Iteration Planning Guidelines

Principles for workload assessment, capacity planning, and balanced task assignment across iterations.

Workload Assessment Principles

Capacity-Based Planning

Base assessment on multiple factors:

Working hours and capacity
- Actual available hours per iteration
- Account for part-time schedules
- Consider recurring time commitments
Previous iteration outcomes and velocity
- How many issues typically completed per iteration
- Historical completion rates
- Patterns in task complexity
Time marked on calendar
- Vacations and time off
- Meetings and recurring commitments
- Training or conference attendance
- Other known time constraints

Two-Iteration Planning Strategy

Plan 2 iterations ahead to smooth out workload fluctuations and reduce last-minute assignments:

Next Iteration (Immediate):

Strict capacity matching based on hours and calendar
Focus on what can realistically be completed
Account for dependencies and blockers
Assign clear, ready-to-work issues

In 2 Iterations (Future):

More flexible assignment of incoming issues
Focus on ensuring issues are ready and refined
Prioritize based on milestone goals and upcoming priorities
Less strict capacity matching
Allows time for refinement and clarification

Balancing Workload

Too Many Issues Assigned:

When a team member has too many issues for their capacity:

Identify lower priority tasks
- Review assigned issues
- Find tasks that are not time-critical
- Consider milestone importance
Move lower priority back to backlog
- Preserve the issue assignments for later
- Document why they were moved
- Reassign to future iterations if appropriate
Discuss with assignee
- Confirm workload is manageable
- Understand any concerns or constraints
- Adjust as needed based on feedback

Too Few Issues Assigned:

When a team member has insufficient work for their capacity:

Review issue pool
- Start with status::ready issues
- Consider skill alignment and learning opportunities
- Look at milestone priorities
Assign new issues from backlog
- Prioritize based on:
  - Milestone goals and deadlines
  - Dependencies on other team members
  - Contributor skills and experience
  - Learning and growth opportunities
- Ensure issues are well-defined and ready
Confirm with assignee
- Verify workload is appropriate
- Check for concerns or constraints
- Adjust based on feedback

Capacity Assessment Guidelines

Realistic Estimation

Account for all work, not just coding:

Meetings and collaboration time
Code reviews
Administrative tasks
Context switching overhead
Unexpected issues and support
Documentation and testing

Common Estimation Mistakes:

Assuming 100% coding time
Forgetting about review time
Not accounting for meetings
Ignoring context switching costs
Overly optimistic velocity assumptions

Historical Velocity

Track and use past performance:

How many issues typically completed per iteration
Average time per issue type
Patterns in over/under-estimation
Impact of issue complexity

Adjust for factors:

Issue complexity and novelty
Dependencies on other team members
Technical unknowns
Learning curve for new areas

Calendar Considerations

Explicit time tracking:

Mark all known time off in calendar
Account for public holidays
Note half-day commitments
Consider reduced productivity before/after time off

Impact calculation:

Reduce capacity proportionally to time off
Account for ramp-up time after extended absences
Consider team coverage needs

Distribution and Balance

Team-Wide Balance

Verify distribution is fair:

Sort issues by assignee for overview
Check that workload is balanced
Ensure no one is over or under-allocated
Consider skill distribution across issues

Identify dependencies:

Note issues that block other team members
Prioritize unblocking work
Coordinate timing of dependent tasks
Communicate dependencies clearly

Priority Alignment

Ensure work supports goals:

Align assignments with milestone objectives
Prioritize critical path work
Balance urgent vs. important tasks
Consider strategic vs. tactical work

Flexibility and Adaptation

Be prepared to adjust:

Urgent issues may require reassignment
Priorities can shift during iteration
Team member availability may change
Dependencies may become blockers

Document changes:

Record why assignments changed
Update iteration planning issues
Communicate changes to affected team members
Track impact on goals

Progress Tracking

Follow-Up on Incomplete Issues

For issues with progress:

Verify assignee has provided status update as comment
Remind contributors if update missing by Friday
Understand what progress has been made
Identify any blockers or concerns

For issues without progress:

Read through issue description to ensure clarity
Ping assignee to ensure awareness
Ask if they have questions or need help
Identify why no progress was made

For issues in review:

Check MR status and review progress
Remind reviewers to complete reviews
Identify if reviews are blocking progress
Help resolve review bottlenecks

Incomplete Issue Handling

When issues don't complete in iteration:

Assess status
- How much work remains?
- What blocked completion?
- Is the estimate accurate?
Decide next steps
- Move back to Open status
- Keep assigned or reassign
- Adjust estimate if needed
- Create follow-up issues if necessary
Document reasons
- Track patterns in incompletion
- Identify systemic issues
- Learn and improve planning