What are the best practices for facilitating SAFe Program Increment (PI) planning events remotely?

1 Prepare the tools and platforms

Before the PI planning event, you need to select and set up the tools and platforms that will enable remote communication, collaboration, and visualization. Some of the common tools and platforms are video conferencing software, virtual whiteboards, online voting and polling tools, chat and instant messaging apps, and cloud-based document sharing tools. You also need to ensure that all the participants have access to the tools and platforms, and that they are familiar with their features and functions. You can conduct a pre-PI planning session or a technical rehearsal to test the tools and platforms, and to resolve any technical issues.

2 Define the agenda and roles

Another important step before the PI planning event is to define the agenda and roles. The agenda should outline the objectives, activities, and timeframes of the PI planning event, and be shared with all the participants in advance. The roles should specify the responsibilities and expectations of the different stakeholders, such as the RTE (Release Train Engineer), the product managers, the system architects, the scrum masters, and the agile teams. You can also assign some additional roles to facilitate remote PI planning, such as a facilitator, a moderator, a scribe, a timekeeper, and a troubleshooter.

3 Create a conducive environment

During the PI planning event, you need to create a conducive environment for remote collaboration and interaction. This means ensuring that all the participants have a quiet and comfortable workspace, a stable internet connection, a good microphone and camera, and a clear view of the screen. You also need to establish some ground rules and norms for remote PI planning, such as muting the microphone when not speaking, using the chat or raise hand feature for questions and comments, respecting different time zones and breaks, and using appropriate language and gestures.

4 Engage the participants

One of the biggest challenges of remote PI planning is to engage the participants and maintain their attention and energy. You can use various techniques and strategies to overcome this challenge, such as using icebreakers and warm-ups, incorporating gamification and rewards, asking open-ended and probing questions, providing feedback and recognition, encouraging peer-to-peer learning and sharing, and using visual aids and storytelling. You can also use online voting and polling tools to gather feedback and opinions, and to measure the confidence and alignment of the participants.

5 Manage the dependencies and risks

Another key aspect of remote PI planning is to manage the dependencies and risks that may arise among the agile teams and the features. You can use virtual whiteboards or other tools to create a program board, where you can visualize the features, the iterations, the milestones, and the dependencies. You can also use color codes, icons, or labels to indicate the status and priority of the features and dependencies. You need to facilitate regular discussions and reviews among the agile teams and the other stakeholders, to identify, resolve, or escalate any dependencies or risks.

6 Review and finalize the outcomes

The final step of remote PI planning is to review and finalize the outcomes of the event. You need to ensure that all the agile teams have presented their draft PI objectives, which are SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound) statements that describe what they intend to deliver in the PI. You also need to ensure that all the stakeholders have agreed on the program risks, which are the potential impediments or uncertainties that may affect the PI delivery. You need to document and communicate the PI objectives and the program risks, and use them as inputs for the next PI execution and inspection.