PI Planning
PI Planning is a 2 hour event
MYTH: PI Planning spans across 2 full days
All features need to be split into stories before PI planning
MYTH: the suggested approach is to prepare the top 10 features and to start familiarising the teams with the content
Scrum of Scrums is part of the ART sync
FACT: SoS together with the PO sync are two events of the ART sync, they can also be combined if appropriate
The System Demo occurs every two weeks
FACT: The System Demo is an event that occurs at the end of each iteration. The PI System demo takes place at the end of each PI i.e. during the Inspect and Adapt.
Only stakeholders are invited to the Inspect and Adapt event
MYTH: all team members and ART stakeholders participate to the I&A event
PI Planning can be performed remotely
FACT: Yes, using the right technology it can be held remotely
Materials and supplies can be purchased the day before the PI planning
MYTH: Prepare everything in advance. Use the facilities and supplies checklist to check that everything is in place
The ART sync is held weekly and is timeboxed
FACT: it is held on a weekly basis (or more frequently) and it is timeboxed 30-60 minutes
The System Demo can be performed using a development environment to show all the features which have been completed
MYTH: The System Demo should be performed from a staging environment which resembles production as closely as possible
Problem Solving workshop is part of the I&A event
FACT: it is where teams perform the root-cause analysis of different problems and brainstorm on potential solutions
All team members should attend PI planning
FACT: collaboration and alignment across all team members is fundamental to the success of PI Planning
Product Management will review the top features for the upcoming PI with Architects
FACT: Collaboration is important to balance business features with technical enablers that will be used to build the future set of business features
Product Management is not required in the ART sync
MYTH: Product Management is required especially in the PO sync, where they are provided visibility on progress and impediments
Features completed can be deployed in production
FACT: Features that are functionally completed can be deployed but ‘toggled’ off to not disrupt existing functionality
Only Quantitative metrics are reviewed in the I&A event
MYTH: quantitative and qualitative metrics are reviewed (Actual Business Value)
Once the planning is completed the plan cannot be changed
MYTH: changes are welcomed even late in development if they bring a benefit that is of value to the business
If the RTE is not going to be able to attend the PI, it must be postponed
MYTH: the person that was closest to the RTE during the preparation can facilitate PI planning
People outside of the Agile Release Train are not invited in the ART sync
MYTH: Subject Matter Experts can be invited in the ART sync to provide guidance, advice and expertise around a specific topic / issue.
The System Demo can be skipped if there is nothing to show
MYTH: System Demos are often neglected because of the inability to integrate effectively. Rather than solve that issue, organisations skip the demos. This is not a good pattern.
The I&A event is composed of 3 different parts
FACT: PI System Demo, Quantitative and Qualitative Measurements, Problem Solving workshop
PI Planning can be skipped if people do not have capacity for it
MYTH: PI planning is a cadence-based event that serves as the heartbeat of the Agile Release Train and cannot be skipped. If you do not do PI planning you are not doing SAFe
A senior executive prepares a briefing about the current state of the solution and portfolio
FACT: business context and vision is an important part of the PI planning
The ART sync is not required for a mature Agile Release Train
MYTH: The ART sync is important so that all trains can provide visibility of progress, scope, risks and impediments
The teams are responsible for integrating the work for the completed features
FACT: The team is responsible, but when they first start, they may need the support of a systems team until the process is setup and automated
The Inspect & Adapt is a 3 day event
MYTH: The Inspect & Adapt event is timeboxed to 3-4 hours