What is Sprint Planning?

Sprint planning typically involves the entire cross-functional team: product owner (defines priorities), scrum master (facilitates the process), and developers (estimate effort and commit to deliverables). The meeting addresses two questions: "What can we deliver this sprint?" and "How will we do the work?"

Effective sprint planning requires a well-groomed backlog with clearly defined user stories, acceptance criteria, and effort estimates (often in story points). The team's velocity—average story points completed per sprint—guides how much work to commit to. Overcommitting leads to unfinished work and team burnout; undercommitting wastes capacity.

In case interviews, sprint planning concepts demonstrate practical product management knowledge. Understanding how development capacity translates into feature delivery helps you make realistic recommendations. If you recommend building a complex feature, acknowledging that it might require two sprints (four weeks) rather than being available immediately shows operational awareness.