Sprint Execution Planning

During sprint planning the team produces a plan for how to achieve the sprint goal. Most teams create a sprint backlog, which typically lists product backlog items and their associated tasks and estimated effort-hours (see Figure 19.6). Although the team probably could create a full task-level sprint execution plan (the equivalent of a project plan for the sprint, perhaps in the format of a Gantt chart), the economics of doing so are hard to justify.

First, it’s not clear that a team of five to nine people needs a Gantt chart to dictate who should do the work and when for the next short-duration sprint. Second, even if the team wanted to create a Gantt chart, it would be inaccurate soon after the team begins working. Sprint execution is where the rubber meets the road. A massive influx of learning comes from actually building and testing something. This learning will disrupt even the best-conceived early plan. As a result, the team wastes valuable time putting a plan together, only to waste even more time changing it to reflect the reality of sprint execution.