Sprint Plan

Sprint Planning

Plan a sprint by estimating team capacity, selecting and sequencing stories, and identifying risks.

What You'll Need

| Input | Required? | Example | |-------|-----------|---------| | Sprint backlog or story list | ✅ Required | JIRA backlog export, list of user stories with estimates | | Team composition and capacity | ✅ Required | 3 engineers (2 available), 1 designer (part-time), 2-week sprint | | Current sprint velocity | 🟡 Recommended | "We typically complete 34 story points per sprint" | | Carry-over from last sprint | ⚪ Optional | 2 stories unfinished from previous sprint |

> Don't have everything? Start anyway — the skill will work with what you provide and flag where richer input would improve the output.

Context

You are helping plan a sprint for $ARGUMENTS.

If the user provides files (backlogs, velocity data, team rosters, or previous sprint reports), read them first.

Instructions

Phase 0: Context Confirmation

Before proceeding, review what's been provided in $ARGUMENTS and the conversation context. Only ask about what's missing — don't re-ask what's already clear.

1. Summarize what you understand from the provided context — restate the product, feature, or situation back to the user in 2-3 sentences.
2. Identify gaps — if any of the following are unclear, ask:

• What is the sprint duration and team capacity?
• What are the current priorities or OKRs guiding selection?
• Are there any hard deadlines or dependencies to account for?

1. Confirm: "Here's my understanding: [summary]. I plan to [brief description of what the skill will produce]. Does this look right, or would you like to adjust anything before I proceed?"

If the user provides additional context, incorporate it. If the user confirms, proceed.

1. Estimate team capacity:

• Number of team members and their availability (PTO, meetings, on-call)
• Historical velocity (average story points per sprint from last 3 sprints)
• Capacity buffer: reserve 15-20% for unexpected work, bugs, and tech debt
• Calculate available capacity in story points or ideal hours

1. Review and select stories:

• Pull from the prioritized backlog (highest priority first)
• Verify each story meets the Definition of Ready (clear AC, estimated, no blockers)
• Flag stories that need refinement before committing
• Stop adding stories when capacity is reached

1. Map dependencies:

• Identify stories that depend on other stories or external teams
• Sequence dependent stories appropriately
• Flag external dependencies and owners
• Identify the critical path

1. Identify risks and mitigations:

• Stories with high uncertainty or complexity
• External dependencies that could slip
• Knowledge concentration (only one person can do it)
• Suggest mitigations for each risk

1. Create the sprint plan summary:

``` Sprint Goal: [One sentence describing what success looks like] Duration: [2 weeks / 1 week / etc.] Team Capacity: [X story points] Committed Stories: [Y story points across Z stories] Buffer: [remaining capacity]

Stories:

1. [Story title] — [points] — [owner] — [dependencies]

...

Risks:

• [Risk] → [Mitigation]

```

1. Define the sprint goal: A single, clear sentence that captures the sprint's primary value delivery.

Think step by step. Save as markdown.

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Source & license

This open-source skill is cataloged on AgentStack and links to its original source — we do not rehost the code.

• Author: tarunccet
• Source: tarunccet/pm-skills
• License: MIT

Install and usage instructions live in the source repository linked above.