Project Management

Sprint Planning

Capacity Calculation

Team capacity = (# engineers) × (days in sprint) × (focus factor 0.6-0.8)
Available points = capacity × historical velocity_per_person_day

Velocity tracking: Use 3-sprint rolling average. Never commit above 110% of rolling avg.

Estimation Techniques

Rule: If estimate > 13 points, decompose. If team variance > 2 Fibonacci steps, discuss.

OKR Framework

Structure

Objective: Qualitative, inspiring, time-bound
  └─ Key Result 1: Measurable outcome (0.0–1.0 scoring)
       └─ Initiative: Concrete project/task driving the KR
  └─ Key Result 2: ...
  └─ Key Result 3: (max 3-5 KRs per objective)

Scoring & Cadence

• Weekly: Check-in on KR progress (15 min)
• Monthly: Score and adjust initiatives
• Quarterly: Grade OKRs, set next quarter

Stakeholder Management

RACI Matrix

R=Responsible, A=Accountable (one per row), C=Consulted, I=Informed.

Communication Plan

Agile Ceremonies

Kanban Workflow

Backlog → Ready → In Progress → Review → Done
           WIP:∞    WIP:3        WIP:2

Key metrics:

• Lead time: Request → Done (target: track trend, reduce)
• Cycle time: In Progress → Done (optimize this)
• Throughput: Items completed per week

WIP limits: Start with (team size / 2) + 1. Adjust based on flow.

Risk Management

Probability × Impact Matrix

For each High/Critical risk, document: Risk → Trigger → Mitigation → Owner → Status

Project Kickoff Checklist

• Problem statement and success criteria defined
• Stakeholders identified (RACI complete)
• Scope documented (in-scope / out-of-scope)
• Timeline with milestones
• Dependencies mapped
• Risks identified with mitigations
• Communication plan agreed
• Tech approach reviewed

Post-Mortem / Retrospective

Blameless Post-Mortem Template

1. Summary: What happened, impact, duration
2. Timeline: Chronological events with timestamps
3. Root cause: Use 5 Whys (ask "why" iteratively until systemic cause found)
4. Contributing factors: Process gaps, tooling issues
5. Action items: Each with owner and deadline
6. Lessons learned: What went well, what didn't

5 Whys Example

Why did the deploy fail? → Config was wrong
Why was config wrong? → Manual edit in prod
Why manual edit? → No automated config management
Why no automation? → Never prioritized
Why? → No visibility into config-related incidents
→ Action: Implement config-as-code with PR review

Dependency Management

Track cross-team dependencies in a table:

Escalate any dependency at risk ≥2 sprints before needed date.

Burndown Charts

• Burndown: Remaining work vs. time (scope creep = line goes up)
• Burnup: Completed work + total scope vs. time (shows scope changes explicitly)

Use burnup for stakeholder reporting (makes scope changes visible).

→ See references/ for templates and detailed framework docs.