Transform PI Planning from passive agreement to strategic alignment

This playbook offers proven techniques to enhance developer engagement—adapt them to your team's needs and context rather than following them prescriptively.

THE STRATEGIC ADVANTAGE

When developers don't actively engage in PI Planning:

• Teams silently commit to unrealistic timelines
• Technical constraints surface late as "surprises"
• Dependencies remain hidden until they become blockers
• Technical debt accumulates without visibility
• Team ownership and motivation suffer

Your strategic edge as CPO isn't dictating solutions but orchestrating the conditions for meaningful technical collaboration.

ONE-PAGE QUICK REFERENCE

Top 5 Engagement Techniques

1. Open technical dialogue: "What aspects of these features interest or concern you technically?"
2. Surface hidden complexity: "Where might we be overlooking technical challenges in this approach?"
3. Validate confidence: "On a scale of 1-5, how confident are you in delivering this? What would raise your confidence?"
4. Explore alternatives: "Are there different technical approaches that might deliver better long-term outcomes?"
5. Clarify dependencies: "What specifically do you need from other teams to succeed, and by when?"

When to Intervene