Concepts

Particularly as it pertains to the PMI Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP) exam, a fundamental understanding of the levels of planning is absolutely essential. This includes recognizing the different planning stages, understanding their unique features and capabilities, and knowing how to use them in various project scenarios. This article will explain these planning levels, provide examples, and explain how they interact with each other.

1. Strategic Planning

Strategic planning is the highest level of planning and sets the big-picture direction for the entire organization. This level of planning focuses on defining the goals and deciding how to accomplish them to stay ahead in the future, usually three to five years. It involves making significant decisions related to the market, technologies, growth, and overall strategic positioning.

For example, a company might have a strategic plan to increase its market share in cloud storage by 20% in the next three years, which might require it to decide on issues like investing in new technologies, acquiring competitors, or expanding into new markets.

2. Tactical Planning

Once the strategic objectives have been set, the next level is tactical planning, which focuses on the methods and actions at the departmental or team level that need to be taken in order to fulfil these strategic directions. Usually, tactical plans cover a period of one to three years.

For instance, the Marketing Department might develop a tactical plan for enhancing the company’s online presence, creating a new advertising campaign, or forming partnerships with other companies as part of its contribution to the strategic goal of increasing market share in the cloud storage space.

3. Operational Planning

Operational planning is the third level of planning, detailing the specific activities and tasks needed to implement the tactical plan. It’s often done on a yearly, quarterly, or monthly basis. Recognizing this level and its linkage to the higher stages is critical, as it’s here that team members understand what they need to do on a day-to-day basis.

For example, implementing the tactical marketing plan might involve creating a detailed schedule of blog posts and social media updates, organizing webinars or industry events, and tracking metrics to determine the success of each initiative.

4. Team-Level or Iteration Planning

Within Agile contexts, team-level or iteration planning is very significant. This is the level where team members break down the operational tasks into workable chunks (known as user stories) and decide who will be completing each task, and in what time frame.

In the case of our marketing team, this might mean assigning each blog post or social media update to a specific team member and setting a deadline for each to be completed, while also considering the overall operational plan schedule.

5. Daily Planning

Finally, daily planning is an integral part of Agile methodology, commonly seen in the form of daily stand-up or scrum meetings. These meetings allow team members to quickly discuss what tasks they’ve completed, what tasks they’re planning to do next, and any obstacles they’re facing.

For our marketing team, a daily stand-up meeting might involve each team member talking about the blog post they wrote yesterday, the social media update they’re planning to post today, and any challenges they’re facing, like needing images for their social media posts.

To summarize, in Agile project management, these varying levels of planning strategically align the daily tasks of team members with the broader objectives of the organization. From setting broad goals at the strategic level to the nitty-gritty details of daily planning, each step is crucial in maintaining a focused and efficient project development process. Understanding and effectively implementing these levels of planning will significantly increase your project management skills and understanding, making it a vital aspect of your PMI-ACP exam preparation.

Answer the Questions in Comment Section

True or False: In Agile, there are three levels of planning – Release, Iteration, and Daily.

  • True
  • False

Answer: True

Explanation: In Agile, planning happens at three levels. At the release level, the vision for the product is made clear. During iterations, work is broken down into smaller tasks and during the Daily planning, Scrum meetings are conducted to understand daily progress.

Which among the following is the first level of planning in Agile?

  • A. Release Planning
  • B. Iteration Planning
  • C. Daily Planning
  • D. Quarterly Planning

Answer: A. Release Planning

Explanation: In Agile, the first level of planning is Release planning, where the product vision and high-level features and functionalities are discussed and planned.

True or False: The Agile approach involves detailed, long-term planning.

  • True
  • False

Answer: False

Explanation: Agile involves adaptive planning, where long-term plans are broken down into manageable parts and are frequently adjusted based on feedback and changing project requirements.

In which level of Agile planning is User Story writing typically done?

  • A. Release Planning
  • B. Iteration Planning
  • C. Daily Planning
  • D. Both A and B

Answer: D. Both A and B

Explanation: User stories are written at the Release planning level, where high-level features are discussed, and at the Iteration planning level, where these stories are broken down into smaller, manageable parts.

True or False: In Agile, Daily Planning often involves a stand-up meeting.

  • True
  • False

Answer: True

Explanation: This level of Agile planning includes a daily stand-up meeting, also known as a Scrum meeting, wherein the team discusses progress and identifies any potential blockers.

Which of the following is NOT part of Agile planning levels?

  • A. Annual Planning
  • B. Release Planning
  • C. Iteration Planning
  • D. Daily Planning

Answer: A. Annual Planning

Explanation: In Agile, planning is done at three levels – Release, Iteration, and Daily. There is no annual planning in the Agile methodology.

True or False: The Iteration Planning level focuses on the overall product vision.

  • True
  • False

Answer: False

Explanation: The overall product vision is the focus during the Release Planning level. The Iteration Planning level concentrates on breaking down the overall work into smaller tasks.

In Agile, which level of planning is used to estimate work for the next 24 hours?

  • A. Release Planning
  • B. Iteration Planning
  • C. Daily Planning
  • D. Quarterly Planning

Answer: C. Daily Planning

Explanation: At the Daily Planning level in Agile, the team meets each day to discuss and plan work for the next 24 hours.

Which of the following includes planning poker in Agile?

  • A. Release Planning
  • B. Iteration Planning
  • C. Daily Planning
  • D. All of the above

Answer: B. Iteration Planning

Explanation: Planning poker, a consensus-based estimation technique, is typically part of Iteration Planning where User Stories are estimated.

True or False: In Agile, the Iteration Planning level is typically conducted at the beginning of every iteration.

  • True
  • False

Answer: True

Explanation: Iteration Planning is done at the outset of each iteration, often involving story point estimation, task breakdown, and time-boxing tasks for the upcoming iteration.

At which level of planning in Agile is the feature prioritization typically done?

  • A. Release Planning
  • B. Iteration Planning
  • C. Daily Planning
  • D. None of the above

Answer: A. Release Planning

Explanation: During the Release Planning level, features are prioritized based on their value to the project, risk involved, and other factors.

True or False: The Daily Planning in Agile is granularity planning with immediate short-term actions in focus.

  • True
  • False

Answer: True

Explanation: In Agile, Daily Planning involves short-term actions that need to be taken within the next 24 hours. This involves discussions about work in progress and any impediments that may exist.

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Edward Morris
8 months ago

Great post on Levels of Planning in PMI-ACP. Very helpful as I prepare for my exam.

Berthold Nägele
8 months ago

I didn’t fully understand the concept of progressive elaboration in planning. Can someone explain?

Ceciliya Visockiy
7 months ago

Does anyone have tips for mastering the different levels of planning for the PMI-ACP exam?

Jon Clarke
8 months ago

Thank you, this blog really clarifies the distinctions between strategic, tactical, and operational planning!

Chaya Bosters
8 months ago

I find iteration planning a bit tricky. Any specific strategies that helped others here?

Kylian Robert
8 months ago

Can someone share their experience about how agile planning scales in large enterprises?

Jocelyne Petit
7 months ago

Appreciate the way different planning levels are broken down. Makes it easier to grasp.

Mercedes Prieto
8 months ago

Is it true to say daily stand-ups are part of operational planning?

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