{"id":5366,"date":"2023-02-02T02:29:14","date_gmt":"2023-02-02T07:29:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/niftypm.com\/blog\/?p=5366"},"modified":"2025-12-09T05:48:33","modified_gmt":"2025-12-09T10:48:33","slug":"pi-planning-guide","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/niftypm.com\/blog\/pi-planning-guide\/","title":{"rendered":"The Ultimate PI Planning Guide for Agile Project Managers!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sticking to the agile philosophy can be tough as a business scales. <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.glassdoor.com\/blog\/glassdoors-diversity-and-inclusion-workplace-survey\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Glassdoor&#8217;s Diversity Hiring Survey<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> reinforces the importance of having a diverse workforce<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.glassdoor.com\/blog\/glassdoors-diversity-and-inclusion-workplace-survey\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> According to this survey, around 76% of employees claim that having a diverse workforce is important when evaluating companies (and job offers).<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">To empower a more global workforce to work efficiently, project managers need to be able to manage the interdependencies between geographically-dispersed teams. This is where <strong>A<\/strong><\/span><b>gile PI planning <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">comes into the big picture. It enables teams to prevent losing sight of the project focus.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In this article, we will decode everything you need to know about PI planning agile, starting with:<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><b>What is Program Increment (PI) planning?<\/b><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Do you find yourself Googling &#8220;<\/span><b>PI<\/b> <b>planning meaning&#8221; <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">every now and then? Keep reading. The first thing to note is that PI Planning refers to Program Increment Planning.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Here are a few characteristics of PI planning:<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><b>Agile PI planning<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> refers to sessions or events that are regularly conducted all-year round where multiple teams meet to:<\/span>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Plan the roadmap<\/span><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Align to a common vision<\/span><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Brainstorm on and define the required features<\/span><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Figure out the cross-team dependencies<\/span><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Identify the possible risks and chart out a resolution<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Comprises of 2 full-day events that occur every 8-12 weeks or more<\/span><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/niftypm.com\/blog\/product-manager-vs-project-manager\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Product managers<\/a> are expected to prioritize the features required in advance<\/span><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Development teams take the responsibility of planning the user story and driving estimation<\/span><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Engineers and UX teams are accountable for validating the plan<\/span><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The end goal is to ensure everyone attends it in-person<\/span><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If the teams are distributed, technological tools are leveraged accordingly<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><b>What are the benefits of PI planning?<\/b><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Here are the top 4 benefits of PI planning:<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>1. Improves team trust<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">PI planning is essential in the case of diverse interdisciplinary teams who work in the ART model. The Agile Release Train model is one where the resources are tasked with virtually deploying and releasing a specific hardware\/software. PI planning enables project managers to establish trust and transparency, ultimately tying the teams together. Using <a href=\"https:\/\/www.the-qrcode-generator.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The QR Code Generator<\/a> can support this by creating easy access points to essential documents, schedules, or resources through QR codes. Team members can scan to instantly access shared materials, reinforcing open communication and transparency.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">How? By mandating frequent face-to-face meetings and interactions.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>2. Improves the UX approach<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Consistent PI planning events enable teams to embrace a more iterative approach to product development. This includes developing an intuitive and accurate <a href=\"https:\/\/apiko.com\/blog\/ux-optimization\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">User Experience (UX)<\/a> as well as architecture.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>3. Accelerates task complete rate<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">PI planning also empowers ART teams (typically comprising 50-150 people with cross-functional benefits) to:<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Work towards a shared vision and mission, whether it is structured as a face-to-face or a virtual event<\/span><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Drive seamless collaboration<\/span><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Deliver continuous value to the end-user<\/span><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Work with the right capabilities and across disciplines to deliver tasks quickly<\/span><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Leverage key capabilities that are in-built within the team&#8211;from the hardware and software to the firmware<\/span><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Design, implement, iterate, and release tasks (and products) quickly<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>4. Drives quick decision-making<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Agile PI planning can help ART teams to <a href=\"https:\/\/niftypm.com\/blog\/iterative-process\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">iterate<\/a> with greater speed and drive quicker decisions, particularly in a cross-functional setting. Most ART team typically embrace SAFe principles, which includes providing continuous value for the end-users. Additionally, these teams laser-focus on applying systems thinking in all the tasks. Both of these can be achieved with agile PI planning.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><b>What should be included in the PI planning agenda?<\/b><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The first thing to note is that every PI planning looks different for different agile teams. Here&#8217;s what to include in a PI planning agenda:<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><b>Goals and vision<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: Start with clearly-defined Agile project goals and <a href=\"https:\/\/niftypm.com\/milestones\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">milestones<\/a>. Also, demonstrate key learnings from the PI planning events.<\/span><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><b>Business context<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: Make sure that a member from the senior management talks about how the organization is optimized for a specific target market. They should also elaborate on how well the business is performing and meeting the customer requirements. This will boost the speed of Agile, improve teamwork, and help align the business vision with the actual end-user&#8217;s needs.<\/span><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><b>RTE process<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: The Release Train Engineer (RTE) must laser-focus on defining the complete PI planning exercise by:<\/span>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Explaining how it works<\/span><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Stating the goals and objectives as clearly and concisely as possible<\/span><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Outlining the PI process using practical and easy-to-understand templates<\/span><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Addressing the team&#8217;s questions promptly<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><b>Group breakouts<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: Conducting group hangouts is important for a PI planning event as the teams can:<\/span>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Share inputs of the speed of delivery for iterations<\/span><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Review the backlog and analyze how to achieve the predetermined features<\/span><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Identify potential <a href=\"https:\/\/niftypm.com\/blog\/difference-between-risk-and-issue-in-project-management\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">risks<\/a> and dependencies\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Improve decision-making, together<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><b>Program risks<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: It is critical for the team to:<\/span>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Showcase a draft plan that talks about how to get feedback from product owners and other stakeholders<\/span><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Identify red flags and resolve potential issues prior to the final review by management<\/span><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Evaluate risks and dependencies and create an in-depth roadmap to iron out the issues<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><b>Confidence vote + feedback session: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The final step is to gather real-time feedback and empower teams by providing a vote of confidence to confirm whether everyone is on the right track or not.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Important tips to remember:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Reflect on past PI planning events to understand what worked well (and what didn&#8217;t)<\/span><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Drive virtual ice-breaking sessions to make the team members feel more comfortable and make sure to add enough time for introductions<\/span><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">During the vote of confidence session, if any action item gets less than a three-finger vote, make sure to address it instantly<\/span><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ensure that the feedback sessions are retrospective in nature and collect feedback from <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">everyone <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">involved<\/span><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">To make the sessions more interesting, call motivational speakers and talk about PI successes<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Here&#8217;s a sample of what a PI planning agenda should look like:<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><b>Day 1:<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"has-fixed-layout\"><tbody><tr><td>&nbsp;<\/td><td>&nbsp;<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">8:00am &#8211; 9:00am<\/span><\/td><td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Goals and vision<\/span><\/td><\/tr><tr><td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">9:00am &#8211; 10:30am<\/span><\/td><td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Business context<\/span><\/td><\/tr><tr><td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">10:30am &#8211; 11:30am<\/span><\/td><td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">RTE process<\/span><\/td><\/tr><tr><td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">11:30am &#8211; 1:00pm<\/span><\/td><td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Lunch<\/span><\/td><\/tr><tr><td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">1:00pm &#8211; 4:00pm&nbsp;<\/span><\/td><td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Team breakouts<\/span><\/td><\/tr><tr><td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">4:00pm &#8211; 5:00pm<\/span><\/td><td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Program risks<\/span><\/td><\/tr><tr><td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">5:00pm &#8211; 6:00pm<\/span><\/td><td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Management review&nbsp;<\/span><\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><b>Day 2:<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"has-fixed-layout\"><tbody><tr><td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">8:00am &#8211; 9:00am<\/span><\/td><td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Planning adjustment<\/span><\/td><\/tr><tr><td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">9:00am &#8211; 11:00am<\/span><\/td><td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Team breakouts<\/span><\/td><\/tr><tr><td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">11:00am &#8211; 1:00pm<\/span><\/td><td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Final plan review and lunch<\/span><\/td><\/tr><tr><td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">1:00pm &#8211; 2:00pm<\/span><\/td><td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Confidence vote<\/span><\/td><\/tr><tr><td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">2:00pm &#8211; 2:15pm<\/span><\/td><td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Plan rework (as needed)<\/span><\/td><\/tr><tr><td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">2:15pm &#8211; 5:00 pm<\/span><\/td><td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Planning retrospective + moving ahead<\/span><\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You can always make changes to this plan, particularly if you have distributed teams in the mix. Keep experimenting with the time duration and gather inputs from your team. Also, it is advisable to experiment with different formats.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><b>PI planning example<\/b><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"700\" height=\"434\" src=\"https:\/\/niftypm.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Roadmap_Milestones.png\" data-orig-src=\"https:\/\/niftypm.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Roadmap_Milestones.png\" alt=\"PI Planning example\" class=\"lazyload wp-image-5367\" srcset=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%27http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%27%20width%3D%27700%27%20height%3D%27434%27%20viewBox%3D%270%200%20700%20434%27%3E%3Crect%20width%3D%27700%27%20height%3D%27434%27%20fill-opacity%3D%220%22%2F%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/niftypm.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Roadmap_Milestones-300x186.png 300w, https:\/\/niftypm.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Roadmap_Milestones.png 700w\" data-sizes=\"auto\" data-orig-sizes=\"(max-width: 700px) 100vw, 700px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><b>3 Steps for Effective PI Planning<\/b><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">To realize the full power of Agile PI planning, embrace these best practices:<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><b>1. Organizational readiness<\/b><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">An effective program increment planning session is one where all the key stakeholders are present. So, schedule the PI planning meetings accordingly and send reminders to ensure complete attendance.<\/span><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ideally, plan a meeting before the quarter begins to prep your teams for the upcoming quarter.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><b>2. Content preparedness<\/b><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It is critical to establish the &#8220;why&#8221; behind every plan, along with elaborating on the vision and mission.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><b>3. Logistics preparation + accessibility<\/b><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">To make the most of your PI planning session, whether it is offline or virtual, ensure that the room is large enough to accommodate all the attendees<\/span><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Leverage the &#8216;Zoom breakout rooms&#8217; feature to divide the teams into small groups and engage them better.<br><\/span><\/span><br><div class=\"gmail_default\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">When hosting fully remote or hybrid PI events, choosing the right broadcasting and facilitation tools becomes essential. This is where Restream, OBS Studio, and <a href=\"https:\/\/riverside.com\/blog\/best-streamyard-alternatives\" title=\"\">StreamYard alternatives\u00a0<\/a>can be valuable, especially if you need cleaner multi-speaker setups, smoother screen-sharing, or more polished live presentations to keep distributed teams aligned and attentive.\u00a0<\/span><\/div><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Apart from the tips outlined above, make sure to answer the following questions:<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Has the scope of the planning process been defined?<\/span><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Which teams will be needed to drive the planning forward?<\/span><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Is there a shared understanding of the priorities among all teams and stakeholders?<\/span><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Do the agile teams have dedicated team members? (think: a Scrum Master and Product Owner for each team, for example)<\/span><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Has a briefing been prepared to provide the current business context for all the attendees?<\/span><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Will the product manager brief the team about the top 10 features in the program backlog?<\/span><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What kind of technology will you need to support the distributed remote attendees?\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What kind of video, audio, and presentation channels will you use to drive the maximum impact?<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Take inspiration from this checklist and set your PI planning up for success.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><b>When is PI planning held?<\/b><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Generally speaking, the ideal period for PI planning is 8 to 12 weeks. This is why most organizations conduct the meeting on a quarterly basis (which is December (PI: Q1), March (PI: Q2), June (PI: Q3), and September ((PI: Q4)).<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Note that this time is not set in stone. You can change the timing depending on how long each phase lasts. The end goal is to ensure that the PI activities occur regularly and are based on a set timetable. This will enable teams to attend the meeting and plan their work well in advance.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><b>What does SAFe have to do with PI planning?<\/b><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As per the Agile Manifesto, <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cThe most efficient and effective method of conveying information to and within a development team is a face-to-face conversation.\u201d&nbsp; <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">PI planning can empower project managers embracing the SAFe framework to take their project planning and efficiency to the next level.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><b>What is SAFe?<\/b><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe) is the leading framework globally, which allows organizations to execute agile principles at scale as per the<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/blog.easyagile.com\/top-10-insights-from-the-13th-annual-state-of-agile-report-6db97e0cb5c6\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">State of Agile Report<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. It is centered around three bodies of knowledge: agile software development, systems thinking, and lean product development. These &#8216;bodies of knowledge&#8217; offer project managers with:<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Structured guidance on roles and responsibilities<\/span><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A set of best practices to boost project quality, improve productivity, and promote employee engagement<\/span><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A way to effectively plan and manage the workload\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Help on how to work on the same product, outcomes, and objectives<\/span><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">An understanding of how to keep track of the values to deliver to the end-user<\/span><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ideas on how to drive greater alignment, collaboration, and project delivery across cross-functional and inter-disciplinary agile teams<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><b>So, what&#8217;s the role of PI planning in SAFe?<\/b><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">PI planning plays an instrumental role in driving the core SAFe principles for scaled agile teams. Here&#8217;s how PI planning works within SAFe:<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Brings teams together to:<\/span>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Work with greater collaboration<\/span><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Brainstorm on the top features together and prioritize needs effectively<\/span><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Identify dependencies<\/span><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Create a blueprint for the next PI<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Boosts visibility across teams<\/span><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Allows changes to be made more frequently<\/span><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Speeds up processes and helps team members to work more efficiently<\/span><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Helps companies to stay viable and competitive<\/span><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Acts as a powerful enabler for organizational agility<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><b><i>The learning<\/i><\/b><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: The two concepts are so intertwined that if you are not engaging in PI planning, you are, by extension, not following the SAFe principles as per Scaled Agile, Inc.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><b>10 common PI planning mistakes + challenges<\/b><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><b>1. Not prioritizing PI planning:<\/b><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Most project managers make the mistake of skipping, undervaluing, or not prioritizing PI planning. Project managers must make it a point to not delay, scale back, or push the PI planning. This can have a negative impact on product development.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><b>2. Not planning in advance:<\/b><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The biggest problem with PI planning is not engaging in any kind of pre-planning. When planning the event, make sure to plan the date well in advance so that everyone can attend it.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><b>3. Conducting lengthy\/boring\/monotonous sessions:<\/b><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">To make the most of the PI planning session, ensure that it is short and to the point. This will drive team engagement and keep everyone interested and invested in the session. You can also include ten-minute breaks or drive virtual icebreaker sessions to keep things interesting.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><b>4. Inability to tackle challenges related to remote working:<\/b><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">To tackle the issue of conducting a virtual PI, project managers need a little bit of planning and access to the right tools for driving on-point communication.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">To ensure that your remote team is engaged and improve team focus, make sure that all the team members have their cameras turned on and are participating actively.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><b>5. Not driving a post-PI retrospective session:<\/b><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If you want to improve your PI planning, you need to schedule a post-PI planning session where team members can discuss:<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What went well<\/span><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What went wrong<\/span><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What can be improved<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Gaining insights into these can improve your PI planning and optimize it.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><b>6. Experiencing tech issues:<\/b><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Any event, be it offline or virtual, can succumb to tech mishaps. And if the PI event comprises a distributed team, audio and\/or visual issues can significantly disrupt the entire flow of the event. This is why it is important to test all the equipment, tools, and connections ahead of time. A little preparedness goes a long way!<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><b>7. Issues with confidence vote:&nbsp;<\/b><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Another problem area for PI Planning organizers (and participants) is the confidence vote concept. Some participants may bow down to the pressure and vote for a task\/plan to proceed instead of airing their concerns.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><b>8. Time constraints:<\/b><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Driving draft plans to present and review can become extremely challenging if you have a large ART (say, 12 teams or more). This is why the ART is recommended to not exceed 8 teams. Or else, in the end, the feedback time will suffer.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><b>9. Low committing to the process:<\/b><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If the participants do not understand the importance of the PI planning process, they will not be fully invested in it. It is critical for the project manager to ensure that the framework is followed and implemented to the T.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><b>10. Inability to make changes:<\/b><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The most important element of PI planning is driving change. If something does not seem to be working, it is critical to fix it. Or else all the effort will be in vain. For instance, if the traditional SAFe Program Boards are not working for your organization, do not stick to them. The teams need to work on the problems and derive the right solutions with agility for PI planning to work.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><b>How to use Nifty as PI planning software?<\/b><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Nifty can double up as your PI Planning software by improving team alignment, boosting productivity, and empowering project managers to make smarter decisions.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"625\" height=\"445\" src=\"https:\/\/niftypm.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Nifty-use.webp\" data-orig-src=\"https:\/\/niftypm.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Nifty-use.webp\" alt=\"How to use Nifty for PI Planning\" class=\"lazyload wp-image-5368\" srcset=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%27http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%27%20width%3D%27625%27%20height%3D%27445%27%20viewBox%3D%270%200%20625%20445%27%3E%3Crect%20width%3D%27625%27%20height%3D%27445%27%20fill-opacity%3D%220%22%2F%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/niftypm.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Nifty-use-300x214.webp 300w, https:\/\/niftypm.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Nifty-use.webp 625w\" data-sizes=\"auto\" data-orig-sizes=\"(max-width: 625px) 100vw, 625px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Here are a few of its unique features:<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><b>Easy import and native integrations<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: Nifty empowers project managers to import data from common apps such as Asana, ClickUp, Jira, Trello, etc., or <a href=\"https:\/\/flatirons.com\/products\/fuse\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">import from .CSV<\/a> and Excel sheets. Plus, users can integrate all their favorite tools and easily sync data without disrupting the workflow. With the data in a centralized place, teams work more efficiently.<\/span><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><b>Automated workflows<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: Nifty offers workflow automation where team members can automatically be assigned to task lists. Plus, users can leverage Nifty&#8217;s task board to fit their workflow with multiple views, such as Kanban, List, and Swimlane.<\/span><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><b>Agile development flows + agile sprint management<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: The tool enables development teams to:<\/span>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Break product features into individual tasks and subtasks while laying out detailed user stories<\/span><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Tie the tasks to milestones and automate the sprint progress tracking<\/span><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Define goal-oriented sprints as milestones and organize the project objectives with start and end dates<\/span><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Get actionable and trackable context, driving work efficiency<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Book a demo or speak to a Nifty specialist to understand how the tool works. Trust Nifty to improve your <\/span><b>Agile PI planning<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> process, boost work productivity through the roof, and level up your agile planning. <a href=\"https:\/\/nifty.pm\/signup\/email\/?utm_source=blog&amp;utm_campaign=blog\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Sign up now<\/a> (free forever).<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Sticking to the agile philosophy can be tough as a [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":5369,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5366","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/niftypm.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5366","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/niftypm.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/niftypm.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/niftypm.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/niftypm.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5366"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/niftypm.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5366\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16377,"href":"https:\/\/niftypm.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5366\/revisions\/16377"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/niftypm.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5369"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/niftypm.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5366"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/niftypm.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5366"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/niftypm.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5366"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}