Program Increment planning is the heartbeat of scaling agility. When you run PI planning well, teams align on a shared mission, risks are surfaced early, and delivery predictability improves across the portfolio. In this guide, we break down how to improve PI planning with Scaled Agile Framework Scrum, from pre-event preparation to post-PI inspection. You will get practical steps, facilitation tips, and quality checks you can apply on your next planning event.
Why PI planning matters in Scaled Agile Framework Scrum
PI planning brings every Agile Team, Product Management, System Architecture, and Business Owners into the same room or virtual space. The outcome is a realistic plan for the next 8 to 12 weeks, a set of committed objectives, and a clear understanding of resources and risks. In Scaled Agile Framework Scrum, Scrum ceremonies continue at the team level, yet PI planning provides a cross-team umbrella that aligns backlogs, dependencies, and capacity to strategic goals.
Pre-PI preparation that sets you up for success
Strong preparation removes chaos and protects the planning time for valuable conversations.
Clarify the product vision and roadmap
Product Management should publish a crisp vision statement, a one page roadmap, and top features with business value scores. In Scaled Agile Framework Scrum, these artefacts offer context for team-level backlog refinement.
Refine team backlogs to the right granularity
Each team enters PI planning with a prioritised backlog of features and well-sliced stories. Stories should be small enough to fit in a single sprint, with acceptance criteria and initial estimates.
Map and socialise dependencies
Use a dependency board across teams before the event. Tag upstream and downstream relationships and propose delivery windows. Early visibility reduces last minute rework.
Confirm team capacities
Calculate capacity by sprint for each team, accounting for holidays, training, and known meetings. Capacity realism protects commitments and keeps confidence high.
Ready your tools and spaces
For co-located events, check rooms, boards, and breakout spaces. For remote events, test the virtual whiteboard, video platform, and your ALM tool. Publish a concise tech guide so teams lose no time.
Running the PI planning event
The event blends top-down context with bottom-up planning, all inside a structured two day agenda that you can extend for large ARTs.
Business context and product vision
Executives explain market realities, major bets, and constraints. Product Management follows with the vision, the roadmap, and features targeted for this PI. This ensures every team plans within the same strategic frame.
Architecture runway and NFRs
System and Solution Architects present enablers, technical direction, and nonfunctional requirements. In Scaled Agile Framework Scrum, this guidance helps teams shape stories that meet performance and security needs from day one.
Team breakouts for planning
Teams decompose features into stories, estimate, and fill sprint plans. Scrum Masters facilitate, Product Owners refine acceptance criteria, and the team identifies risks and dependencies. Keep sprints balanced. Leave slack for unplanned work and integration.
Draft plan review
After the first breakout, teams present draft plans. Stakeholders validate business value and raise conflicts. Use a dependency board to confirm handshake agreements. Capture risks with ROAM, which means Resolved, Owned, Accepted, or Mitigated.
Second team breakout
Incorporate feedback, rebalance capacity, and lock dependencies. Finalise team objectives, both committed and stretch. Assign business value scores in collaboration with Business Owners.
Final plan review and confidence vote
Each team presents its plan, risks, and objectives with value scores. Conduct a confidence vote. If average confidence is low, run a focused problem solving session and adjust.
Facilitation techniques that elevate quality
- Timebox with visible timers to keep energy high and reduce drift.
- Use structured checklists for each breakout. Include stories ready, capacity set, risks listed, dependencies confirmed, and objectives drafted.
- Encourage thin vertical slices so stories can be demoed within a sprint. Horizontal layers cause integration surprises.
- Balance discovery and delivery by reserving capacity for spikes and enablers. Technical debt that never makes the plan will derail the PI.
- Promote psychological safety so teams can flag risks without blame. A candid ROAM board is more useful than a polished slide that hides issues.
Common anti-patterns to avoid
Feature big-bang planning
Treating features as single delivery drops leads to end-of-PI crunches. Slice into sprint-sized increments that can demonstrate value early.
Capacity inflation
Overstating capacity to please stakeholders leads to broken commitments. Track historical velocity and factor in known events.
Hidden dependencies
If teams do not visualise dependencies on a shared board, surprises will emerge mid-PI. Make dependencies explicit and assign owners.
Risk theatre
Listing risks without ROAM decisions provides little value. Every risk needs a clear disposition and responsible owner.
Ignoring architectural guidance
Teams that skip nonfunctional requirements usually pay later with rework. Keep architecture runway visible in every breakout.
Metrics that prove PI planning is improving
Choose a small set of metrics that connect planning to outcomes. In Scaled Agile Framework Scrum, the following indicators provide a balanced view:
- Predictability: ratio of planned business value to actual business value delivered across teams.
- Flow load: work in progress across the ART, used to spot overcommitment.
- Defect escape rate: defects found after release compared to during development.
- Dependency lead time: time between a dependency being raised and being satisfied.
- Objective completion rate: percentage of committed objectives completed by PI end.
Track trends across PIs rather than chasing single data points. Use metrics to provoke discussion and learning, not to punish teams.
Practical checklist for your next PI planning
- Vision, roadmap, and top features published one week before
- Team backlogs refined, stories estimated, and acceptance criteria ready
- Capacity calculated per sprint and reviewed with stakeholders
- Dependency board created, owners assigned, and handshake times agreed
- Architecture enablers and NFRs prepared and socialised
- ROAM board template ready with example entries
- Virtual or physical spaces tested, facilitators briefed, and timeboxes defined
- Confidence vote mechanism prepared, for example fist of five
- Draft and final plan review slots scheduled with leaders available
Post-PI activities that lock in value
Improvement does not stop when the event ends.
Publish the plan of record
Share team objectives with business value, dependency timelines, and known risks. Keep a single source of truth in your ALM tool.
Run a focused retrospective
Inspect the planning process, not only the product. Ask what to stop, start, and continue. Capture one or two experiments to try next PI.
Synchronise execution with Scrum ceremonies
Teams continue with standard Scrum events. The ART uses Scrum of Scrums and Product Owner Sync to manage cross-team flow. Use these syncs to address dependencies early, not after they block work.
Maintain the ROAM board
Update risk statuses as the PI progresses. Celebrate resolved risks to reinforce transparency.
Inspect and adapt at PI end
Review predictability, quality, and flow. Demonstrate outcomes, not only outputs. Adjust planning patterns based on evidence.
Final thoughts
PI planning acts as the alignment engine for Scaled Agile Framework Scrum. With strong preparation, disciplined facilitation, and honest follow-through, you can transform the event from a calendar ritual into a value accelerator. Keep vision and capacity real, make dependencies visible, and treat risks as first class citizens. Iterate on the process every PI and your organisation will see clearer priorities, fewer surprises, and more predictable delivery at scale.
