Quarterly Planning Workshop

Quarterly planning is a critical practice focusing on goal-setting initiatives for the upcoming three months, primarily targeting shorter-term objectives that can be achieved within this timeframe. The process ensures that teams can translate strategic aspirations into actionable execution plans.

Goal

• To convert aspirational strategic plans into realistic execution strategies.

Purpose

Purpose Area	Description
Connected D&T Roadmap	Focus on aligning efforts for the next quarter.
Cross-Domain Dependencies	Identify interdependencies across various domains.
Capacity Planning	Assess and allocate team resources effectively.
Funding Planning	Outline budgetary requirements for the quarter.
Performance Deep Dive	Analyse performance and architectural considerations to improve outcomes.

Accountabilities

Role	Responsibility
Heads of Platforms / Managers	Lead their respective platforms in planning and execution.
Delivery Lead	Document actions and decisions made during the planning sessions.
Action Owners	Own actions stem from discussions across platforms, domains, etc.
Final Decision Maker	The executive or nominated manager holds the authority for final decisions.
Prioritisation	Domain Steerco manages prioritisation decisions.

Delegations

• Allocation of budget.

Out of Scope

• Funding decisions.

Outputs

A successful quarterly planning event aims to deliver two primary outputs:

Output	Description
Committed Objectives	Teams create a set of objectives with business value assigned by stakeholders.
The Plan	Highlight new delivery dates, team dependencies, relevant milestones, and key resource contention.
Continuous Improvement Items	Adjust operating models based on performance feedback and outline retrospective actions.

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Principles of Quarterly Planning

1. Teams over Individuals Focus on collaborative planning within teams rather than individual roles, recognising that stable teams yield higher productivity.

2. "Roughly Right" over "Precisely Wrong" Embrace a flexible approach to planning that accommodates change and uncertainty, avoiding the pitfalls of overthinking.

3. Continuous Planning Cadence Adopt a cycle of regular re-evaluation, allowing adjustments as new information emerges. Thus, you can manage uncertainty more effectively.

4. Tolerate Incomplete Information Accept that complete data may not always be available. Planning should proceed based on sufficient data to avoid costly delays.

5. Balance Demand and Supply Align fixed development capacity with evolving business demands through prioritisation, ensuring resources are directed to the highest-value activities.

Commitment to Process

Before the Session

What: Conduct a pre-quarterly planning event to align cross-functional teams with business, platform, and delivery goals. Why: To ensure readiness regarding organisational context, content, and logistics for a successful planning event.

Aspect	Questions for Readiness
Organisational	Are all teams prepared with necessary documentation (vision, roadmap, etc.)?
Content	Is there a common understanding of priorities and has the necessary information been shared?
Logistic	Do we have the required tools and materials to support planning?

During the Session

Day 1:

• Review Last Quarter: Evaluate achievements, lessons learned, and stakeholder feedback.

• Vision & Strategy: Clarify platform vision and set SMART objectives.

• Dependencies: Identify dependencies across people, products, time, funds, and tools.

• Solution & Architecture: Assess the current state of solutions and foundational work required.

• Releases: Outline planned releases and their impacts.

• Team Breakouts: Teams present draft plans for feedback and validate priorities with stakeholders.

End of Day:

• Reflect on insights and adjustments needed regarding vision, scope, and resources.

Day 2:

• Roadmap Adjustments: Review and refine plans based on feedback.

• Risk Identification: Address dependencies and risks using the ROAM framework (Resolved, Owned, Accepted, Mitigated).

• Objectives: Set stretch objectives and score them based on business value.

• Confidence Voting: Assess team confidence in plans using a Fist-of-Five vote.

Try: Conduct an event retrospective to identify what went well and what needs improvement.

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After the Session

• Define the release scope for the next time box.

• Ensure a shared understanding of objectives and program risks.

• Conduct a retrospective to gather insights and improve future planning processes.

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FAQs

• Why is planning necessary in a fast-paced environment? Planning provides a framework for alignment and prioritisation, even amidst rapid changes.

• How can we streamline the process to enhance value? Focusing on essential objectives and facilitating effective communication can make the planning process more efficient and impactful.