quarterly-planning-template

name	quarterly-planning-template
enabled	true
description	Use when performing quarterly planning template — provides a structured framework for engineering quarterly planning, covering goal setting, capacity allocation, dependency mapping, risk assessment, and milestone definition. This template helps engineering teams align their quarterly work with organizational objectives while maintaining realistic commitments and appropriate investment in tech debt and innovation.
required_connections	[{"prefix":"ticketing","label":"Ticketing System"},{"prefix":"collaboration","label":"Collaboration Tool"}]
config_fields	[{"key":"team_name","label":"Team Name","required":true,"placeholder":"e.g., Core Infrastructure"},{"key":"quarter","label":"Quarter","required":true,"placeholder":"e.g., Q2 2026"}]
features	["QUARTERLY_PLANNING","ENGINEERING_MANAGEMENT","ROADMAP"]

Quarterly Planning Template

Phase 1: Context and Inputs

Gather inputs needed for planning.

• Review company/org-level objectives for the quarter
• Review previous quarter results and carry-over items
• Collect stakeholder requests and priorities
• Assess team capacity:

Factor	Value
Team size (engineers)
Working days in quarter
Planned PTO / holidays (days)
On-call tax (% of capacity)
Available engineering weeks

Investment Allocation (target %):

Category	Target %	Weeks
Feature work
Tech debt / reliability
Innovation / exploration
On-call / operational
Total	100%

Phase 2: Goal Setting

Define 3-5 quarterly goals aligned with organizational objectives.

#	Goal	Org Objective Alignment	Success Criteria	Confidence (H/M/L)
1
2
3
4
5

• Each goal has measurable success criteria
• Goals are achievable within available capacity
• Goals are prioritized (if capacity is reduced, what gets cut?)

Phase 3: Milestone Planning

Break goals into monthly milestones.

Month 1:

Milestone	Goal #	Owner	Dependencies	Status

Month 2:

Milestone	Goal #	Owner	Dependencies	Status

Month 3:

Milestone	Goal #	Owner	Dependencies	Status

Phase 4: Dependency and Risk Analysis

Cross-team dependencies:

Dependency	Owning Team	Needed By	Status	Risk
			Confirmed / Pending	H/M/L

Risks:

Risk	Likelihood (H/M/L)	Impact (H/M/L)	Mitigation

• All critical dependencies confirmed with owning teams
• Mitigation plan exists for high-likelihood or high-impact risks
• Buffer capacity reserved for unknowns (recommended 15-20%)

Phase 5: Communication and Tracking

• Quarterly plan shared with stakeholders
• Goals entered into OKR / goal tracking system
• Monthly check-in meetings scheduled
• Mid-quarter review date set: ___
• End-of-quarter review date set: ___

Counter-Rationalizations

Shortcut	Counter	Why
"We can skip some steps for this case"	Adapt the workflow steps, don't skip them	Skipped steps are where incidents and oversights originate
"The user seems to already know what to do"	Complete all workflow phases with the user	The workflow catches blind spots that experience alone misses
"This is a minor case, full process is overkill"	Scale the process down, don't turn it off	Minor cases become major when unstructured; the process scales, not disappears
"I'll fill in the details later"	Complete each section before moving on	Deferred details are forgotten; real-time capture is more accurate
"The template output isn't necessary"	Always produce the structured output format	Structured output enables comparison, audit trails, and handoff to other teams

Output Format

Summary

• Team: ___
• Quarter: ___
• Goals: ___
• Available capacity: ___ engineering weeks
• Key dependencies: ___
• Top risk: ___

Action Items

• Finalize and publish quarterly plan
• Confirm all cross-team dependencies
• Create epics/tickets for all milestones
• Schedule monthly milestone check-ins
• Schedule mid-quarter review
• Communicate plan to stakeholders and leadership