Product Planning
& OKR

The most important task of the shortest planning horizon is prioritizing the next sprints. In this chapter, you'll take 11 raw ideas, ask the right questions to clarify them, and prepare everything for actual prioritization.

You will learn:
→ how to ask the right questions to your user stories
→ how to prepare for spring planning

What it looks like:
→ help the tech lead prioritize the backlog by asking the right questions
→ the lesson will take from 1 to 2 hours

What students say about the lesson:
→ Ivar: "Very natural and great brain shake"
→ Yarko: "Amazing exercise. Very good scenario, it feels like a real-life project. 11 stories are perfect for the exercise"

Now that we have answered the main "difficult" questions, it's time to bring the tasks to one "currency", prioritize the tasks with the most popular impact-effort method, and plan the next 5 sprints.

You will learn:
→ how to prioritize the backlog with the most popular impact-effort method
→ what your backlog looks like in real Trello and ClickUp tools
→ what are story points and how to set them correctly

What it looks like:
→ learn to choose the right impact scores
→ work with Google Sheets template impact-effort prioritization
→ choose which tasks to take into the sprint, taking into account the velocity of the team
→ the lesson will take from 1 to 2 hours

What students say about the lesson:
→ Kris: "Very cool activity, I felt like a real PM:))) Realistic thoughtful tasks and a lot of additional information, thanks:)"
→ Alex: "It was interesting to learn how the prioritization process works in IT-giants, and what methods and tools are used"

To ensure that everyday activity brings PM to the right outcome, we need a compass - mid-term goals, usually set for a quarter, a semester, or a year maximum. We use the powerful Objectives and Key Results (OKR) tool to make goals formal.

You will learn:
→ why we need Objectives and Key Results at all
→ how to set the right OKRs
→ what are the most common mistakes when setting OKRs

What it looks like:
→ help Jr. PM and Marketing specialist to set goals for their projects
→ together with the Principal PM, connect the OKRs of the team, departments, and the whole company
→ the lesson will take from 1 to 3 hours

What students say about the lesson:
→ Mila: "Cool practical exercises aimed at calculations and understanding! really like it!"
→ Oleksandr: "I can't wait to put OKR into practice as soon as possible! The simulator helps a lot to streamline the information, find gaps and delve deeper into the topic"
→ Serge: "I really like the quality of additional materials"

A team (3-4 developers), and, moreover, a whole company (10-10,000 developers) is a very powerful force, and it must be directed in the right and aligned direction, otherwise, there is a very high probability of ending up nowhere. That's where the mission/vision tool comes in handy.

You will learn:
→ what is a vision and why a PM needs it
→ how vision differs from mission
→ how to define them for the company, department, and team

What it looks like:
→ help Principal PM set a crisp vision for teams and established companies
→ fill out a detailed vision statement template for the messenger team of a large company
→ the lesson will take about 1-2 hours

What students say about this lesson:
→ Mike: "I've always been confused about these terms, now it's clearer how one differs from the other."

Now that we have dealt with the individual planning horizons (sprint planning, OKRs, vision/mission), it's time to tie them together with a few more concepts: epics, strategy & values.

You will learn:
→ how sprint planning relates to OKRs and how OKRs relate to vision
→ where epics come from
→ where product strategy is in the planning hierarchy
→ what are values and why the company needs it

What it looks like:
→ help Jr. PM move from vision heights to down-the-earth development
→ figure out the place of epics and strategy with Principal PM
→ look at the values of big companies
→ connect all 8 horizons into a neat hierarchy
→ get the template to build a Product Strategy

What students say about this lesson:
→ Helen: "Everything connected into a neat picture, thanks"
→ Kate: "I liked the connection between different levels of planning. Good examples that put everything in its place."