Best 10 Sprint Planning Templates for Engineering Managers

Sprint Planning is a pivotal step for Engineering Managers, as it structures the blueprint of what their teams will work on over the upcoming sprint. By using a Sprint Planning template within Notion, managers can efficiently allocate resources, set realistic timelines, and enhance teamwork by clearly defining tasks and objectives. A well-organized template streamlines this process, making it more manageable and transparent for all team members.

Before crafting your own Sprint Planning system, consider exploring these Notion Sprint Planning templates to simplify the process.

What Should Sprint Planning Templates Include?

Choosing the right Sprint Planning template can streamline your project management process and enhance team productivity. Here's what to look for in a top-notch template:

  1. Goal Definition - A section dedicated to defining the sprint goals clearly. This helps ensure that everyone on the team understands the objectives and can work towards them effectively.

  2. Task Breakdown - The template should allow for detailed task breakdowns, making it easy to assign responsibilities and estimate timeframes for each task.

  3. Resource Allocation - It's crucial to have a component that outlines the resources available for the sprint, including team member availability and any tools or external assets.

  4. Progress Tracking - Features for monitoring the progress of the sprint, such as checklists or progress bars, can help keep the team on track and visually communicate how much is left to achieve.

Selecting a template with these components will help you manage your sprints more effectively, ensuring smoother operations and clearer communication within your team.

What Should Sprint Planning Templates Avoid?

Choosing the right Sprint Planning template is crucial for streamlining your project management processes. However, not all templates are created equal. Here are three key components to steer clear of when selecting a Sprint Planning template:

  1. Overly Complex Layouts: Avoid templates that feature dense, complicated layouts which can confuse users and detract from productivity. Simplicity fosters clearer communication and easier navigation.

  2. Fixed Time Frames: Templates that rigidly define time frames can restrict flexibility. Opt for templates that allow adjustments to sprint durations based on project needs and team velocity.

  3. Non-Collaborative Features: Steer clear of templates that do not support real-time updates or collaborative tools. Effective sprint planning requires active team participation and instant updates.

Selecting a template that avoids these pitfalls will help ensure that your sprint planning is both efficient and adaptable, leading to more successful project outcomes.

1Roadmap

Use this template to track all of your project work. Organize your projects by epics, sprints, tasks, and bugs. You can view the database different ways to see projects by status, engineer, or product manager.

Save time by using the templates made for each type of task, where you can add more as needed, as well as custom properties to track important information.

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2Issue Tracker

Track engineering projects of any shape or size with this template. For teams that use the Agile method, you can break down each project into tasks, prioritize your backlog, then organize tasks into sprints. Filter by status, priority, and team to view your work any way you like. Plus, connect your other essential tools like Github, Figma, Slack, and more to truly keep all your work in one place.

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3Small Design Agency Task Management

This template helps to organise incoming work from the client account management teams into a creative design team at a small design agency. Often there are competing creative deadlines across account management teams which can lead to miss management of task priorities. On this template both the management team and creative team have their own workspace which is connected together, providing a way to manage creative tasks.

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4Notion Engineering Dashboard

The Notion Engineering Dashboard is an easy-to-use workspace for you to track your tasks, stories, epics, sprints, and meetings. With this Notion setup you can cut out clutter and focus on your highest priority tasks, without losing track of important details.

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5Product Backlog w/ DoR and DoD

Get started with your project with this straight-forward Product Backlog template with pre-defined Definition of Ready and Definition of Done. Your project doesn't have to be a software or something complex in order to use this. It can fit to any application or use case, whether for personal or business purposes. You will be guided what data to populate in Epic, PBI, User Story, Acceptance Criteria, etc., based on the samples provided.

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6Sprint Planning Meeting

Our Sprint Planning Meetings template is a time-efficient tool designed to streamline your sprint planning. With a single click, you can generate a new sprint meeting entry marked with today's date. The template includes structured sections for reviewing the last sprint, planning the upcoming sprint, and fostering discussion. You can also conveniently link to the associated sprint. This organized and simple text-based approach keeps your sprint planning focused and effective.

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7Action Plan

The Action Plan Template helps you to create action plans easily.

By creating an action plan you’ll able to gain a clear understanding of your short-term objectives are.

By creating an action plan you’ll be able to streamline your efforts and stay focused on what truly matters.

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8Software Development Lifecycle (SDLC)

It helps to create an work flow in IT departments

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9Weekly Sprints

Are you someone who wants to plan out your week ahead? Or someone who wants to track their weekly habits?

Here's a simple to use weekly planner, where you can set your goals for the week in one of the 4 categories: Personal, Professional, Health and Social. Add your TODOs for the week in those columns or track your habits.

You can easily add a new week with the button and take a look at your older weeks' progress in the History section as well. Personalise it as you like and make it work for you.

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10Definition of Ready Checklist

The Definition of Ready (DoR) is a crucial concept in agile development that outlines the criteria a user story must meet before it can be implemented. This checklist will provide teams with a comprehensive framework for effectively defining the DoR and by following it, teams can ensure that user stories are well-prepared, reducing ambiguity and improving efficiency.

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Closing Thoughts

Implementing these templates streamlines the planning process, ensuring that all team members are aligned with the project goals. This clarity leads to increased productivity and reduced time spent on misunderstandings.

Start using these templates today to see immediate improvements in your sprint planning sessions. They are designed to be intuitive and easy to integrate into your existing workflow, making adoption seamless and straightforward.

What is a Velocity?

Velocity is a metric that predicts how much work a team can complete in a single sprint, based on the amount of work completed in previous sprints.

What is a Burndown Chart?

A burndown chart is a visual tool used in sprint planning to track the amount of work remaining in a sprint, helping teams gauge if they are on schedule.

What is a Sprint Backlog?

The sprint backlog is a list of tasks identified by the scrum team to be completed during the sprint, derived from the product backlog.

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