HillTech AI · Free Resource

Sprint Planning
Cheat Sheet

The one-pager your team needs in the room. Ceremony structure, estimation guide, anti-patterns, and the questions every great Scrum Master asks. Free — no email required.

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What's inside the cheat sheet
Ceremony Structure

The Meeting Flow

  • Open with sprint goal framing (5 min)
  • Review refined backlog top items
  • Capacity check — who's in, who's out
  • Story selection + point estimation
  • Break stories into tasks if needed
  • Commit to sprint goal as a team
  • Close: confirm board is ready
Required Inputs

Come Prepared With

  • Refined backlog (top 1.5× capacity)
  • Team capacity in points or hours
  • Previous velocity (3-sprint avg)
  • Known absences / holidays
  • Unresolved impediments from last sprint
  • Stakeholder priorities updated
  • Definition of Done confirmed
Expected Outputs

Leave With These

  • Sprint goal — one clear sentence
  • Committed sprint backlog
  • Stories accepted by the team
  • Tasks created for Day 1 work
  • Board updated and visible
  • Team confidence: 7+/10
  • No ambiguous acceptance criteria
Recommended Timing — 2-Week Sprint
5mSprint Goal Frame
15mCapacity Review
45mStory Selection
30mEstimation
20mTask Breakdown
5mCommitment Close
Questions a Great Scrum Master Always Asks
Before the Meeting
  • Is the backlog refined enough to plan from?
  • Do we have 3-sprint velocity data?
  • Are all stories under 8 points?
  • Is the DoD still accurate?
During the Meeting
  • Does everyone understand this story?
  • What's the acceptance criteria — exactly?
  • Are we over-committing again?
  • Does the team believe in this goal?
Closing the Meeting
  • Is the board ready for Day 1?
  • Any blockers we can resolve now?
  • Confidence level — honest number?
  • What's our sprint goal in one sentence?
Anti-Patterns to Avoid

Warning Signs

  • Planning unrefined stories on the spot
  • Committing to more than 80% capacity
  • Skipping the sprint goal entirely
  • PO dictating, not collaborating
  • Estimation by the loudest voice
  • Carryover as the default first item
  • Meeting ending without team buy-in
Estimation Quick Guide

Point Reference

  • 1pt — Trivial, under 2 hours
  • 2pt — Simple, well-understood
  • 3pt — Small, minor unknowns
  • 5pt — Medium, some complexity
  • 8pt — Large, needs breakdown
  • 13pt — Too big. Split it.
  • Rule: 13+ means don't plan it
Definition of Done

Story is Done When…

  • All acceptance criteria met
  • Code reviewed and merged
  • Unit tests written and passing
  • QA sign-off received
  • Documentation updated if needed
  • No known bugs introduced
  • PO has accepted the story

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