As your company scales, your sprint planning process must adapt to accommodate new product lines, additional team members, and potentially outsourced contributors. Here’s how to evolve your approach:
Expanding Sprint Cadence for Multiple Teams
As you grow, different teams may work on different products or features. Instead of a single sprint cycle for the whole company, consider implementing team-specific sprint cadences. For example, the core engineering team may run two-week sprints, while a new product R&D team might use longer cycles to allow for experimentation.
Example: A SaaS company with a core analytics product and an AI-based add-on runs different sprint timelines—two-week sprints for maintaining the core product and three-week sprints for AI model training.
Introducing Cross-Team Alignment Meetings
With multiple teams working simultaneously, cross-functional dependencies become critical. Schedule bi-weekly syncs between engineering, product, and design leads to identify dependencies early.
Example: A front-end team working on a dashboard may need an API update from the back-end team. Without coordination, the front-end team may complete their sprint only to realize they’re blocked.
Scaling Backlog Prioritization with Dedicated Roles
Early-stage teams often handle prioritization as a group, but scaling requires structured ownership. Introduce dedicated backlog owners, such as product managers, who work closely with squad leaders to keep priorities clear.
Example: Instead of a single backlog for the whole company, an enterprise B2B SaaS startup assigns product managers to separate backlog lists—one for enterprise features and another for SMB-focused enhancements.
Adjusting Sprint Capacity for Outsourced Teams
When working with contractors or offshore teams, you may need to adjust sprint expectations. Define clear deliverables and communication protocols to ensure alignment across different time zones.
Example: A US-based startup working with an outsourced QA team in India shifts sprint demos to earlier in the day to accommodate time zone differences.
Evolving Sprint Retrospectives with Larger Teams
As teams grow, retrospectives can become too large and inefficient. Instead of one massive retrospective, introduce smaller, team-specific retrospectives followed by a leadership summary.
Example: A 50-person engineering team splits into five squads, each holding their own retrospective. Squad leads then meet to discuss broader themes and company-wide improvements.
Enhancing Sprint Visibility Across the Organization
Growth means more stakeholders need insight into sprint progress. Implement a company-wide dashboard that provides real-time sprint updates, enabling leadership and customer-facing teams to stay informed.
Example: A startup integrates Jira with Slack to automatically post sprint updates, ensuring sales and customer success teams can track when key features will be available.
By thoughtfully evolving your sprint planning process, you can maintain efficiency, improve collaboration, and scale successfully without losing agility.
