table of contents

Overview

Program Increment (PI) Planning is a structured, 2-day cadence-based event in the Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe) where all teams on an Agile Release Train (ART) align on a shared mission, roadmap, and business objectives for the next 8–12 weeks. It acts as a “big room” planning session to map dependencies, align stakeholders, and commit to a PI plan.

Key Aspects of PI Planning

  • Purpose: To align all team members to a common vision, identify dependencies, and create a realistic plan.
  • Cadence: Occurs every 8–12 weeks (typically 5-6 iterations/sprints).
  • Participants: Agile teams, product management, stakeholders, and business owners.
  • Outputs:
    • Committed PI Objectives: A set of business and technical goals for the PI.
    • Program Board: A visual tool showcasing feature delivery dates, dependencies, and milestones.

The PI Planning Process

  1. Business Context: Leadership presents the current state and portfolio vision.
  2. Product/Solution Vision: Product Management presents the top features in the roadmap.
  3. Team Breakouts: Teams estimate capacity, identify risks, and draft PI objectives and stories.
  4. Draft Plan Review: Teams present their initial plans, dependencies, and risks.
  5. Final Plan & Confidence Vote: After management review and adjustment, teams vote on their confidence in meeting the objectives.
PI planning ensures that in large-scale environments, multiple teams can work together toward a shared, cohesive goal rather than in silos.

Example Agenda