Steps: Final Release Plan

Sets

  1. Schedule Final Release Planning
  2. Prepare for Final Release Planning
  3. Run the Final Release Planning Meeting

Schedule Final Release Planning

Agile Release Manager:

  1. At the start of the last sprint of the current release, add at the top of each team’s backlog a story to draft all stories for all chosen epics.
  2. Remind each Team Guide that story must get into Sprint 1 of the next Planning Release and be completed during that sprint.
    Details: “Draft the Stories.”
  3. At the start of Sprint 1, ask Facilitators when they expect to be done with the Sprint 1 exercise.
  4. Schedule the Final Release Planning Meeting:
    • After the latest date provided by the Facilitators.
    • No later than Day 1 of Sprint 2.
    • With the Release Planners and TGs as mandatory participants.
  5. If any TG says they cannot participate at the best time for most, ask them who will attend in their place (the Facilitator or another team representative).

Details: “Schedule the Meeting.”

Prepare for Final Release Planning

Agile Release Manager, after all teams have completed their Sprint 1 exercises:

  1. If not yet done, create and populate a copy of the Release Capacities spreadsheet for the planned release.
    Details: “Create a Release Capacities Spreadsheet.”
  2. Move any stories from the prior release that still must be done to the new release (except any in progress in Sprint 1).
    Note: Determine with the Release Planners whether you want to move the epics or just the stories.
  3. Review the story list for each proposed epic to ensure each story is assigned to the release and to its team.
  4. Use the Release Backlog to determine how many stories each team has created.
  5. Determine each team’s velocity based on the last three or more sprints.
  6. Update the Release Capacities spreadsheet.

Details: “Prepare Data.”

Run the Final Release Planning Meeting

Agile Release Manager, during the meeting:

  1. Show the Release Capacities Spreadsheet.
  2. If any teams have too much work (negative numbers in the Plus/Minus column):
    1. Facilitate the trading of epics, or stories within epics, to other teams.
    2. If that does not fix the problem, remove the lowest-ranked epic from the release that includes stories for that team.
  3. Repeat the steps above until all teams are at zero or a positive number in the Plus/Minus column.
    Details: “Run the Final Release Planning.”
  4. Send stakeholders the release end date and a link to the Release Backlog.

Details: “Communicate the Release Plan.”

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