The Planning board is a visual representation of your plan, but without proper communication, it’s merely a set of disconnected ideas.
If you are struggling with ensuring that the needed communication and handshakes happen during the planning event, you might consider introducing a “Board coach”. Think of them as a vigilant sentinel, stationed by the board throughout the planning event. Their primary responsibility is to ensure that everyone visualizing dependencies on the board has communicated with the teams they depend on. But also they can help with asking useful questions that might guide the team to a better plan.
Feel free to infuse a sense of humor into the role by using a lighthearted title such as “Keeper of the sacred board” or “Guardian of the Board galaxy.”🧙♂️
Who can you then use as a board coach? I have often times used either Agile coaches that have been supporting the PI Planning or managers that might othervise not know what to do during the planning. If you are using someone that is not well versed in how a planning board works, It’s a good idea to give them some pointers before the event. Check out our other blog post ART planning Board Explained where you find the basics of how to vizualise, common misstakes and how to fix them.
If conducting a remote planning I would say using a board coach is almost a must. I would also recommend setting up a “board channel” where said person is availabale in and can help and guide the teams when they feel ready to vizualise their features and dependencies on the board.
Good luck in your next PI Planning! 💜
