Sprint Planning & Estimation Flashcards
7 cards from real CAE practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 7 Sprint Planning & Estimation flashcards as text
What does 'capacity' refer to in the context of sprint planning?
Answer: The actual availability of team members in hours or days for the upcoming sprint
Capacity accounts for each team member's available time after subtracting vacations, meetings, and other obligations.
In Planning Poker, what happens when team members reveal wildly different estimates for the same story?
Answer: The team discusses the reasoning behind divergent estimates before re-estimating
Divergent estimates signal different understandings of the work; discussion surfaces assumptions and leads to better shared understanding.
Which of the following is NOT a valid input to sprint planning?
Answer: The project manager's personal task assignments
Sprint planning is driven by backlog, velocity, and team capacity — not by individual task assignments from outside the team.
What is a 'spike' in agile planning, and when is it used during sprint planning discussions?
Answer: A spike is a time-boxed research task used to reduce uncertainty before estimating an item
Spikes are used when a story is too uncertain to estimate reliably; the spike produces knowledge, not a shippable feature.
A team consistently completes only 60% of its sprint commitment. Which practice would BEST help address this during planning?
Answer: Reduce the sprint commitment to align with demonstrated capacity
Consistently incomplete sprints indicate overcommitment; right-sizing commitments to actual capacity improves predictability.
How does the Definition of Done influence sprint planning?
Answer: It sets quality standards that affect how long stories actually take, influencing capacity planning
The Definition of Done establishes the required quality gates, so the team must factor in testing, reviews, and documentation when estimating capacity.
What is the recommended maximum duration of a sprint planning meeting for a two-week sprint?
Answer: Up to 4 hours
The Scrum Guide suggests sprint planning is time-boxed to a maximum of 8 hours for a one-month sprint, scaling proportionally to about 4 hours for two weeks.