If your Agile teams are struggling to meet Sprint Goals, one place to start looking for improvement is the Sprint Planning Meeting. Many teams do not conduct effective Sprint Planning Meetings, leading to issues including failure to meet the Sprint Goal, uneven velocity, and Sprint Backlogs of inappropriate size for the team.

Many teams are surprised to learn what goes into an effective Sprint Planning Meeting. By the end, they should have not only the Sprint Goal and Sprint Backlog, but an effective Definition of Done. In addition, tools to help teams plan their capacity during a Sprint can yield great insight into how the teams are really operating and help them make adjustments to meet Sprint Goals.