sprint-planner

# Sprint Planner ## Quick Start Plan sprints by pulling prioritized backlog items into a sprint backlog based on team capacity. Default sprint is 2 weeks. Always maintain a 20% capacity buffer for unplanned work and enforce a WIP limit of 3 in-progress tasks per person. ## Workflow 1. Determine planning context: new sprint kickoff, mid-sprint rebalancing, or backlog grooming 2. Identify sprint parameters: sprint number, duration, start/end dates 3. Gather team availability (accounting for PTO, holidays, meeting overhead) 4. Review carry-over items from the previous sprint and re-evaluate priority 5. Calculate team capacity: Available hours = (Working days x 8h) - Leave - Meeting overhead, then apply 0.7 velocity factor 6. Rank backlog items by business value and urgency 7. Pull tasks into the sprint until reaching 80% capacity threshold 8. Assign tasks by skill match and workload balance 9. Define a clear, measurable sprint goal 10. Flag risks: overallocation, skill gaps, heavy dependencies, carry-over debt ## Examples **Example 1: New sprint planning** Input: "Plan sprint 5 for our team. 2-week sprint starting March 18. Team: Alice (full), Bob (3 days PTO), Carol (full)." Output: ``` Sprint Planning - Sprint 5 18/03/2026 -> 01/04/2026 (10 working days) Sprint Goal: Complete user authentication module and begin payment integration Team Capacity: | Member | Available Days | Available Points | Allocated Points | Remaining | |--------|---------------|-----------------|-----------------|-----------| | Alice | 10 | 14 pts | 11 pts | 3 pts | | Bob | 7 | 10 pts | 8 pts | 2 pts | | Carol | 10 | 14 pts | 12 pts | 2 pts | | TOTAL | 27 | 38 pts | 31 pts | 7 pts | Sprint Backlog: | # | Task | Story Points | Assignee | Priority | Dependencies | |---|------|-------------|----------|----------|-------------| | 1 | Auth API endpoints | 5 | Alice | Critical | - | | 2 | Login UI | 3 | Carol | High | #1 | | 3 | Payment SDK setup | 5 | Bob | High | - | | 4 | Session management | 3 | Alice | High | #1 | | 5 | Unit tests for auth | 3 | Carol | Medium | #1, #4 | Capacity Utilization: 31/38 points (82% of available capacity) Buffer Remaining: 7 points (18%) Risks & Flags: - Bob's reduced availability may impact payment SDK delivery - Tasks #2 and #5 depend on #1; any delay to auth API cascades ``` **Example 2: Mid-sprint rebalancing** Input: "Alice is sick for the rest of the sprint. Redistribute her 8 remaining points." Output: ``` Sprint 5 - Rebalance Redistributed from Alice: | Task | Points | New Assignee | Rationale | |------|--------|-------------|-----------| | Session management | 3 | Bob | Backend skill match | | Auth bugfixes | 5 | Carol | Familiar with auth module | Updated Capacity: | Member | Remaining Capacity | New Allocation | Status | |--------|-------------------|----------------|--------| | Bob | 2 pts → -1 pts | Over by 1 pt | At risk | | Carol | 2 pts → -3 pts | Over by 3 pts | At risk | Risks & Flags: - Both Bob and Carol are now over capacity; recommend deferring 1 low-priority task ``` ## Tools - Use `Read` to load backlog data, team rosters, previous sprint reports, and velocity history - Use `Grep` to search for carry-over tasks, unresolved blockers, or dependency references - Use `Write` to persist the finalized sprint backlog and capacity plan - Use `Bash` to run capacity calculation scripts or export sprint plans ## Error Handling - If team availability data is missing -> ask the user or assume full availability with a warning - If backlog items lack story point estimates -> prompt the user or use historical averages - If capacity is exceeded -> warn and suggest lower-priority tasks to defer - If carry-over exceeds 30% of the new sprint -> flag a velocity concern and recommend a retrospective - If no sprint goal is provided -> draft a suggested goal from the highest-priority items ## Connectors (Optional) This skill works standalone. When connected to external tools, it unlocks additional capabilities: | Connector | What it enables | |-----------|----------------| | ~~project tracker | Pull backlog items, story points, and velocity history from the PM tool | | ~~calendar | Check team availability, PTO, and holidays for capacity planning | | ~~CI/CD | Link sprint deliverables to deployment pipelines and release schedules | | ~~docs | Access sprint retrospective notes and planning documents | ## Rules - Default sprint length: 2 weeks (10 working days) - Never fill to 100% capacity; maintain 20% buffer for unplanned work - WIP limit: max 3 in-progress tasks per person - Carry-over tasks must have priority re-evaluated before inclusion - Sprint goal must be clear, specific, and measurable - Every sprint task must have a story point estimate and an assignee - Dependencies between tasks must be explicitly documented ## Output Template ``` Sprint Planning - Sprint [N] [Start date] -> [End date] ([N] working days) Sprint Goal: [Clear, measurable goal statement] Team Capacity: | Member | Available Days | Available Points | Allocated Points | Remaining | |--------|---------------|-----------------|-----------------|-----------| | [Name] | [Days] | [X] pts | [Y] pts | [Z] pts | | TOTAL | [Days] | [X] pts | [Y] pts | [Z] pts | Sprint Backlog: | # | Task | Story Points | Assignee | Priority | Dependencies | |---|------|-------------|----------|----------|-------------| | 1 | [Task title] | [Pts] | [Person] | [Critical/High/Medium/Low] | [Task #] | Capacity Utilization: [Y]/[X] points ([%] of available capacity) Buffer Remaining: [Z] points ([%]) Carry-Over from Sprint [N-1]: | Task | Original Points | Re-evaluated Priority | Decision | |------|----------------|----------------------|----------| | [Task] | [Pts] | [Priority] | [Include/Defer/Split] | Risks & Flags: - [Risk or concern identified during planning] ``` ## Related Skills - `task-tracker` -- For tracking individual task progress within the sprint - `standup-helper` -- For daily standup updates during the sprint - `risk-assessor` -- For assessing risks that may impact sprint delivery - `timeline-generator` -- For generating project-level timelines across sprints