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Overview

Sprint planning sets the direction for development cycles. Righthands break down features, estimate effort accurately, plan capacity, and help create achievable sprint goals.

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Core Capabilities

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Story Breakdown

Epic Decomposition

Break large features into manageable user stories

Task Creation

Convert stories into specific technical tasks

Acceptance Criteria

Generate clear definition of done for each story

Dependency Mapping

Identify dependencies between stories and tasks

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Effort Estimation

1

Analyze Complexity

Reviews code areas affected, technical challenges, and unknowns
2

Historical Comparison

Compares to similar stories completed in the past
3

Generate Estimates

Provides story point or time-based estimates
4

Confidence Level

Indicates certainty of estimates (high/medium/low confidence)

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Capacity Planning

1

Team Availability

Accounts for PTO, meetings, and non-development time
2

Velocity Analysis

Reviews historical velocity and trends
3

Commitment Calculation

Determines realistic sprint capacity
4

Buffer Planning

Includes buffer for unknowns and technical debt

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Common Use Cases

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Epic Breakdown

"Implement user authentication system with OAuth support"

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Sprint Capacity Planning

Team: 5 developers
Sprint: 2 weeks (10 working days)
PTO: John (3 days), Sarah (2 days)
Recurring meetings: 6 hours/person/week
Average velocity: 42 story points

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Story Refinement

Convert vague requirements into well-defined stories:
“We need better performance on the dashboard”
Story 1: Optimize Dashboard Data Loading
  • As a user, I want the dashboard to load in under 2 seconds
  • Currently: 8-12 seconds for users with lots of data
  • Target: less than 2 seconds for 95% of users
Technical approach:
  • Implement data pagination (load 20 items at a time)
  • Add Redis caching for frequently accessed data
  • Lazy load charts below the fold
Acceptance criteria:
  • Dashboard loads in less than 2s for users with fewer than 1000 items
  • Dashboard loads in less than 3s for users with fewer than 10,000 items
  • No functionality lost (all data still accessible)
Story Points: 5Story 2: Add Dashboard Loading Indicators
  • As a user, I want to see loading progress so I know the app is working
Acceptance criteria:
  • Skeleton screens for charts and tables
  • Progress indicator shows % loaded
  • Ability to interact with loaded sections while others load
Story Points: 2

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Estimation Assistance

Ask: “Help me estimate this story: [story description]”
Righthand provides:
Estimation FactorAnalysis
ComplexityTechnical challenges, unknowns, learning curve
ScopeHow many files/components affected
DependenciesExternal APIs, team dependencies
TestingUnit, integration, E2E test requirements
Historical DataSimilar stories and their actual effort
Risk LevelLikelihood of unexpected complications

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Advanced Features

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Dependency Visualization

Righthand can map out story dependencies: Ask: “What’s the critical path for this sprint?” or “Which stories are blockers?”

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Risk Assessment

Identify risky stories that might derail the sprint:

Technical Unknowns

Stories involving unfamiliar technology

External Dependencies

Stories requiring third-party APIs or teams

Scope Creep Risk

Vague requirements likely to expand

Historical Issues

Similar stories that went poorly before

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Velocity Tracking

Analyze team velocity trends:
Example Queries
"What's our average velocity over the last 6 sprints?"
"Is our velocity trending up or down?"
"Which types of stories take longer than estimated?"
"How accurate are our estimates?"

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Sprint Simulation

1

Load Candidate Stories

Import all potential stories for the sprint
2

Apply Constraints

Team capacity, dependencies, priorities
3

Generate Scenarios

Multiple possible sprint plans
4

Compare Options

Evaluate trade-offs of each scenario

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Best Practices

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Effective Story Writing

Use “As a [user], I want [goal], so that [benefit]” format
Define 3-5 specific, testable criteria for completion
Stories should be completable in 1-3 days
Note technical constraints, edge cases, and considerations

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Sprint Planning Meeting

1

Pre-Meeting Prep (Day Before)

  • “Analyze and estimate all refined backlog items”
  • “Generate capacity calculation for next sprint”
  • “Identify any dependency conflicts”
2

Sprint Goal Setting (15 min)

  • Define sprint objective with team
  • “Suggest stories that align with goal: [sprint goal]”
3

Story Selection (30 min)

  • Review Righthand’s suggested stories
  • Discuss estimates and adjust
  • Commit to achievable sprint backlog
4

Task Breakdown (30 min)

  • “Break down selected stories into technical tasks”
  • Team adds implementation details
  • Identify who will work on what
5

Risk Review (15 min)

  • “What are the biggest risks in this sprint?”
  • Plan mitigation strategies
  • Identify backup stories if high-risk items fail

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Handling Uncertainty

When estimates are unclear:
For high-uncertainty stories, add a spike (time-boxed investigation) in the previous sprint to reduce risk.
Example: “Create a 4-hour spike to investigate OAuth integration complexity”

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Integration with Project Management

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Jira Integration

1

Backlog Import

Pull stories from Jira backlog for analysis
2

Automated Estimation

Add story point estimates based on complexity
3

Task Creation

Create sub-tasks automatically from story breakdown
4

Sprint Board Setup

Organize stories on sprint board with dependencies marked

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Linear Integration

Similar capabilities:
  • Analyze cycle time and velocity
  • Suggest story assignments based on expertise
  • Generate project updates and progress reports
  • Identify bottlenecks in the workflow

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GitHub Projects

  • Convert issues into sprint-ready stories
  • Estimate effort for issues
  • Create task lists within issues
  • Link related PRs and issues

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Example Workflows

Scenario: Plan a major feature over multiple sprints
  1. Initial Breakdown (Week 1)
    • “Break down the new dashboard redesign feature”
    • Righthand creates 15 user stories
    • Team reviews and refines
  2. Story Estimation (Week 2)
    • “Estimate all dashboard stories”
    • Righthand provides estimates: 78 story points total
    • Team discusses and adjusts: 82 points final
  3. Sprint Allocation (Week 2)
    • Team velocity: 40 points per sprint
    • “Organize these stories into 2 sprints based on dependencies”
    • Righthand suggests Sprint 1: Core features (38 pts)
    • Sprint 2: Polish and additional features (44 pts)
  4. Risk Planning (Week 2)
    • “What are the risks in Sprint 1?”
    • Righthand identifies: New charting library (learning curve)
    • Team adds spike to Sprint 0
  5. Execution (Sprints 1-2)
    • Track actual vs estimated effort
    • Adjust Sprint 2 based on Sprint 1 learnings
Scenario: Standard two-week sprint planningPre-Meeting (Day Before)
  • “Generate sprint capacity for next sprint”
  • “Prioritize backlog items by business value and technical dependencies”
  • Share analysis with team
Meeting Day
  • 9:00 - Sprint Review of last sprint
  • 9:30 - Set sprint goal: “Complete user authentication system”
    • “Which backlog items support this goal?”
    • Righthand suggests 8 relevant stories
  • 9:45 - Story selection
    • Review top priorities
    • “What’s the effort estimate for these 8 stories?” - 45 points
    • Team capacity: 42 points
    • Remove 2 lower-priority stories (3 points each)
    • Final commitment: 39 points
  • 10:15 - Task breakdown
    • “Break down story #123 into technical tasks”
    • Team collaborates on implementation approach
    • Repeat for all committed stories
  • 10:45 - Assignment and wrap-up
    • Team members claim stories
    • Identify pair programming opportunities
    • Schedule technical discussion for OAuth integration
  • 11:00 - Meeting complete
    • “Generate sprint summary”
    • Share with stakeholders
Scenario: Sprint scope needs adjustment due to unexpected complexityDay 5 of 10
  • Story taking 2× longer than estimated
  • Risk of missing sprint goal
Analysis
  • “Are we on track for sprint goal?”
  • Righthand analysis:
    • Completed: 12 points
    • In progress: 8 points
    • Remaining: 19 points
    • Days left: 5
    • Projected completion: 32 of 39 points
Action
  • “Which stories should we descope to meet sprint goal?”
  • Righthand recommends:
    • Keep: Authentication core (must-have)
    • Move to next sprint: OAuth polish, admin features
    • Adjusted commitment: 34 points (achievable)
Communication
  • “Generate sprint adjustment email for stakeholders”
  • Explain rationale, revised scope, new timeline

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Sprint Planning Checklist

1

Before Planning

  • Backlog refined and estimated
  • Team capacity calculated
  • Dependencies identified
  • Sprint goal drafted
2

During Planning

  • Sprint goal finalized
  • Stories selected and committed
  • Tasks broken down
  • Acceptance criteria clear
  • Assignments made
3

After Planning

  • Sprint backlog in project tool
  • Stakeholders informed
  • Risks documented
  • First stories ready to start
Keep your historical sprint data in Righthand to improve estimation accuracy over time. The more data, the better the estimates.
Estimates are predictions, not commitments. Build in buffer time (15-20%) for unknowns, and adjust as you learn during the sprint.