What is Agile Pi Planning?
Agile Pi Planning is an Agile Program Increment which is also known as the heart of the agile framework. Agile Pi planning is defined as the time duration during which the incremental value of the product/software is delivered by the Agile Release Train (ART) in the form of tested software or system produced in each iteration or sprint. Agile Pi is a fixed time duration for developing and testing the complete increment of the software or product development.
Agile Pi Planning is a face-2-face event for simultaneous coordination occurring at multiple locations as it is the most efficient and effective method of communication for implementing and developing the agile practices within the development team. Agile Pi Planning comprises of planning a business agenda with presentations describing the business context and stakeholders’ vision of the project.
Why Agile Pi Planning?
Agile Pi planning is known as the heart of the agile framework because it provides the backbone and structure to connect and manage a team working on the project. The Agile Pi Panning has a fixed and specific time period to set the objectives for the Agile Release Train (ART). As per the PI objective agenda, the requirements are divided into features and user stories. An agile release train is a group of multiple agile teams working on the project and in Agile Pi Planning these multiple agile teams are connected together working on a common objective.
Agile Pi Planning consists of steps like planning and managing the sessions in which various aspects of the project and their dependencies are analyzed. Once the objectives are defined in the planning session the agile teams are now set free to work on their individual tasks in an independent iteration. The program increment objectives help to remove the negative outcomes of the requirements fragmentation and the effect of keeping the big picture on second priority.
There are multiple higher-level increments or sprints that are involved in Agile Pi Planning. Although the time duration for Agile Pi is fixed, it can also be compromised or adjusted as per the project requirement. Agile Program Increment helps to keep the agile teams engaged and focused on the goal by enhancing the responsiveness and adaptability of the agile team members. Constant integration and endorsement from customers or the clients allow the team members to give feedback and contribute towards the product/software/service development and implementation.
How does it Work?
Agile Pi Planning works on the simple concept of the PDCA cycle which is represented above. PDCA cycle stands for Plan, Do, Check and Adjust.
1. Plan
This step is concerned with the planning of the program increment which is a continuous process focused on organizational and facility inclination. The planning step is basically to set and define the goals and objectives and is usually carried out by the stakeholders. In this step, a common vision and mission are shared with the agile team members to find and develop the solution. There are pre and post-planning of the program increment which helps to coordinate and create the roadmap for the program increment.
2. Do
Program Increment do step is the execution of the defined or planned PI. Agile PI is continuously executed and the solution of each increment is allowed to grow iteratively in each increment.
3. Check
The solution released in each iteration is checked and a system demo is conducted to analyze the working and functionality of the program increment. A system demo is conducted to check the effectiveness of the released solution and to collect the stakeholder’s feedback regarding the solution. In other words, the Check step helps to facilitate integration.
4. Adjust
Inspect and adapt is the next and the last step of the program increment in which all the features and functionality of the released solution are illustrated to identify the improvement areas and actions required to enhance the quality and reliability of the released solution. This step helps the Agile Release Train to improve the program increment.
Benefits of Agile Pi Planning
Agile Pi Planning is extremely helpful to the business or the organization in various ways like:
- It promotes face-2-face communications among the different agile teams working and the project stakeholders which helps to eradicate any chaos and brings the team to the same point in terms of work.
- Agile Pi Planning develops and creates a backbone and provides a structure for the project planning of the Agile Release Train (ART).
- It promotes fast decision-making for the stakeholders and the project managers.
- The Agile Pi Planning helps to identify the dependencies and the stumbling stones of the project.
- It helps to remove or eradicate the work in progress to meet the demand and capacity.
- The Agile Pi Planning aligns the agile team members on the Agile Release Train (ART) with a shared vision and mission.
- Program Increment promotes better planning and management for increasing productivity.
- It ensures consistent integration and involvement of the customers, stakeholders and the agile team members for development in each increment or sprint.
- The Program increment objectives help to lessen the business owner’s worries and to prioritize the features and functionalities of the PI.
- Program increment enables the effective utilization of resources by evaluating the features of the product or solution for further roles.
Agile Pi Planning is a powerful and effective mechanism for achieving business goals and targets. It promotes integrity and brings the agile team members and the business owner or the project stakeholder closer by helping them understand the vision of the project or the product. It helps the team members to understand the business value and provides a compact way of representing the information by effectively summarizing the business data. The outcomes of each iteration are valued more than the process which helps to capture and collaborate the work and solution by taking the work to the next level. This is an epic-driven approach for achieving product development.
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