Alignment & delivery

Program board

Sprints as columns, teams as rows, features and dependencies linked by strings.

When. The output of PI Planning: the shared view of dependencies between teams over the quarter.

Duration
2 h
Participants
RTE + POs
Output
Up-to-date program board
Stage
Scale-up · Mature
Sprint 1Sprint 2Sprint 3Sprint 4Sprint 5Team 1Team 2Team 3Dependencies
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Filled example

Sprint 1Sprint 2Sprint 3Sprint 4Sprint 5Team 1Team 2Team 3Dependenciesguided firstinterventionoffline photo queueoffline sync v1parts scan spikeoffline hardeningTeam 1 = Field appdispatcher checklistdispatch API v2(moved up)SMS invitesinvoicing status onjob cardactivation dashboardTeam 2 = Office webPennylane OAuthaccount mappingnightly invoice pushretries and alertsbeta with 12companiesTeam 3 =Integrationsphoto fix (Field) →dispatcher checklist(Office)dispatch API v2(Office) → offlinesync (Field) sprint3invoicing statusfield (Integrations)→ job card (Office)beta feedback(Integrations) →activation dashboard(Office)

Example data. Fieldnote is a fictional company used to fill all 61 boards, so the examples tell one consistent story.

Scale-up Fieldnote, the board Karim keeps updated after PI Planning so the three squads see the same dependencies every Monday.

What the team took away

Five strings, none crossing backwards after the sprint 2 move. The board goes on the wall next to Marc's dispatch screen, half joking, half not.

How to run it

Preparation

Agenda

  1. 15 min
    What moved
    Each PO states in one minute what shifted in their row since last time: done early, slipped, dropped.
  2. 40 min
    Update the strings
    For every slipped feature, follow its dependency strings. Ask the receiving PO: does this break your sprint? Move or cut on the spot.
  3. 20 min
    Milestone check
    Walk the milestone row. Any milestone with a red feature upstream gets a risk sticky and an owner.
  4. 25 min
    Capacity reality
    Compare the load per sprint to the printed capacity. Any sprint over 100 percent gets one feature pushed right, chosen by the PO, not the RTE.
  5. 20 min
    Publish the delta
    Write a five-line summary: what moved, what is at risk, who owns what. Send it to the train before end of day.

Pitfalls

Afterwards

The board feeds the weekly sync and the Inspect & Adapt. Features that slip twice in a row become a topic for the dependency map or the next PI Planning.

Source : Scaled Agile

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