PI Planning - Two-Day Agenda

📅 Duration: 2 Days (8-10 hours per day)

📍 Format: In-person (preferred) or Remote

🔹 Day 1 - Alignment & Draft Planning

1. Welcome & Introductions (8:30 - 9:00 AM)
The Release Train Engineer (RTE) kicks off the event, explaining the agenda, objectives, and expectations for PI Planning.

2. Business Context & Vision (9:00 - 9:45 AM)
Business Owners present the organization's current state, strategic themes, and business goals to ensure alignment across teams.

3. Product/Solution Vision & Roadmap (9:45 - 10:15 AM)
Product Management provides an overview of the upcoming features, priorities, and key deliverables for the next Program Increment.

4. Break (10:15 - 10:30 AM)
A short break before diving into technical discussions.

5. Architecture & Engineering Overview (10:30 - 11:00 AM)
System Architects and Engineers discuss technical considerations, enablers, and constraints that may impact team planning.

6. Planning Context & Expected Outcomes (11:00 - 11:30 AM)
The RTE explains the planning process, team coordination, logistics, and expected outputs such as PI Objectives and the Program Board.

7. Team Breakouts - Draft Planning Begins (11:30 AM - 12:30 PM)
Each Agile team starts planning their iterations, defining backlog items, identifying dependencies, and drafting their PI Objectives.

8. Lunch Break (12:30 - 1:30 PM)
Time for teams to take a break and recharge.

9. Team Breakouts Continue (1:30 - 3:00 PM)
Teams continue refining their Iteration Plans, discussing dependencies, and collaborating with other teams.

10. Break (3:00 - 3:30 PM)
A short refresh before presenting the draft plans.

11. Draft Plan Review (3:30 - 5:00 PM)
Each team presents their draft PI plans, highlighting dependencies, risks, and open questions. Feedback is gathered from other teams, Product Management, and Business Owners.

12. Management Review & Problem Solving (5:00 - 5:30 PM)
The Business Owners, RTE, and key stakeholders discuss and resolve major risks, constraints, and dependencies identified during the draft plan review.

🔹 Day 2 - Finalizing & Commitment

1. Day 2 Kickoff & Review Adjustments (8:30 - 9:00 AM)
The RTE recaps the key takeaways from Day 1, highlighting unresolved risks and dependencies. Teams prepare for finalizing their plans.

2. Team Breakouts - Plan Adjustments (9:00 - 10:30 AM)
Teams work on refining their plans, resolving dependencies, and finalizing PI Objectives based on feedback from Day 1.

3. Break (10:30 - 11:00 AM)
A short break before final plan presentations.

4. Final Plan Review & PI Objectives Presentation (11:00 AM - 12:00 PM)
Each team presents their finalized PI Objectives and updates their plans. The Program Board is reviewed to confirm dependencies and major milestones.

5. Program Risks & ROAMing (12:00 - 12:30 PM)
All identified risks are reviewed and categorized using the ROAM (Resolved, Owned, Accepted, Mitigated) technique. Teams work together to address outstanding issues.

6. Lunch Break (12:30 - 1:30 PM)
A well-deserved break before final commitment discussions.

7. Confidence Vote (1:30 - 2:00 PM)
Each team participates in a Fist of Five confidence vote to gauge overall confidence in the PI Plan. If confidence is low, teams discuss necessary adjustments.

8. Plan Rework (if needed) (2:00 - 3:00 PM)
If the confidence vote reveals concerns, teams refine their PI Objectives, dependencies, or iteration plans to address gaps.

9. Break (3:00 - 3:30 PM)
A final break before concluding the event.

10. PI Plan Commitment & Closing Remarks (3:30 - 4:30 PM)
Each team formally commits to their PI Plan and leadership provides final thoughts on execution and expectations for the upcoming Program Increment.

11. PI Planning Retrospective & Celebration (4:30 PM Onwards)
Teams reflect on what went well and discuss improvements for future PI Planning sessions. The event concludes with a celebration to recognize the hard work of all participants.

🎯 Key Outputs from PI Planning

✅ PI Objectives – Clear, measurable goals for the Program Increment.
✅ Program Board – A visual representation of dependencies, milestones, and feature delivery.
✅ Committed PI Plan – A finalized roadmap for the next PI.
✅ Risk & Dependency Management – Addressed and categorized risks using the ROAM technique.

1️⃣ PI Objectives

PI (Program Increment) Objectives are the high-level goals set by an Agile Release Train (ART) during PI Planning. They summarize the planned business and technical outcomes for the entire train across multiple Agile teams.

🔹 Characteristics of PI Objectives:

• Align with business value and customer needs

• Express both functional (features) and non-functional (technical enablers) work

• Help business owners prioritize and measure success

• Used for confidence voting during PI Planning

📌 Example PI Objectives:
✅ Enhance user onboarding experience by implementing a step-by-step guide (Feature: Interactive User Tour)
✅ Improve system performance by reducing response time from 3s to 1.5s (Tech Enabler)
✅ Integrate third-party payment gateway to support international transactions (Feature)
✅ Increase mobile app adoption by adding push notifications for user engagement (Feature)
✅ Achieve 99.99% system uptime by enhancing cloud scalability (Non-functional requirement)

2️⃣ Team Objectives

Team Objectives are the specific, detailed commitments made by each Agile team within the ART. These contribute to the overall PI Objectives but focus on individual team deliverables.

🔹 Characteristics of Team Objectives:

• More granular than PI Objectives

• Can include features, enablers, or technical improvements

• Help track each team's contribution to the ART's goals

• May include stretch objectives (goals the team will attempt but aren't fully committed to)

📌 Example Team Objectives (aligned to PI Objectives):

PI Objective: Enhance user onboarding experience
🔹 Team Objective: Develop a guided walkthrough for new users, covering account setup and first-time actions.

PI Objective: Improve system performance
🔹 Team Objective: Optimize database queries to reduce API response times by 50%.

PI Objective: Integrate third-party payment gateway
🔹 Team Objective: Implement PayPal and Stripe payment options for international users.

PI Objective: Increase mobile app adoption
🔹 Team Objective: Enable push notifications for user engagement based on activity triggers.

PI Objective: Achieve 99.99% system uptime
🔹 Team Objective: Migrate core services to AWS auto-scaling groups for better availability.

🎯 Best Practices for Writing Objectives

✅ Make them SMART – Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound
✅ Use business language – Avoid overly technical jargon so stakeholders can understand
✅ Include success criteria – How will you measure if the objective is achieved?
✅ Prioritize – Focus on what delivers the most value

1. What is the primary goal of PI Planning?

A) To define detailed task breakdown for teams
B) To align teams on a shared vision and objectives
C) To finalize user stories for the next PI
D) To estimate story points for the PI

✅ Answer: B) To align teams on a shared vision and objectives

2. Who facilitates PI Planning?

A) Product Owner
B) System Architect
C) Release Train Engineer (RTE)
D) Scrum Master

✅ Answer: C) Release Train Engineer (RTE)

3. How often does PI Planning occur in SAFe?

A) Monthly
B) Quarterly (every 8-12 weeks)
C) Annually
D) Every sprint

✅ Answer: B) Quarterly (every 8-12 weeks)

4. What is the outcome of PI Planning?

A) A list of sprint tasks
B) A fully developed product
C) PI Objectives and a Program Board
D) A detailed Gantt chart

✅ Answer: C) PI Objectives and a Program Board

5. What technique is used to identify risks in PI Planning?

A) MoSCoW prioritization
B) ROAM (Resolved, Owned, Accepted, Mitigated)
C) SWOT analysis
D) Fibonacci estimation

✅ Answer: B) ROAM (Resolved, Owned, Accepted, Mitigated)

6. What happens if confidence is low during the confidence vote?

A) The PI Plan is abandoned
B) The team proceeds without changes
C) The teams discuss concerns and rework the plan
D) The Business Owner makes a final decision

✅ Answer: C) The teams discuss concerns and rework the plan

7. Who provides the business context during PI Planning?

A) RTE
B) Product Owner
C) Business Owners
D) Scrum Master

✅ Answer: C) Business Owners

8. What is the role of Product Management in PI Planning?

A) To write user stories for teams
B) To approve all technical implementations
C) To present the vision and prioritize features
D) To facilitate team breakout sessions

✅ Answer: C) To present the vision and prioritize features

9. What is a stretch objective in PI Planning?

A) A mandatory deliverable for the team
B) An extra goal that is attempted but not committed
C) A technical debt item
D) A backlog refinement activity

✅ Answer: B) An extra goal that is attempted but not committed

10. How are dependencies between teams visualized during PI Planning?

A) In a Kanban board
B) In the Program Board
C) In a Gantt chart
D) In an Excel sheet

✅ Answer: B) In the Program Board

11. Who commits to the PI Plan at the end of PI Planning?

A) Business Owners
B) Agile Teams
C) RTE and Product Management
D) Scrum Masters

✅ Answer: B) Agile Teams

12. What is the first activity in PI Planning?

A) Team breakout sessions
B) System demo
C) Business context presentation
D) Risk identification

✅ Answer: C) Business context presentation

13. What is the recommended duration for PI Planning?

A) Half-day
B) One full day
C) Two full days
D) One week

✅ Answer: C) Two full days

14. What happens immediately after PI Planning?

A) Iteration execution starts
B) System demo takes place
C) Teams conduct backlog refinement
D) Scrum of Scrums is held

✅ Answer: A) Iteration execution starts

15. What is the primary role of the System Architect during PI Planning?

A) Define team backlogs
B) Ensure architectural alignment across teams
C) Approve all PI Objectives
D) Conduct risk assessment

✅ Answer: B) Ensure architectural alignment across teams

16. What does the confidence vote measure?

A) Business Owner satisfaction
B) Team confidence in meeting PI Objectives
C) Individual team performance
D) The accuracy of the backlog

✅ Answer: B) Team confidence in meeting PI Objectives

17. What is the role of the Scrum Master during PI Planning?

A) Approve PI Objectives
B) Track dependencies across teams
C) Facilitate team breakouts and remove impediments
D) Define the product roadmap

✅ Answer: C) Facilitate team breakouts and remove impediments

18. What is the main difference between Pre-PI Planning and PI Planning?

A) Pre-PI Planning is for individual teams, while PI Planning is for ARTs
B) Pre-PI Planning focuses on aligning multiple ARTs before PI Planning
C) Pre-PI Planning is optional, while PI Planning is mandatory
D) There is no difference between them

✅ Answer: B) Pre-PI Planning focuses on aligning multiple ARTs before PI Planning

19. What is a key reason for conducting a System Demo before PI Planning?

A) To finalize the backlog
B) To review progress and inform planning decisions
C) To collect customer payments
D) To identify new dependencies

✅ Answer: B) To review progress and inform planning decisions

20. Who is responsible for defining the priorities of the PI Backlog?

A) Scrum Master
B) RTE
C) Product Management
D) Development Team

✅ Answer: C) Product Management