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LeSS Events

Sprint Planning Part 1

Sprint Planning Part 1 is a shared event where all teams and the Product Owner meet together. The PO presents the highest-priority items, and teams collaboratively self-select which items each team will work on. This is where whole-product alignment happens.

Multi-team alignment · Timebox: ~1 hour (2-week Sprint)

Overview

Sprint Planning Part 1 is a shared event where all teams and the Product Owner meet together. The PO presents the highest-priority items, and teams collaboratively self-select which items each team will work on. This is where whole-product alignment happens.

Event Ownership

Owned / Facilitated By
Product Owner (content) / Scrum Master (facilitation)
PO presents the highest-priority Product Backlog items and their strategic context
SM facilitates the multi-team session, ensuring effective self-selection and minimal dependencies
PO answers priority and value questions; teams ask clarification questions
SM ensures cross-team dependencies are surfaced and teams coordinate directly

Who Should Be Present

All Teams
All team members attend. Teams self-select which items to work on based on skills, knowledge, and capacity
Product Owner
Presents priorities, explains business context, answers questions, and guides teams toward the most valuable work
Scrum Master(s)
Facilitate the session, ensure timeboxing, and help teams identify and resolve cross-team dependencies

Preparation Checklist

01PO: Product Backlog refined and ordered, top items have clear context
02Teams: Capacity calculated, prior Sprint outcomes reviewed
03SMs: Facilitation plan ready, room/tools set up for multi-team session
04Teams: Review items from recent refinement sessions

Facilitation Techniques

Click any technique to expand details and learn when to apply it.

Self-Selection Market

Post the top PBIs on a wall. Teams walk around, discuss, and place their team marker on items they’ll take. This creates visible, organic self-selection with natural cross-team negotiation.

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PO Pitch + Team Q&A

PO briefly pitches each top item (2–3 min each), then opens the floor for team questions. This ensures all teams hear the same context and can ask clarifying questions before selecting.

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Dependency Mapping

After initial selection, teams identify dependencies on a shared board. If dependencies are heavy, teams may swap items to reduce coupling. The goal: minimize dependencies, not manage them.

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Tips & Tricks

01
All team members attend — not just representatives. Shared understanding comes from shared presence
02
The PO suggests priorities; teams decide what they can deliver. This is self-selection, not assignment
03
If teams can’t self-select cleanly, the Product Backlog likely isn’t refined enough
04
Design dependencies away — if two items are tightly coupled, consider having one team do both
05
Keep it under 1 hour. If it takes longer, refinement quality needs improvement
06
Pre-Sprint Refinement Quality Check
If Sprint Planning Part 1 consistently runs long or produces unclear outcomes, the root cause is almost always insufficient prior refinement. Invest more in multi-team PBR.
07
Cross-Team Coordination Agreements
For any remaining dependencies, teams should agree on integration points, interfaces, and communication channels before leaving Part 1.

Success Takeaways by Role

What each participant should walk away with when this event is run well.

Teams

Clear ownership of selected items; awareness of what other teams are working on; coordination agreements for dependencies

Product Owner

Confidence that the most valuable work is being addressed; visibility into team capacity and commitments

Scrum Master

Cross-team dependencies mapped; facilitation insights for future planning sessions

Goal

All teams aligned on the highest-priority work for the Sprint

Goal

Teams self-select items with minimal cross-team dependencies

Goal

Clear understanding of what each team will work on

Goal

Dependencies identified and coordination plans agreed

Cross-Framework Definition
See Sprint Planning in the glossary
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