Increment Planning

Purpose

Increment Planning, commonly referred to as Big Room Planning, is a collaborative event that brings together all teams involved in a product increment to align on goals, establish a shared understanding, and create a cohesive plan for the upcoming increment. The primary purpose of Increment Planning is to ensure that all teams are synchronized, understand their priorities, and are prepared to work towards common objectives with a clear, actionable plan.

• Ensure all teams understand and align with the overall goals and objectives for the upcoming increment.
• Facilitate cross-team coordination and collaboration to achieve shared goals.

• Provide a forum for teams to discuss dependencies, risks, and challenges.
• Foster a common understanding of the work to be done and the context within which it will be performed.

• Develop a detailed, actionable plan for the upcoming increment, including specific deliverables and timelines.
• Allocate tasks and responsibilities clearly among teams and team members.

• Enhance transparency and communication across all levels of the organisation.
• Ensure stakeholders are informed about the plan, progress, and any potential impediments.

Attendees

• CTO — to ensure alignment with strategic objectives
• Development Teams — all members of the development teams who will be working on the increment
• Product Directors / Owners — to provide vision, roadmap, priorities, and detailed requirements
• Scrum Masters — to facilitate the planning process and ensure adherence to Agile principles
• Stakeholders — including business representatives, customers, and senior leadership, to provide input and feedback
• Technical Leads — to address technical dependencies and challenges

Input

• Product Vision and Roadmap from each platform — long-term goals and strategic direction for the product
• Backlog Items — a prioritized list of features to be delivered
• Dependencies — information about dependencies between teams and tasks
• Capacity and Availability — availability of squad members and resources for the upcoming increment
• Feedback and Retrospective Insights — learnings from previous increments to improve planning and execution

• Previous-quarter commitments and outcomes copied from the last approved quarterly planning document.
• End-of-quarter status from the quarterly planning board, including work delivered, not completed, de-scoped, added mid-quarter or still in progress.
• To be Prioritised and Parking Lot / Future Consideration features that need a decision on whether to proceed, roll over, de-scope or move to discovery.

Outcome

• Increment Plan — a detailed plan outlining the work to be done, including timelines, deliverables, and assigned tasks
• Sprint Goals and Backlog — defined goals and prioritized feature list of items for each sprint within the increment
• Risk and Dependency Management — identified risks and dependencies with mitigation plans
• Commitments and Agreements — clear commitments from each squad on deliverables and timelines
• Communication Plan — a plan for ongoing communication and updates throughout the increment

• Approved features for the upcoming quarter, with carried-over items clearly identified.
• Documented decisions on what will roll over, be de-scoped, move to discovery or remain in Parking Lot / Future Consideration.
• Quarterly Planning Jira board and Jira Projects updated with approved features for the next quarter.
• Quarterly planning document shared with Platform Owners and Technology All.

Responsibilities

• Ensure alignment with strategic goals
• Support the teams to resolve any organisational impediments to the increment

• Provide vision and priorities
• Clarify requirements and answer questions
• Ensure alignment with strategic goals

• Facilitate the planning sessions
• Ensure adherence to Agile principles and processes
• Help resolve impediments and dependencies
• Facilitate communication and coordination across teams

• Break down and estimate work
• Identify dependencies and risks
• Commit to deliverables and timelines

• Provide input and feedback
• Ensure alignment with business needs and strategic objectives
• Support teams with resources and decision-making

• Address technical challenges and dependencies
• Provide technical guidance and support
• Ensure alignment of technical solutions with overall architecture