Tips on Running a Sprint Planning Meeting from an Atlassian PM

[Josh Devenny]

I have run and participated in hundreds of planning meetings over the years, and have seen the gambit of good to bad to terrible. With a little bit of prep, you can run really effective planning meetings and make sure that your team is best setup for delivering successfully on their sprint.

There are a few things you need to do in a sprint planning meeting as Megan mentions in the video, but the most important thing is for the team to be clear on the goal. What is the team going to deliver during this sprint? What is the tangible outcome that the team is setting out to achieve in the time you’ve set for your sprint?

Often, this information will come from the Product Manager. The more prepared PMs are with data, insights, and the “why” behind what the team is aiming for, the easier the discussion will be around the goal.

Remember that anyone can run a planning meeting, and often we change it up at Atlassian from the PM to the Engineering Lead, and sometimes even someone on the team. If the person is great at making sure the team is clear on the goal, and that each individual knows the actions they need to take when the meeting is finished, then you’re team will be setup for a great sprint ahead!