PI planning is an essential element of the road to success for many organizations. Taking part in or conducting PI planning sessions provides an opportunity for business stakeholders, project owners and teams to review their program backlog, identify priorities and analyze and determine their goals. As part of PI planning, it’s important to get the team together in an engaging and collaborative way.

Today, software development teams are facing increasing pressure to deliver more, faster—even in the face of increasing technical complexity. In fact, two of the biggest challenges reported in a recent survey of software developers were an inability to keep pace with innovations in developer tools (27.7%) and a struggle to manage workloads (26.2%). The software development life cycle is complex, and blends both people and product management and technical work.

In my recent discussions with business leaders across various industries, a common thread has emerged: budget cuts and reorganization. While the COVID-19 pandemic led to a surge in hiring and spending, today’s inflation, interest rate increases, and general economic uncertainty are forcing businesses to cut back. One of the most prevalent cuts I’m seeing is around tech stacks. While this might feel nerve-wracking, I see it as a positive.