PI Planning

The PI Planning Event is one of the most important events for any organization executing SAFe®. It’s often said that if you aren’t doing PI Planning, you aren’t doing SAFe®. PI Planning is like Iteration Planning for the ART. It’s often referred to as the heartbeat and is pivotal in keeping the Train on the tracks and delivering the right work.

There is a lot of work and effort that goes into the execution of successful PI Planning. As a Coach, you will want to ensure that the Release Train Engineer (RTE) is preparing throughout the PI for the next PI Planning Event.

Traditionally, PI Planning was a face-to-face event that occurred every 8-12 weeks, with 10 being typical. However, since Covid-19, it may no longer be practical or feasible to hold planning face-to-face. When possible, we still encourage face-to-face planning, as it promotes team building and collaboration.

If face-to-face planning is not an option, ensure you have invested in technology that will support virtual, remote, or distributed PI Planning. This includes video conference equipment, shared workspaces, virtual boards, break-out spaces, applications designed to support PI Planning that can be integrated with Agile planning tools, and so on.

Story from the real world

I was working with an organization and when we learned that Covid-19 was going to force remote planning for the remainder of 2020 and into 2021, the organization was reluctant to invest in more tools. There was an impression that a virtual whiteboard and MS Teams were sufficient. As a Coach, I could see that the teams weren’t planning as effectively as they had been when we were face-to-face. The organization was hesitant to invest in more tools to support an event that occurred a couple of times a year.

We calculated the cost of a single face-to-face PI Planning Event compared to the cost of the tools being requested. The difference was significant and we determined that after two PI Planning Events, the cost of the tools would be offset. A new Covid-19 variant was identified and we were not going to be able to return as quickly as we had anticipated to face-to-face PI Planning. We made the decision to invest in better tools and started to see more effective planning and improved delivery.

We also discovered that PI Planning remotely, even with improved tools, took longer and the conversations that would naturally occur during lunches and breaks didn’t occur. This led to some missed dependencies, and we discovered we needed to be even more intentional in finding ways for those types of conversations to occur. We established “fireside chats” during PI Planning and had 1 member from each team go into a specific room; these small groups were able to share what was going on in their team rooms and some of the work they were planning, and were able to get to know individuals from other teams a little better. The team members loved it and took part in these same sessions several times throughout the PI Planning Event.

The RTE and PI Planning

Many people would say that PI Planning is what being an RTE is all about and that successful PI Planning is the measurement of a good RTE. While there is more to being an RTE than executing successful PI Planning Events, it is a critical part of the role.

The RTE sets the tone of PI Planning. The RTE should have lots of enthusiasm and excitement, as that gets absorbed by others in the room. How prepared the space is (whether virtual or physical) will also impact the success of the event. The attitude and demeanor of the RTE also set the tone. If the RTE is overly stressed or doesn’t handle the inevitable curveball well, then the ART tends to behave the same. To this end, as a Coach, supporting the RTE through this event is critical.

Preparing for PI Planning

RTEs should begin to prepare for the next PI Planning Event shortly after the previous event ends, early in the PI. In Appendix A, you will find an expanded checklist of items, as well as suggested dates for PI Planning activities. This list is based on the ART Readiness Workbook in the SAFe® PI Planning Toolkit and is available to RTE and SPCs in good standing.

You can’t underestimate the amount of planning that is necessary or the time and effort it takes to get organized. One thing to keep in mind is that the RTE shouldn’t try and do it all themselves. Leveraging support from the Scrum Masters/Team Coaches, Product Owners, Product Management, and System Architect will help make the event successful.

The RTE is like the ringmaster in a circus, coordinating all the parts and announcing the various activities, but ultimately relying on the other performers for their individual pieces.

Preparing Attendees

You will want to ensure that all PI Planning attendees understand the expectations prior to the PI Planning Event. Make sure that all members of the Agile Teams have completed SAFe® for Teams. Hold an overview of PI Planning for any Stakeholders that haven’t attended a SAFe® class or past PI Planning Events. Consider spending some additional time with the Business Owners discussing PI Objectives and how to assign Business Value. Lastly, make sure that Product Management and the System Architect have agreed on Capacity Allocations for Features compared to Enablers and technical debt.

Pro tip

Leverage the PI Planning Overview for Stakeholders slides from the SAFe® PI Planning toolkit.

The Day Before PI Planning

Depending on whether you are holding a virtual or in-person PI Planning Event, you will want to ensure your environment and space are prepared at least the day before. If it will be virtual, you can work on this during the weeks leading up to the event.

For in-person events, typically, the day before or right after the I&A workshop, the room needs to be set up and configured for the event. This includes building the ART Planning Board, Risk Board, and the team areas and boards. You want to ensure that when the teams arrive for the first day of PI Planning, they are able to jump directly into a successful event and not spend time creating their work environment.

With virtual events, you will need to ensure that your tools are configured with the appropriate boards. All ART members have links to the locations of the boards, virtual rooms, tools, and logins. Consider holding a session prior to the event to familiarize ART attendees with the tools and breakout spaces.

The preparation for PI Planning can’t be undervalued. Ensure you put in the time and effort to have a successful event. While each event is unique, you will quickly learn that you can leverage what’s learned from one event in the next one.