What Is an Agile Release Plan?

Agile release planning is a valuable technique for building customer-centric products and projects. It helps achieve your product roadmap through, planning poker Agile, iterative sprint planning, and daily standup meetings where you review and incorporate feedback to ensure incremental product improvements over time.

Agile release planning is a tactical version of your overall product vision and roadmap. Release plans guide sprints, where product requirements are prioritized, developed, and released. They also provide direction and a clear process to guide the product team while remaining flexible to incorporate customers' and stakeholders' feedback.

Note that Agile release planning encourages shipping requirements incrementally instead of pushing multiple changes in one release.

What is an Agile release plan?

What is a release plan? An Agile release plan is a dynamic document that breaks down how and when the organization releases product features or functionalities. This plan prioritizes feedback from previous iterations and sets out the scope, timeline, and resources for each release.

Agile release plans help teams decide how much functionality can be provided and how long it will take to develop. You can think of it as a prioritized list of functionalities to be delivered to the market, for an improved customer experience, over time.

In large, multi-departmental companies, release plans are excellent tools for communicating product status and progress with cross-functional teams, leaders, and stakeholders involved in a project, ensuring clear, aligned expectations for product development.

What to discuss in an Agile release planning meeting

Agile release planning’s main objective is to identify the next batch of minimal market features and establish a release date. Discussions in an Agile release planning meeting must cover:

Prioritizing features and functionalities for upcoming releases
Reviewing and incorporating gathered feedback in upcoming sprints
Articulating clear deliverables that state if the current sprint's outcome would be a product increment or release
Deciding which product versions get released to the market and the best order of these releases

Your development team may create versions 1.1, 1.12, 1.13, and 1.2 but only release the primary versions to users. Prioritizing functionalities is crucial, as it is often the case that your team may not tackle all product requirements in one release.

Product and project managers can use the Agile release planning meetings to keep their teams and stakeholders on the same page and generate more buy-in for the product vision.

Who should oversee Agile release plans?

The product owner or project manager oversees Agile release planning and manages the sprint and product backlog to ensure continued alignment with the overall product vision.

It's important to include essential members of your development team early in the release planning process to leverage their expertise, perspectives, and experience. Without your team's input, you run the risk of creating a roadblock instead of a roadmap.

What is the purpose of release planning in Agile and Scrum?

The purpose of release planning in Agile and Scrum is to ensure your project moves in the right direction, aligns with the overall product roadmap, and beneficially incorporates feedback.

Agile and Scrum release planning are excellent for managing projects that require rapid development and testing within short periods. They provide an outward perspective for the development team, putting individual sprints in the context of the larger strategic product vision.

Agile and Scrum release planning are also great tools for combining similar requirements for improved customer experience. Commonly used in IT projects, a software release plan is a standard method of managing software development projects.

What is the difference between a release plan and a roadmap?

Product roadmaps and release plans are two related project management tools with distinct product development processes. The product roadmap contains high-level requirements broken up into release plans, while release plans implement the product roadmap derived from the product vision.

A typical Agile framework drills down from product vision to action plans following the steps below:

Product vision
Product roadmap
Release plan
Sprint plan
Daily standup

The roadmap is where the product vision meets strategy, and the release plan is where project tasks and release dates are managed and executed. You could say a product roadmap depicts your product's planned future, and release plans detail how your team intends to achieve the product vision in iterative cycles.

The most crucial step in the Agile release planning is conducting sprint retrospectives. The feedback from the retrospective sessions helps teams improve their processes for future sprints and see better results quickly.

Best practices for Agile release planning

Agile release planning varies between organizations, but the general elements remain the same. If you are working on a software development project, ensure that your software release plan includes:

Product requirements analysis
Dates of proposed releases
Plans for each product or incremental release
Subsequent iterative cycles for the release
Plans for each iterative cycle
Feature or functionality development within an iterative cycle
Tasks necessary to successfully deliver a feature
Proofing and approval procedures

Careful planning, combined with an iterative schedule, increases your chances of success. Your release planning system must be nimble to adapt to changes and act on data and feedback. Stay open to reprioritizing project tasks to provide maximum value to your customers.

Other best practices for Agile release planning include:

Establishing measurable goals that describe the outcomes or benefits your product should create
Determining the work to be done by getting rough, high-level estimates from your development team
Estimating the labor cost required by considering your team members' availability and abilities
Understanding and working within your constraints, taking note of any hard deadlines or budget limitations
Monitoring progress from sprint to sprint and making adjustments as needed
Making data-driven decisions based on actionable feedback
Setting clear expectations between invested stakeholders and the development team
Scheduling regular road-mapping sessions as part of your sprint review meetings
Updating relevant stakeholders
Ensuring your release plans align with your product roadmap to provide continuity of purpose
Ensuring that each release builds on the one before

Agile release plan example

Agile release plans are standard in project management teams regardless of the company sector. However, you can find the best Agile release plan examples in the software development industry, where products are typically delivered in versions.

Observe any of your favorite social media apps, for instance. They are constantly adding new features and functionalities based on user feedback and product goals. In 2021 alone, Twitter has announced several incremental changes in its product roadmap, including newsletters, communities, and audio spaces.

While some organizations prefer one-time big releases, others push releases on a steady, periodic basis. Companies can choose to push a release at the end of every sprint or batch them until after a few iterations. You may decide to do it annually, quarterly, monthly, or on an ad hoc basis.

How Wrike can help with your Agile release plan

Wrike helps manage Agile release planning efficiently by serving as a single source of truth and clarity. You can oversee everything from the strategic managerial level to tactical, operational activities like assigning project tasks to team members.

Wrike helps you manage your Agile workflow, prioritize project tasks, track progress, share feedback, and coordinate activities between teams.

Are you ready to achieve long-term product success with your product roadmap tools? Get started with our product mapping and sprint planning templates and a free two-week trial to bring your product vision to life.

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The Complete Guide to Scrum Ceremonies

Two cornerstones of the Scrum framework for project delivery are adaptability and accountability. Scrum ceremonies, sometimes referred to as Scrum rituals, enable Scrum teams to remain nimble as they move through the project life cycle. Scrum ceremonies are also where team members hold themselves accountable for their contributions to the project. In this complete guide to Scrum ceremonies, we’re taking an in-depth look at the five unique events that comprise the Scrum framework. We’ll also explore the different Scrum meeting types and offer tips for getting your team more invested in these rituals. What is Scrum? Before we dive into the specifics of Scrum ceremonies, let’s clarify what Scrum is in the first place. Scrum is a clearly defined project management framework that follows the principles of the Agile manifesto. Agile is often mislabeled as a project management framework or process, but this isn’t the case. Agile is more like a philosophy for guiding product development and other complex or highly fluid projects. Essentially, Agile is all about working in shorter time frames and coming together frequently as a team to review what’s been done and make necessary adjustments. Agile is an iterative approach to project management designed to avoid the dilemma of reaching the end of a project and realizing that you veered off course weeks (or even months) ago. The Scrum framework adheres to these Agile principles by implementing short, set intervals of work called sprints. Sprints typically run for two weeks. At the end of each sprint, the Scrum team comes together to evaluate its output and make needed course corrections. Additionally, Scrum calls for several special meetings throughout the sprint. These meetings are referred to as “ceremonies” or “rituals,” and each type has a particular purpose. What are the five Scrum events and Scrum meeting types? Five distinct events make up a Scrum sprint, four of which are meetings, also known as ceremonies or rituals. The four Scrum ceremonies are: Sprint planning Daily Scrum Sprint review Sprint retrospective The sprint itself is also considered a critical Scrum event, where the rubber meets the road, and the actual project work gets done. Let’s take a closer look at each of the four sprint ceremonies and how they fit into the overall Scrum framework. 1. Sprint planningAs its name implies, the sprint planning ceremony takes place before the sprint commences. This meeting is used to map out the scope, goals, and any issues or concerns for the upcoming sprint. During the sprint planning ceremony, the team determines which items in the project backlog they will work on during the sprint. Key elements of the sprint planning ritual include: Defining the scope of the sprint Establishing which tasks will be tackled and who on the team will be responsible for them Setting concrete goals for the sprint, including deadlines for completion and metrics to determine success Addressing potential roadblocks, issues, or scheduling conflicts that might interfere with the sprint Ensuring that the plans get logged and scheduled in your project management software or tracking system to monitor progress and maintain accountability When it comes to sprint planning, you’ll want to be mindful of any holidays, special events, or individual days off that may affect the delivery or completion of certain tasks. Sprints typically last two weeks, which allows you just 10 workdays to accomplish the goals you’ve set for the sprint. Additionally, risk management should always play a role in the sprint planning ceremony. Scrum teams are not immune to unforeseen delays and hangups, so make sure to factor in these possibilities when planning.2. Daily ScrumThe daily Scrum, also called the daily stand-up, is a short daily meeting in which each team member delivers a brief status update. These meetings are intentionally short and sweet, ideally taking only 15 minutes and no more than 30 at the most. The daily Scrum helps ensure that everyone is progressing with their tasks as scheduled and that issues or roadblocks are being addressed. The daily Scrum ceremony should be laser-focused on the following four points: What has been accomplished so far What’s currently being worked on What’s up next Any obstacles or problems preventing progress The daily Scrum must not turn into an in-the-weeds discussion. Otherwise, you risk spending too much of the workday talking rather than being productive. It’s the Scrum master’s job to keep this ceremony on track. If a team member has an issue that needs further attention, schedule some time outside of the daily Scrum to address it. 3. Sprint reviewThe sprint review is the first of two post-sprint ceremonies. Because Scrum was originally designed as a software development framework, each sprint was meant to produce a shippable increment of work, such as a new feature. During the sprint review, that new feature is demonstrated and feedback solicited from managers and stakeholders. Scrum has since been adopted by project teams across multiple industries and disciplines outside of IT. However, the concept of the sprint remains the same: to produce a specific and defined outcome. The sprint review is when that outcome is demoed or presented to stakeholders for comments and feedback. 4. Sprint retrospective The sprint retrospective is the second ceremony to take place after a sprint has been completed. It’s also the final ceremony of the Scrum process. During the retrospective ritual, the Scrum team reviews its processes to determine what can be improved in subsequent sprints. Remember, the Agile philosophy calls for consistent assessment and improvement. To that end, the sprint retrospective ritual is one of the most critical of the entire Scrum framework. Why are Scrum ceremonies beneficial to projects? If there’s one thing employees do not want any more of, it’s meetings. Team members spend an average of 21% of their time meeting with coworkers and managers. To make matters worse, those workers feel that 25% of that time is wasted. When meetings are unstructured and unfocused, it only leads to frustration. Scrum ceremonies, on the other hand, are highly structured and focused. But what is the most important Scrum ceremony? Well, each Scrum ritual has a distinctly defined purpose: to set expectations, facilitate effective collaboration, and drive measured results. Scrum ceremonies provide the framework for teams to complete their work in a disciplined, orderly manner, as well as to continually refine their processes and sharpen their skills. How do you get your team enthused for Scrum rituals? As we’ve seen, each Scrum ritual has a specific purpose, unlike ad hoc meetings that workers are often involuntarily roped into. That doesn’t mean that your team will always be bursting with excitement at the thought of yet another daily Scrum. Even if they’re not necessarily enthused, your team members should be willing participants at each Scrum ceremony. When workers feel that their contributions truly matter and they own their work, enthusiasm often follows. Here are a few tips you can use to help instill a sense of ownership in your team. As the Scrum master, don’t look at your team members during the meeting. Instead, keep your eyes on your notepad or keyboard as you take notes. This is a sort of psychological hack that will force your team members to look at each other as they deliver their daily updates, rather than looking at you and feeling like they are simply reporting to their manager. Another simple “hack” for signaling that the meeting truly belongs to the team is to arrange the ceremony in a circle, then slowly step out of it. At first, workers will likely still want to look at you as they report, but they’ll quickly realize that they are running the ceremony and reporting to one another. Instead of asking, “What have you done?” or, “What do you expect to complete today?”, focus your questions on the sprint’s goals. For instance, you could ask, “Are you confident that the team can reach its sprint goal?” or, “Is it clear what needs to be done today for us to reach our goals?” How to organize your Scrum rituals with Wrike Organizing and managing your Scrum rituals is much easier with the proper tools in place. Wrike provides several templates and tools to help streamline your Scrum ceremonies. You can access performance metrics, assign action items, monitor progress, and keep all your files and data in one centralized location. Wrike empowers Scrum teams to collaborate more effectively and maximize each sprint. Ready to make the most of your next Scrum sprint? Start your free two-week Wrike trial today!

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What Is Agile Release Planning?

What is an Agile release plan?

What to discuss in an Agile release planning meeting

Who should oversee Agile release plans?

What is the purpose of release planning in Agile and Scrum?

What is the difference between a release plan and a roadmap?

Best practices for Agile release planning

Agile release plan example

How Wrike can help with your Agile release plan

Kelechi Udoagwu

What Is Agile Release Planning?

What is an Agile release plan?

What to discuss in an Agile release planning meeting

Who should oversee Agile release plans?

What is the purpose of release planning in Agile and Scrum?

What is the difference between a release plan and a roadmap?

Best practices for Agile release planning

Agile release plan example

How Wrike can help with your Agile release plan

Kelechi Udoagwu

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What Is an Agile PMO?

A Guide to PI Planning in Agile

The Complete Guide to Scrum Ceremonies

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