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Planning & Processnoun · /sprɪnt ˈplænɪŋ/

sprint planning

In simple English

In Agile software development, sprint planning is a crucial ceremony where the product owner presents prioritized work to the team, and team members commit to delivering specific features, bug fixes, or technical improvements within the sprint timeframe. During this meeting, the team estimates effort, identifies dependencies, asks clarifying questions, and breaks down user stories into actionable tasks. This meeting sets expectations and ensures everyone understands the sprint goal before development begins. Sprint planning typically happens on the first day of a sprint and involves the entire team: product owners, developers, QA engineers, and sometimes scrum masters. The meeting creates a shared understanding of priorities and reduces miscommunication later. Teams use tools like Jira, Azure DevOps, or Monday.com to track committed items and progress throughout the sprint.

Understand what sprint planning is, why it matters in Agile teams, and how to run an effective sprint planning meeting.

At a glanceCEFR B2
Commonness5/5
Versatility4/5
FormalityCasualFormalNeutral
Spoken ↔ WrittenSpokenWrittenBoth
Directness ↔ DiplomaticDirectDiplomaticDirect
RegionUS and UK
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Say it like this

✓We have sprint planning tomorrow morning at 9 AM
✓During sprint planning, we committed to delivering the new login feature
✓The team struggled with sprint planning because the requirements were unclear

Real examples

in a standup

"We covered a lot of ground in sprint planning yesterday, so everyone should know what they are working on this week."

in a team meeting

"For sprint planning next week, please come prepared with story point estimates for the top five items in the backlog."

in a Slack message

"I noticed in sprint planning that we underestimated the database migration task, so let us discuss capacity in our next refinement session."

Don't say this

Handle with care. Do not confuse with sprint execution or retrospectives. Sprint planning is specifically the meeting at the START of a sprint to decide what work will be done.

✕We are sprint planning this feature right now.
✓We are estimating this feature during sprint planning.— Sprint planning is a scheduled meeting, not the act of building or coding. You estimate and commit during sprint planning; you execute after it.
✕Sprint planning happens every day to track progress.
✓Sprint planning happens once at the start of each sprint. Daily standups track progress.— Sprint planning is a one-time event per sprint. Daily progress is tracked in standups or daily scrums.
✕The developers skipped sprint planning and started coding anyway.
✓The team should never skip sprint planning because it aligns everyone on priorities.— Skipping sprint planning creates confusion about what should be built and wastes time later on rework.

Other forms

noun

sprint planning

"Sprint planning helps teams stay organized and focused."

noun (gerund)

during/in sprint planning

"During sprint planning, we identified three critical bugs to fix."

noun (compound)

sprint planning meeting

"The sprint planning meeting was longer than expected because of many questions."

Often used with

run/conduct sprint planningTo organize and facilitate the sprint planning meeting
attend sprint planningTo participate in the sprint planning meeting
sprint planning meetingThe formal meeting where sprint planning occurs
during sprint planningRefers to the time period when sprint planning is happening
before sprint planningPreparation activities that should happen before the meeting
effective sprint planningSprint planning that results in clear, achievable commitments

Similar words

sprint kickoffSimilar meaning; emphasizes the start of a new sprint rather than the planning process itself
sprint commitment meetingFocuses on the commitment aspect rather than the planning aspect

Opposites

sprint retrospectivesprint review

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Practice

Try it

4 quick exercises

Pick the most natural phrasing

1. Your manager asks when you will decide what to work on this week. What do you say?

Complete the sentence

2. We need to clarify the acceptance criteria _______ so the team can estimate accurately.

Spot the mistake

3. Which sentence uses sprint planning incorrectly?

Rewrite naturally

4. Rewrite this using sprint planning correctly: 'We looked at all the work we need to do this week and decided who will do what and how long it will take.'

Questions

Quick poll

Have you said "sprint planning" in a standup this week?

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