Executing Sprint Planning in Rooms2
Sprint Planning, also known as Iteration Planning, is the fundamental Scrum activity that kicks off every Sprint. Sprint Planning is a collaborative workshop where the entire Scrum Team (Product Owner, Scrum Master, and Development Team) works together to define what will be delivered and how in the upcoming Sprint. During this strategic meeting, the team discusses the highest-priority items from the product backlog, breaking them down into specific tasks and tests, and estimating the effort required for completion. The team's past performance and velocity are crucial in determining the amount of work they commit to for the Sprint.
Why do we Need Sprint Planning
Sprint planning is essential in Agile methodologies, particularly Scrum, for several key reasons that are listed here:
- Aligns Team and Stakeholders : It ensures the development team, product owner, and Scrum Master are on the same page regarding what will be built in the upcoming sprint.
- Defines Sprint Goal : A clear Sprint Goal is established, providing a unique objective for the team's work during the sprint.
- Creates a Forecast : The team forecasts the amount of work they can complete within the sprint.
- Facilitates Commitment : The team commits to delivering a potentially shippable increment by the end of the sprint, fostering a sense of ownership and responsibility.
- Manages Expectations : It sets realistic expectations for what can be achieved, preventing scope creep and ensuring focus.
- Promotes Self-Organization : The development team collectively decides how they are going to achieve the Sprint Goal, promoting self-organization and problem-solving.
- Identifies Dependencies and Risks: Discussions during planning help uncover potential dependencies, and risks early on, allowing for proactive mitigation.
How to Access Sprint Planning in Rooms 2
- Click the hamburger menu
> Rooms > All Team Rooms. - Select a Team Room name and click Try Rooms 2 button
on the right side of the selected Team Room. - In the Sprint Views page, click Sprint Planning (SP)
You can click the Expand Q or Collapse Q icon at the bottom of the screen to see the full form or abbreviation of the Sprint Views. The available views are:
- Spring Planning (SP)
- Sprint Execution (SE)
- Sprint Retrospective (RE)
Visual Elements of Sprint Planning Screen
| Visual Element | Description |
|---|---|
| Backlog Column | The Backlog column is where all your unscheduled Stories and Defects reside, acting as the central repository for work that's yet to be planned into a sprint. It features a search box to filter items by name or ID (type 3 or more characters). Newly added items can later be dragged into upcoming sprints during planning. |
| Add Story | Use this option to create a new story in the Backlog column. |
| Add Defect | Use this option to log a new defect in the Backlog column. |
| Sprint Columns | Sprint columns display and organize work items for each sprint. |
| Sprint Name | Displays the name of the sprint. While there are many best practices for naming sprints, teams should choose what works best for them. |
| Collapse/expand Arrows | Visible only on hover. Allow users to collapse or expand sprint columns. |
| Item Count | Displays how many work items are currently assigned to the sprint. |
| Sprint Metrics | Visible only on hover, shows two values to assist with planning: Estimated (total effort for items in the sprint) and Target (the team's committed effort or sprint capacity). |
| Estimated | Represents the total planned effort for all work items in the sprint. |
| Target | Indicates the team’s committed capacity for the sprint. |
| Active Label | The currently active sprint is marked with a green Active label in the sprint column header. For example, Sprint 5 appears as active if it's in progress. |
| Add Story / Add Defect Buttons | Located at the bottom of the Backlog and Sprint columns. Adds a new row for a story or defect. Fill in the details and click Save to add it to the board. |
| Show Velocity Toggle | Located at the top right of the planning board. When enabled, it displays the team’s historical velocity to help guide realistic sprint planning and prevent overcommitment. |
Sprint Planning Card Menu Options
The Sprint Planning Card Menu offers quick actions to manage Stories and Defects directly on the Sprint Planning Board. To access it, hover over a work item (Story/Defect), then click the three-dot icon (⋮) on the card.
Sprint Planning Card Menu Options and Descriptions
| Option | Description |
|---|---|
| Edit | Opens the work item in edit mode for modifying details like title, estimate, or owner. |
| Remove me | Removes you as the owner of the work item. |
| Quick Close | Closes the work item quickly, changing its status to Closed. |
| Convert to Defect | Converts the Story into a Defect. This is helpful if the work item is better tracked as a bug. |
| Copy | Copies the work item so it can be duplicated or referenced elsewhere. |
| Move Card to Top | Moves the card to the top of the sprint as per priority. |
| Delete | Deletes the work item from the board. A confirmation is typically prompted. |
| Sign me up | Assigns the work item to the logged in user. |
| Add Test | Adds a test case linked to this item. |
| Add Task | Adds a child task to the work item. |
Sprint Planning Card Icons
The Sprint Planning Card icons are located at the bottom of the Sprint Planning Card. These inline icons navigate users directly to the corresponding sections of Stories or Defects. The available options are:
- Task - Takes the user to the Task section in a Story or Defect
- Test - Takes the user to the Task section in a Story or Defect
- Attachment - Takes the user to the Attachments section in a Story or Defect
- Link - Takes the user to the Links section in a Story or Defect
- Upstream Dependencies - Takes the user to the Upstream Dependencies section in a Story or Defect
- Downstream Dependencies - Takes the user to the Downstream Dependencies section in a Story or Defect
How to Add Test to a User Story
- In the Rooms 2 page, click on a User Story and click Tasks & Test tab.
- Enter the details for the following fields:
- Name
- Description
- Status - Select the value from the drop-down
- Owners - Type a name and select the user from the list
- To Do - Use the up-down arrows to enter the value
- Detail Estimate - Specify the detail estimate