How much time should you set aside for sprint planning?

Sprint planning is an event that establishes the development goal with a prioritized and estimated list of cards or user stories to be completed in the sprint. Sprint planning is performed with the team and creates consensus.

The development goal is what the team plans to accomplish in the sprint.

The sprint backlog is a list of backlog items the team has agreed to work on in the upcoming sprint.

It is suggested Sprint Planning takes 4 hours or less for a 2-week sprint; however, large complex and highly integrated systems may require more planning time. The prerequisite for a successful sprint planning event is a well-groomed backlog, with each card having clear attainable acceptance criteria. Clarity reduces the amount of time spent on conversation and contributes to less time spent on Sprint Planning.

To be honest, the first time our time attempted to plan a sprint it took several days. Why? We just weren’t used to planning that way. Give it time and the team will get better at sprint planning. Practice, practice, practice.