PI Planning for Dummies: A Beginner's Guide to Agile Success

I don’t usually think of myself as a “dummy”, but when I first started in the tech-driven world of Mercedes-Benz.io, some concepts felt like puzzles from another planet. Take PI Planning, for example. It gets a lot of things rolling, but what is it exactly? And why is it so crucial? I figured I can’t be the only one wondering, so I asked simple, genuine questions to those in the know. Using a road trip analogy, which feels right at home in the automotive field, I’m sharing the insights I gathered with you.

Ready to hit the road and decode PI Planning? Let’s go!

What is PI Planning and Why Do We Need It?

According to our experts, PI (Program Increment) Planning is a cadence-based, structured, and collaborative event within the Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe). It serves as the starting point of a Program Increment (PI), typically lasting 12 weeks or six 2-week sprints. During this multi-day event, Agile Release Train (ART) teams and stakeholders come together to align on a shared mission and vision, establishing a synchronised and strategic plan.

Think of PI Planning like preparing for a long road trip: It’s where everyone agrees on the destination (the project goals), the route (how they’ll get there), and their specific roles (what each team will contribute). Just like any successful journey, clear communication and coordination are key. The teams identify pit stops ( dependencies) and traffic jams (potential risks), so everyone is on the same page.

Without PI Planning, teams risk working in silos, which can cause delays and misalignment. As Santiago Clausse puts it: "PI Planning fosters transparency and accountability, allowing for early identification of dependencies and risks that individual team planning might overlook".

PI Planning ensures alignment, reduces confusion, and sets teams on the right track toward achieving their goal.

Who Should Be In the Room?

In PI Planning, every team is like a car in a convoy. Each has its tasks (work), but all need to stay in sync to avoid traffic jams. Leading the convoy is the Release Train Engineer (RTE), who acts as the GPS of the event — coordinating teams, resolving risks, rerouting when needed, and keeping the group on track.

Santiago, Filipa Anjos and Zvonko Podbojec explain that key roles include:

• Business Owners: The navigators setting the ultimate destination. They determine where the convoy needs to go by explaining the business context and assigning value to objectives.
• Product Management: The route planners who provide the vision and roadmap. They map out the best path for the convoy, ensuring the route aligns with the desired destination and timeline.
• System Architects: The mechanics ensuring the convoy’s vehicles are roadworthy. They lay the technical groundwork, making sure the systems and tools needed to reach the destination are in place and running smoothly.
• Product Owners (POs): The copilots for each car. They define priorities, clarify requirements, and help align team goals with business objectives".
• Scrum Masters: The traffic controllers of the convoy. They manage dependencies, facilitate team collaboration, and keep communication flowing to ensure the journey is smooth and free of bottlenecks.
• Developers: The drivers of the convoy. They’re the ones in the driver’s seat, breaking down tasks, estimating effort, and navigating roadblocks to keep the convoy moving forward. "They play a vital role in identifying dependencies, estimating workload, and committing to objectives that are realistic and achievable", Santiago explains.

Stakeholders, including anyone requesting work from the ART, should also attend. Alice Miranda notes that “if your work ties directly to the product or business objectives, attending is beneficial to understand dependencies and the overall plan.”

Everyone involved in PI Planning plays a role in ensuring the journey is smooth and successful.

What Actually Happens

PI Planning blends collaborative discussions, group planning, and alignment with the bigger picture. Zvonko explains: "We align on a mission, vision, and goals as a group, while individual teams focus on detailed plans in breakout sessions."

Alice highlights the importance of visualisation, recounting her team’s shift from a physical paper calendar during her first PI Planning session — where everything became clearer — to a digital version now used as their "source of truth." Filipa, in turn, breaks the process into two structured days:

• Day 1: Teams receive inputs from Product Management, break features into stories, and plan these stories into iterations. They check dependencies with other teams (both within their ART and across others), identify risks, and draft team objectives. At the end of the day, each team presents their plan to stakeholders. ART leadership and facilitators then review these plans in a “management review and problem-solving” session to address any issues.
• Day 2: Teams incorporate updates or feedback from stakeholders. Product Managers assign business value to objectives, and the final plan is refined. A confidence vote ensures everyone feels aligned, and teams re-plan if necessary until the group is comfortable with the plan. The event concludes with a retrospective to discuss lessons learned and opportunities for improvement.
• While the structure is consistent, Zvonko notes that specifics vary based on preparation, ART dynamics, and stakeholder needs. The ultimate goal remains the same: a shared plan, alignment across the ART, and confidence in the road ahead.

This highly interactive process ensures every team in the convoy knows their route and is prepared to navigate any roadblocks that might arise.

Preparation 101

Preparing for PI Planning can be compared to tuning up your car before a long road trip. Without solid preparation, you risk breakdowns: confusion, wasted time, and misalignment.

"Prepare by understanding the topics, objectives, and your role in the process (...) “Mentally prepare too, especially for remote sessions — they can be intense,” Zvonko advises.

Santiago agrees, emphasising the need to review priorities, align with stakeholders, clarify requirements, and identify risks or dependencies. He notes that “POs and team members should come in with a clear idea of what they need to achieve.” Filipa highlights that preparation isn’t a last-minute effort but an ongoing process: “Regular backlog refinement meetings help teams get ready for the next PI.”

Skipping preparation mirrors trying to drive a car without checking the oil or gas — you're likely to run into problems along the way. Zvonko warns that if key roles like the RTE, Scrum Master, or Product Owner are unprepared, the result is frustration and time pressure for everyone else. Santiago adds: “You’ll slow down your team, miss key discussions, and spend more time catching up than contributing”. Filipa stresses the stakes even further: "The outcomes may lack quality, the mission could falter, and trust in the plan will diminish."

PI Planning preparation is a collective responsibility. When every participant comes ready, the session flows smoothly, objectives are clear, and the entire ART can confidently map the journey ahead.

Handling Conflicts, Dependencie & Flexibility

PI Planning, like a road trip, requires coordination to avoid dependencies and unexpected challenges. Success depends on team alignment and adaptability, ensuring the journey stays on course despite potential detours. Dependencies act as pit stops, requiring teams to synchronise their timing to keep progress smooth.

Conflicts are resolved through discussion and compromise. Filipa notes that "management reviews help address conflicts", with ART leadership stepping in when prioritisation decisions are needed. Santiago highlights the role of RTEs and Scrum Masters in facilitating these discussions, ensuring that teams can resolve conflicts through compromise and collaboration. Zvonko suggests approaching conflicts with a focus on the PI’s goals, evaluating the pros and cons.

Challenges, like overcommitting or misestimating dependencies, can be minimised with proper preparation. Flexibility is key in Agile, as plans should adapt based on new information. As Zvonko notes: “Not every problem can be solved by ‘planning harder.’”

PI Planning plan is a roadmap - flexible, yet strategic enough to navigate the journey ahead.

Measuring Success

At the end of a road trip, you assess how smoothly the journey went. Did all the cars arrive on time? Were there any detours, and how well were they managed? The same applies to PI Planning — it's all about evaluating how well the objectives were met and whether the teams stayed aligned along the way.

“Success is primarily about achieving the PI objectives. Did we get everything done that we needed to? Teams can also assess success by considering factors like customer feedback, resource utilisation, and opportunity costs,” Zvonko explains.

Santiago adds that success comes when “teams align on realistic objectives, map out dependencies, and share a clear understanding of the work." Filipa further emphasises that, even when discussions are tough, success is about reaching agreements, prioritising work, and ensuring the teams are operating at a sustainable pace.

The confidence vote is one of the key markers of success in PI Planning. Zvonko describes it as an opportunity for team members to express their confidence in the ability of the ART to meet its objectives. It acts as a "sanity check" to ensure everything is clear and realistic. Santiago concurs, stating that the vote ensures teams feel prepared. “If confidence is low, we know that adjustments are necessary before committing to the plan.”

When executed well, PI Planning ultimately provides clarity and focus for the journey ahead, ensuring day-to-day work is more efficient and aligned with the overall objectives of the PI.

Wrapping Up

So, why is PI Planning important for our company? Simply put, it's a crucial process for successful Agile execution, putting tams in the fast lane toward achieving shared goals. When everyone understands the destination, the path forward, and how to handle any obstacles, the journey becomes smoother and more effective. This event isn’t just for Agile experts; it’s essential for anyone involved — whether you're a business owner, developer, architect, or stakeholder. By investing time to plan, align, and adapt, you set the foundation for delivering valuable outcomes to customers. PI Planning provides the roadmap to success.