Program Increment (PI) planning is the heartbeat of the Agile Release Train in SAFe. Done correctly, it aligns teams, fosters collaboration, and sets the stage for value delivery. Yet, like any process, certain missteps can diminish its effectiveness. Let’s explore two common PI planning pitfalls and understand how to sidestep them.
1. Over-Analyzing Each Story:
Real-Life Example: Imagine planning a trip and spending hours deliberating on every single minute detail, such as which shoes to pack or what snacks to bring. By the time you’re done with the planning, you’d have little energy or enthusiasm left for the actual journey.
Think of it as trying to predict every raindrop in a storm. Instead of preparing for the storm as a whole, getting bogged down by each drop hampers your preparedness.
SAFe Perspective: In PI planning, diving too deep into each story’s nuances can drain the team’s energy and detract from the larger objective. Instead, teams should focus on understanding the broader context, intent, and value of the story. Details can be refined during iterations when the story is set to be developed.
2. Over-Prioritizing Features:
Real-Life Example: Think of a chef trying to determine the order in which to add ingredients to a dish. If they spend too much time debating this instead of actually cooking, the meal will be delayed, and diners will be left waiting.
It’s like arranging deck chairs on the Titanic. The order won’t matter if the ship is sinking.
SAFe Perspective: While prioritization is crucial in Agile, excessive time spent ranking features can lead to analysis paralysis. The key is to prioritize just enough to clarify the upcoming PI, ensuring that the most critical features aligned with the business goals are first developed.
Navigating the Pitfalls:
Awareness is the first step. Recognizing these anti-patterns allows teams to address them head-on. Regular retrospectives, feedback loops, and the inherent inspect-and-adapt mechanisms within SAFe provide the necessary tools to refine the PI planning process continuously.
PI planning is a collaborative effort, aiming for alignment and clear objectives for the upcoming increment. Agile teams can ensure a more streamlined, effective, and value-driven PI planning session in the SAFe 6.0 framework by being wary of over-analysis and excessive prioritisation.