# Sprint Planning

**Framework:** Scrum sprint planning  
**Use for:** Committing a team to a single goal and a realistic set of work for the next sprint  
**Time required:** 1–2 hours at the start of each sprint

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## How to use this template

1. Run it at the start of each sprint, before any work begins. Planning is not grooming — come in with a backlog that is already refined and ranked.
2. Set ONE sprint goal first, then pull items that serve it. A sprint with five unrelated goals has no goal.
3. Commit to what the team's real capacity allows, using recent velocity as the anchor — not what stakeholders wish for.
4. Nothing enters the sprint without a clear acceptance criterion and an owner. "We'll figure it out" is how sprints slip.
5. Write down what you are explicitly NOT doing. The out-of-scope list is what kills mid-sprint scope creep.

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## Header

| Field | Details |
|-------|---------|
| Team | [Name] |
| Sprint | [Number / name] |
| Dates | [Start] → [End] |
| Sprint length | [1 / 2 / 3 weeks] |
| Scrum Master / Facilitator | [Name] |
| Product Owner | [Name] |

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## Sprint Goal

*One sentence. If you can't state it in a sentence, the sprint isn't focused yet.*

[The single outcome this sprint exists to achieve.]

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## Capacity

*Plan against real availability, not headcount. Subtract holidays, PTO, on-call, and standing meetings.*

| Team member | Days available | Notes (PTO, on-call, split focus) |
|-------------|----------------|-----------------------------------|
| [Name] | [X] | [Notes] |
| [Name] | [X] | [Notes] |
| [Name] | [X] | [Notes] |

**Recent velocity (last 3 sprints):** [X, Y, Z] → planning target: [average, adjusted for capacity]

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## Sprint Backlog

*Pulled from the top of the product backlog, in priority order. Each item gets an owner and an acceptance criterion before it counts as committed.*

| # | Item | Owner | Estimate | Acceptance criteria | Priority |
|---|------|-------|----------|---------------------|----------|
| 1 | [Story / task] | [Name] | [pts] | [How we know it's done] | [Must / Should] |
| 2 | [Story / task] | [Name] | [pts] | [How we know it's done] | [Must / Should] |
| 3 | [Story / task] | [Name] | [pts] | [How we know it's done] | [Must / Should] |
| 4 | [Story / task] | [Name] | [pts] | [How we know it's done] | [Must / Should] |

**Committed total:** [points] — within capacity? [Yes / No. If no, cut the lowest Should.]

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## Definition of Done

*The shared bar for "complete." If it isn't on this list, "done" is just an opinion. Every box checked before a story counts.*

- [ ] Code reviewed and merged
- [ ] Tests written and passing
- [ ] Acceptance criteria met
- [ ] Documentation updated
- [ ] Deployed to [staging / production]
- [ ] [Your team's additional bar]

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## Dependencies & Risks

| Item | Type | Depends on / Risk | Owner | Mitigation |
|------|------|-------------------|-------|------------|
| [What] | [Dependency / Risk] | [On whom or what] | [Name] | [Plan] |
| [What] | [Dependency / Risk] | [On whom or what] | [Name] | [Plan] |

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## Explicitly out of scope this sprint

*Naming what you are not doing matters as much as naming what you are. This list is the scope-creep firewall.*

- [Item deferred — and why]
- [Item deferred — and why]

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## Commitment check

- [ ] One clear sprint goal, stated in a sentence
- [ ] Committed work fits real capacity
- [ ] Every item has an owner and acceptance criteria
- [ ] Definition of Done agreed
- [ ] The team — not a manager — made the commitment

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*A sprint is a forecast the team owns, not a deadline handed to it. More on Agile and delivery methodologies at biztechprimer.com.*