Stage 5: Sprint Planning
Overview
Sprint Planning organizes decomposed work items into actionable sprints. This stage covers backlog triage, issue discovery, priority assignment, and sprint scoping using GitHub-native backlog management tools.
When You Enter This Stage
You enter Sprint Planning after completing Stage 4: Decomposition with work items created and ready for prioritization.
NOTE
Prerequisites: Work items exist in GitHub Issues or ADO. Repository has labels and milestones configured for sprint tracking.
Available Tools
| Tool | Type | How to Invoke | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|
| github-backlog-manager | Agent | Select github-backlog-manager agent | Manage GitHub issue backlog end-to-end |
| agile-coach | Agent | Select agile-coach agent | Get agile methodology guidance and sprint advice |
| github-discover-issues | Prompt | /github-discover-issues | Find open issues for sprint planning |
| github-triage-issues | Prompt | /github-triage-issues | Triage and label unprocessed issues |
| github-sprint-plan | Prompt | /github-sprint-plan | Create a sprint plan from backlog priorities |
| github-execute-backlog | Prompt | /github-execute-backlog | Execute planned backlog operations |
| github-add-issue | Prompt | /github-add-issue | Add new issues to the backlog |
| github-backlog-planning | Instruction | Auto-activated on issues | Enforces backlog planning conventions |
| github-backlog-triage | Instruction | Auto-activated on triage | Enforces triage workflow standards |
Role-Specific Guidance
TPMs lead Sprint Planning, balancing priorities across the backlog and coordinating with Tech Leads on technical sequencing. Tech Leads contribute capacity estimates and identify dependency chains.
Starter Prompts
Issue Discovery
Search for open issues by keyword to surface work items for the upcoming sprint:
/github-discover-issues searchTerms=authentication milestone=v2.4.0
Extract issues from a requirements document and match them against the existing backlog:
/github-discover-issues documents=docs/architecture/prd-notifications.md milestone=v2.4.0 autonomy=partial
Backlog Triage
Triage untriaged issues with label suggestions, milestone assignment, and duplicate detection:
/github-triage-issues milestone=v2.4.0 maxIssues=15
Sprint Planning
Build a prioritized sprint plan from a milestone with capacity constraints and a sprint goal:
/github-sprint-plan milestone=v2.4.0 sprintGoal=complete authentication module capacity=12
Backlog Execution
Dry-run a handoff plan to preview issue operations before committing changes:
/github-execute-backlog handoff=.copilot-tracking/github-issues/sprint/v2-4-0/handoff.md dryRun=true
Create a new issue using repository templates and conversational field collection:
/github-add-issue title=feat(agents): add retry logic for rate-limited API calls labels=enhancement,agents
User Story Coaching
Select agile-coach agent to create a new story from a rough idea:
I need a story for adding webhook notifications when deployment status changes. The platform team needs real-time alerts in their monitoring dashboard.
Select agile-coach agent to refine a vague existing story:
Help me refine this story: Title: Improve error handling, Description: Handle errors better, AC: Errors are handled
Full Backlog Orchestration
Select github-backlog-manager agent to coordinate triage and sprint planning end-to-end:
Prepare the v2.4.0 milestone for sprint planning. Triage any needs-triage issues first, then build a prioritized sprint plan with a 15-issue capacity.
Stage Outputs and Next Stage
Sprint Planning produces a scoped sprint with prioritized issues, assigned owners, and milestone targets. Transition to Stage 6: Implementation when the sprint is planned and work items are assigned.
🤖 Crafted with precision by ✨Copilot following brilliant human instruction, then carefully refined by our team of discerning human reviewers.