, Scrum master, and Scrum team members.

When sprint planning happens

Sprint planning occurs at the very start of each new sprint — before any work begins. 

The length of the meeting depends on the sprint’s duration, ensuring the team has enough time to plan effectively without wasting time. So the longer the sprint, the more hours you should allocate to planning. A common sprint planning example is:

• A 1-week sprint = 1–2 hours of planning
• A 2-week sprint = 2–4 hours of planning
• A 1-month sprint = up to 8 hours of planning

How to run a sprint planning meeting? (A step-by-step flow)

If you’re planning on putting together a sprint planning meeting agenda, you should follow a clear and structured process. To help, we’ve put together a simple seven-step guide below:

1. Prep the backlog: Make sure the product backlog is up-to-date, prioritized, and clearly defined so the team can easily understand the top items.
2. Set a sprint goal: Agree on a clear, achievable sprint goal that gives the team a shared focus and purpose for the sprint.
3. Select items: Discuss and choose which backlog items (user stories or tasks) to include in the sprint, based on priority and capacity.
4. Break into tasks: For each selected backlog item, break it down into smaller, actionable tasks so everyone knows what needs to be done.
5. Estimate effort: Make an educated guess at the effort required for each task, using story points or time, to ensure the workload is realistic and manageable.
6. Confirm alignment: Check that everyone understands the plan, agrees on the sprint goal, and commits to delivering the selected work.
7. Note risks: Identify potential challenges and try to put solutions in place before they arise. 

Key inputs and outputs

Whether you’re sprint planning for project management or another field, you should start off with a set of defined inputs and outputs. This will help you get the most out of the sprint planning process. 

What are the inputs?

To run an effective sprint planning meeting, teams need a few essentials, which we might call inputs. These could include:

• A refined product backlog
• An understanding of team capacity 
• The latest product increment 
• A Definition of Done (DoD)  

What are the outputs?

The output that sprint planning provides should be pretty clear to everyone on the team. This should include: 

• The sprint goal
• The sprint backlog

Best practices and tips

No one wants to spend more time planning than working. If you’re trying to work out how to do sprint planning effectively — or how to improve your sprint-planning process — we’ve got a couple of best practices for you. 

• Start with a refined backlog: Make sure your backlog is up-to-date and prioritized before the meeting. This saves time and keeps everyone focused.
• Set SMART goals: Define clear, achievable goals for the sprint — make them specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound.
• Timebox the session: Keep your planning meeting efficient by sticking to a set time limit. This helps avoid endless discussions and keeps the team energized.
• Get everyone involved: Make sure the whole team participates. Sprint planning is a team sport — try to remember that everyone’s input matters.
• Agree on a “Definition of Done”: Be crystal clear about what “done” means so there’s no confusion when it’s time for a sprint review.
• Don’t over-commit: Be realistic about what the team can achieve in the sprint. Goals must be seen to be attainable. 

In short? Sprint planning in Scrum sessions should be focused, collaborative, and adaptable. As an extra bonus, we have some top tips that might help teams in specific sectors:

• For marketing teams: Use sprint planning to align campaigns and creative assets on fixed timelines.
• For PMOs: Standardize sprint planning across teams for consistent reporting and governance.
• For services teams: Scope work realistically to avoid overcommitment on client projects.
• For manufacturing: Balance sprint goals with long lead-time tasks in physical production.

Common pitfalls

Here are some common mistakes to watch out for when sprint planning in Agile teams:

• Goals that are too vague: When sprint goals aren’t clear or specific, the team may lose focus and struggle to measure success.
• Ignoring capacity: Overcommitting without considering the team’s true availability and workload often leads to unfinished tasks and frustration.
• Too many stakeholders: While stakeholder input is important, we shouldn’t let them overly complicate or micromanage the planning process.
• Scope creep: Adding new items or changing priorities at the last minute can derail the sprint before it even begins.

By keeping these challenges in mind, your team can avoid common pitfalls and set up each sprint for success.

Tools and templates

Sprint planning tools are essential for keeping teams organized and efficient. Jira has always been popular among Agile teams, mainly because it has robust backlog management and reporting capabilities. Others like the simplicity of Trello or the organizational features of Confluence.

Wrike stands out because it offers everything you need for robust sprint planning, as well as the full features, functionality, and AI capabilities a modern organization should have. That means no switching between different platforms for task tracking, resource management, and automation — Wrike’s sprint planning tools bring everything together in one workspace. 

One of the main reasons why Agile teams often choose Wrike over Jira, Trello, or Confluence is because of our integrated sprint planning template, built for cross-functional collaboration. This is a game changer that will help kick-start your sprint planning fast. In a few clicks, you can set up your sprint backlog, define sprint goals, assign tasks, and monitor progress — all in real time. The template includes prebuilt fields and workflows, so there’s no need to build your own process from scratch. 

Whether your team is new to Agile or looking to streamline existing workflows, Wrike’s sprint planning template makes it easy to stay organized and focused.

Effective sprint planning keeps your team aligned, focused, and realistic about delivery. Try Wrike’s sprint planning template to streamline your next session and keep sprints predictable.