Overview:

This checklist provides questions to verify that iteration plans are created in a consistent manner.

Check Items:

• Have you elaborated on the plan with the team?
  • Iteration planning should not be done in isolation, and every member of the team should be involved. Are iteration objectives clear?
• Are the objectives based on stakeholder priorities?
  • Do they help the team target what should be targeted for the iteration?
• Have key milestones for the iteration been identified?
  • This may include dates for iteration reviews, demonstrations (demos), and retrospective reviews.
• Do the team members feel confident about their Work Item assignments? 
  • Looking at results from previous iterations, does the amount of work selected for current iteration seem feasible?
  • If the team feels there's too much to do, discuss with stakeholders whether some Work Items can be scheduled for future iterations.
     

Example:

This is an example of an iteration plan for iteration 5 for a small team. In this example, the team has chosen not to list work items in the iteration plan. Instead, the team will search the work items list for work items assigned to iteration 5. This is the preferred solution when work items are managed in a tool that provides basic search capabilities.

Template:

This is the informal template suggested for an iteration plan.