Aligning IT and business teams is often a headache. Between business priorities that are constantly evolving, tech teams that juggle technical constraints, and silos that complicate communication, we quickly end up with projects that are progressing... but not necessarily in the right direction.
Result? Frustrations on both sides, delays, and a loss of value for the business.
That's where the PI Planning come into play. A pillar of the SAFe (Scaled Agile Framework) framework, this quarterly event brings together all teams involved in an Agile Release Train (ART) to synchronize their efforts around a clear and realistic plan. For two days, IT and businesses work together to define priorities, remove dependencies and ensure that everyone is moving in the same direction.
In short: it's the moment when everyone agrees on what we're doing, why we're doing it, and how we're going to get there.
But be careful: a poorly prepared PI Planning can quickly become an interminable meeting that lacks impact. For it to be effective, it is necessary good preparation, strong involvement of stakeholders and a real dynamic of collaboration. Otherwise, you risk leaving with a fuzzy plan and a false sense of alignment.
So, how can you turn this exercise into a driver of performance and commitment for your teams? What are the pitfalls to avoid? And above all, how can we ensure that PI Planning is a driver of value creation and not just another constraint?
In this article, we are going to dissect the keys to a successful PI Planning, with concrete feedback and actionable advice. Because well done, this event can change the dynamics of your projects and finally align IT and Business with a common goal.
To enrich our knowledge and go beyond literature, we asked experts to share their beliefs with us. They also bring their concrete best practices to engage in the implementation of a PI Planning. We thank Elodie Clémentine Grasset and Michel Levaslot for their contributions.
First, focus on the definition of PI Planning, and some key concepts to know to get started.
PI Planning is a large-scale team meeting, aimed at organizing tasks for a defined period of time, called Program Increment or PI (and Planning Interval since SAFe version 6). This collaborative session allows you to align goals and coordinate the actions of all the stakeholders in a project, guaranteeing clear and concerted planning for the period in question.
A PI Planning is often used in the context of IT product development. However, it can just as easily be implemented in more traditional and structured projects, such as organizational change management, hardware creation or even the production of documentary projects.
At scale, PI Planning can make it possible to structure the entire build of an organization, all projects and product developments in progress.
Through the PI Planning process, you can:
This meeting generally lasts one to two days, segmented in order to address all future IP topics: key milestones, functionalities to be developed, priorities, risks...
To learn more about the definition of PI Planning, see our article on the subject. It also reveals all the prerequisites for organizing an effective PI Planning.
Program Increment (PI), and by extension PI Planning, is part of the SAFe (Scaled Agile Framework) methodological framework. In this agile approach, teams collaborating on a PI are called “Agile Release Train” (ART).
Traditionally, according to SAFe principles, a PI extends over a period of 8 to 12 weeks. However, if you do not adopt this framework to the letter, you can adjust this duration according to the needs of your organization, for example by choosing a quarterly cycle.
This flexibility does not exclude the possibility of maintaining shorter sprints and regular deliveries, thus ensuring an iterative pace for the development team.
Here is a diagram that makes this tangible:
VISUAL
Moving on to scale, to align a company with its strategic or vital projects, we strongly recommend choosing the rhythm of the quarter The Sun offers us a quarterly rhythm for the seasons, the financers offer us a quarterly rhythm for financial publications, why not subscribe to a natural rhythm for the build, for the projects?
The large-scale project management practice that is PI Planning has many advantages - whether for teams that follow the agile manifesto to the letter or not.
Thanks to a well-oiled PI Planning, you can in particular:
Therefore, PI Planning also allows you to control the budget of your projects and products more closely.
In short, PI Planning is an iterative development practice to accelerate the delivery of value from your projects, and to enter into a continuous improvement process.
But to benefit from these advantages, you need to understand how to set up a well-designed Planning at Scale PI. Good news: that's exactly what this article tells you!
Find out here what two typical days of PI Planning look like.
One of the keys to the success of a PI Planning is to succeed in creating an environment where everyone feels free to share their constraints, in order to collectively plan the future of the project over the coming period.
Simple on paper. A real challenge for organizers, who must “feel” the mood of the company and make sure to distribute the word while constantly relaunching to seek compromises.
Not lying to yourself during these times is essential. Basing your thoughts on available objective data does not prevent you from making reasonable bets as well.
The point of view of the glass that is half full will be an ally in always making progress in resolving portfolio complexities.
To do this, use during the PI Planning collaborative tools, which make it possible to structure exchanges and to show that everyone's voice is taken into account.
Use:
Also, be sure to Recall the rules of PI Planning as soon as you start the meeting. Go into detail, for example by highlighting the colors of the various post-its to be used on the boards (depending on whether they are risks, key milestones, features, user stories, etc.).
These rules will be transmitted prior to the speeches, to each team, who will also be able to prepare the ground skilfully.
And it is the role of the PI Planning coordinator, the Release Train Engineer (RTE), to succeed in distributing the word fairly, to ensure peaceful exchanges.
The precarious balance, especially in initial experiments, between reasonable goals and total impact should not discourage. A PI Planning is a process that is learning for all parties. Make sure to target the objective that solves one of the problems most shared by teams.
At the very beginning of PI Planning, it is the Release Train Engineer who speaks to introduce the meeting. It presents the agenda for the coming days, and highlights the goals to be achieved.
“Here are all the challenges that IP allows us to address, but for these first implementations, we will focus on...”
Then he presents the vision of the future IP, based on the strategic priorities he collected prior to the meeting (we'll tell you more about this in the rest of the article!).
Finally, the introduction ends with a reminder strategic challenges and changes to be taken into account in the coming period, a detailed overview of the backlog and priority features or deliverables to be planned for the coming period.
During the second half-day of PI Planning, each team launches its planning workshop. The idea: plan the deliveries of the various functionalities for the future PI, detailing each user story, and giving an estimate of the efforts to be made.
Each team also analyzes The dependencies that she might encounter with other teams, and plans iterations according to her capacity and the priorities of the features to be released.
VISUAL
During this stage, the Scrum Master helps each team to prioritize and organize work. It's good to build a team of referents who are ultra-committed to the success of the event and multi-team to counter the enlightened guru side that too often sticks to the pegs of a Scrum Master...
Ensure the presence of a representative of business sponsors in all phases of the PI. The big bosses at the beginning and at the end, the “knowledgeable” business experts at the heart of the exchanges.
When the planning workshops are over, each team presents their plan to the entire agile train. Collectively, dependencies are validated, and each team's plans are adjusted to prevent these dependencies from creating bottlenecks.
Ensure that these dependencies don't stay on the board until the next PI, but integrate them directly into your project and product tracking tools.
During the third half-day, the PI Planning participants analyze the risks that the projects are likely to encounter, and that would potentially hinder deliveries. These risks are generally prioritized. Then the collective sets up actions to mitigate these risks.
Once again, particular attention will be paid to the use of this rich material (risks) that emerge during PI Planning. Choose a solution that makes these risks visible at the heart of your portfolio, program, project, and product management.
During the last half-day of PI Planning, team plans are finalized. Business representatives provide feedback on these plans, and final adjustments are made if necessary.
VISUAL
So will it happen or not in the next quarters?
Then everyone participates in A vote of confidence : the teams are thus committed to aligning themselves with the plan they have defined. In very rare cases, if the vote of confidence is very low, it may be decided to rework the plans. But generally, planning workshops and the study of interdependencies resulted in a square plan, adopted by all.
You may have already understood it: a successful PI Planning is a meeting that leaves nothing to chance, and that is well planned in advance. Here are some key steps to go through for a smooth Program Increment Planning.
First, you need to create a list of the participants in your PI Planning. All the stakeholders in your project must be present - but be careful: it is also a question of bringing together the people who are really decision-makers.
Otherwise, you take the risk of aligning the teams that do and those that organize without involving those who decide. Big warning: you are off to a bad start and will create high expectations. No sponsor, no IP.
The following should be present at your planning session:
In preparing your PI Planning, you need to determine what is the vision that will guide the period you need to plan. the idea: align everyone around the transformation your business will experience in the future.
Take into account the environment in which your business operates and will evolve in the coming times. Your vision can be based on positive elements (such as innovative projects that the company will carry out), negative (such as the arrival of new competitors on your market), or on constraints (such as new regulations).
Also, talk to the business managers involved, and ask them what their strategic priorities are, and what friction points they will need to address during PI Planning.
Note that the vision you are going to communicate to the participants of your PI Planning does not necessarily impact the period to come. Above all, it is a major guideline that should guide the prioritization of future actions.
Even if the purpose of the PI Planning is to identify the blockages that could interfere with your project, take the time if possible to anticipate these blockages during your preparation.
For this:
You know it: large-scale project management requires considerable logistics. And this is also the case for the organization of a PI Planning!
Take the time to:
Launching the iterative approach of PI Planning in a company is a real act of communication. You need to make sure that your participants are ready to commit to it firmly, over the long term, and that they understand the benefits that they can derive from it.
Indeed, developers are often used to working incrementally, using agile methods. But businesses often have more difficulty implementing such a fine and detailed planning method.
Hence the fact that you have to lead a consistent change management, by communicating in a motivating way. Remove everyone's brakes before the meeting, and remind everyone of the advantages of this mode of operation.
Effective PI Planning is not based solely on methodology: the right tools make all the difference. Without thorough preparation and structured follow-up, this exercise can quickly become a waste of time, with unclear commitments and poorly managed dependencies.
This is where a tool like Airsas makes perfect sense. Even before PI Planning, it allows prepare the capacity of teams in advance, to prioritize key features and to anticipate dependencies. By giving a clear vision of the goals and available resources, Airsaas facilitates the review of initiatives and aligns stakeholders with what is really feasible in the coming quarter.
During the event, Airsas structures the planning by making the arbitrations and commitments made visible. No need to juggle dozens of tables: everything is centralized, readable and actionable. And after PI Planning, it ensures continuous monitoring of commitments and the execution of projects, to avoid excesses and adjust priorities according to realities on the ground.
Successful PI Planning involves solid preparation, smooth execution and rigorous monitoring. With Airsaas, you give IT and business teams a clear and pragmatic framework so that their efforts are truly aligned with the company's strategy.
Interested? Discover Airsas, and request your demo now.
