Agile planning

## How does long-term Agile planning work? Agile planning is a kind of project management approach based on iterative and incremental development. It is designed to adapt processes to changing conditions. At the same time, it prioritizes competent interaction with the customer, as well as the rapid realization of value. Agile planning implies step-by-step creation of plans. Subsequently, they should be regularly adjusted depending on the circumstances. Why plan projects? This approach has a number of important advantages: - Transparency of processes: thanks to Agile planning, each member of the project team understands what tasks need to be completed and when. - Flexibility: the ability to respond quickly to changes in external conditions and the requirements of your client. - Constant feedback: team members regularly and in different formats discuss progress and emerging problems. This allows them to address them promptly. - Improved quality: through regular releases and customer feedback, the product better meets customer expectations. - Minimize risks: application of Agile methodology allows you to identify problems faster, to find optimal solutions for their elimination. Long-term Agile planning involves creating a common vision of the project for the long term. The main difference from short-term planning is the following. For example, the strategic perspective takes center stage. Project goals are directed toward the long term: the project team does not focus only on current tasks. The project planning strategy for the long term involves the following steps: - Defining strategic goals, setting objectives. - Allocation of key stages, activities to achieve the set goals. - Planning of time frames, preparation of necessary resources for each stage. - Risk assessment; development of risk management strategy - Regular monitoring with subsequent correction of the starting plan in accordance with changing conditions. Recall that one of the tools of Agile is sprints. Sprints are short time intervals during which the team performs an initially set amount of work. The work is done in sequence, with a focus on achieving specific goals. Such activity implies obtaining predictable results by the end of the sprint. Let's look at the mechanism of the sprint: - Agile sprint planning: defining goals/tasks for the next sprint; - Development: execution of the planned tasks by the development team; - Testing: checking the created product for compliance with the requirements; - demonstration: presentation of the achieved results to the customer. The mandatory outcome is a retrospective - it is an analysis of the conducted sprint. Its role is to identify lessons for future iterations. ## Benefits of Agile planning So, enough has been said about the possibility of long-term planning using Agile methodology. It remains to evaluate only a number of advantages of such an approach: - quick adaptation to changes, ability to predict them; - direct participation of the customer in the development process - significantly reduces the likelihood of objections, numerous revisions; - increased motivation of the team, improved quality of communication between specialists; - minimization of risks; - improving the quality of the product, which is initially created in accordance with the requirements and expectations of the customer; - efficient use of resources. The most important plus of the long-term planning system in Agile is to increase customer satisfaction, providing the customer with a positive experience of interaction with the project team. ## Algorithm of long-term planning Long-term planning in conjunction with Agile methodology involves the creation of a project roadmap. It includes: - assessment of tasks; - distribution of them by time; - definition of release periods. The roadmap will help the team of specialists to have a clear idea of what needs to be done during the entire development process. It can also be used to track the progress of tasks. Let's consider the basic stages of long-term planning: 1. Comprehensive project presentation. At this stage there is a detailed statement of goals/tasks, preliminary forecasting of the expected result. In fact, a general idea of the project and its key components is built. 2. Identification of the most important components. Identification of the main tasks that affect the success of the realization of the project as a whole. 3. Breaking down the work into stages - epics. This is the name for dividing one large project into smaller stages. The approach that implies task splitting simplifies the management of the development process. 4. Estimating the period of task completion with the formation of a roadmap. At this stage, the time schedule of tasks and their priorities are determined. 5. Creation of releases. The final product is formed piece by piece. This ensures its step-by-step development, improvement. 6. Confirmation of the roadmap, its presentation to the team members. It is important: each team member should be aware of the project activities, which will allow to act clearly and coherently. 7. Subsequent optimization. The process of analyzing and improving the plan, which happens continuously and helps to achieve optimal results. Thus, long-term Agile planning plays a key role in successful software product development. Applying the mentioned approach allows the team to demonstrate a high degree of flexibility, efficiency for successful realization of the plan. ## Storypoints in long term planning It's time to talk about storypoints. In Agile long term planning, Storypoints are an estimate of the complexity and amount of work that can be accomplished within a single sprint/release. They are typically used to plan and estimate the amount of work that can be accomplished by a team over a set deadline period. The role of Storypoints in long-term planning using the Agile methodology is as follows: - estimating workload; - forecasting the speed of task completion; - proper allocation of tasks to sprints; - increasing transparency for team members to understand work processes; - timely identification of obstacles, probable risks. Summarizing the above, it is worth noting: Storypoints allow to optimize resource utilization, competently distribute the list of tasks among the members of a single team. ## Long-term planning for several teams Developing a plan of activities for a certain time period is a priority not only for one project team. In Agile-methodology such approach is often relevant for several interacting teams - for example, project teams from different offices, cities, etc. Let's consider the peculiarities of long-term planning for several teams: - synchronization of work between different departments; - coordination of processes by the manager, constant exchange of information between teams; - management of dependencies between different projects; - optimizing the use of common resources; - eliminating the problem of duplication of work. Developing a unified strategy is the first step to developing a plan to achieve common goals. This approach allows tracking progress, reacting in a timely manner to changes in the external environment. As a result, regular harmonization of the work front, ideas between teams provides a useful exchange of experience and leads to improved quality of work. ## Conclusion Planning for a long time period using the Agile methodology has its advantages, allowing teams to effectively manage projects and achieve their goals. Openness, flexibility, high speed and predictability of results, improved product quality and increased customer satisfaction are the main benefits of this approach to planning. Long-term Agile planning provides a strategic vision of the project for the long term. In turn, this allows one or more teams to successfully work on complex, large-scale projects. Short sprint intervals allow you to react quickly to changes, achieving results in stages. And regular updating of plans allows you to take into account new requirements, conditions, ensuring project success. All of the above makes Agile planning an essential tool for effective project management in the dynamic environment of our time.