Agile & SAFe Planning
ProBeya's Agile module provides a complete SAFe (Scaled Agile Framework) planning toolkit. It supports Program Increment (PI) planning, team management, objective setting, cross-team dependency tracking, Planning Poker estimation, and agile metrics trending — everything needed to run large-scale agile transformation programs.
Overview
Operational transformations increasingly adopt agile at scale. The Agile module supports this by:
- Structuring work into Program Increments with defined start/end dates and status
- Organizing teams within a PI with velocity and sprint capacity tracking
- Setting PI Objectives with business value scoring per team
- Visualizing cross-team dependencies and their resolution status
- Running real-time Planning Poker estimation sessions
- Tracking agile metrics (velocity, cycle time, lead time, throughput, WIP, defect rate, sprint goal success)
Getting Started
- Navigate to Agile from the workspace menu.
- Click + New PI to create a Program Increment.
- Add teams with their velocity and sprint capacity.
- Define PI objectives and assign them to teams.
- Map cross-team dependencies to identify integration risks.
How It Works
Program Increments
A PI is a time-boxed planning period (typically 8-12 weeks) that aligns multiple teams toward shared objectives.
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Name | PI identifier (e.g., "PI 2026.2") |
| Start Date | First day of the PI |
| End Date | Last day of the PI |
| Status | Current state of the PI |
The getPI endpoint returns the full PI with all related data: teams, objectives, and dependencies loaded in a single query for the PI planning board view.
PI Teams
Teams are the delivery units within a PI. Each team tracks:
- Name: team identifier
- Velocity: historical average story points per sprint
- Sprint Capacity: available capacity for the PI (adjusted for holidays, training, etc.)
Teams can be added, updated, or removed from a PI. Removing a team cascades to its objectives and dependencies.
PI Objectives
Objectives define what each team commits to deliver during the PI. They include:
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Title | Objective description |
| Team | Which team owns this objective |
| Business Value | Value score assigned by business stakeholders |
| Status | Current completion status |
| Notes | Additional context or acceptance criteria |
Objectives can be listed for the entire PI or filtered by team, making it easy to see each team's commitment separately.
Cross-Team Dependencies
Dependencies track where one team's delivery depends on another team's output. Each dependency includes:
- From Team: the team that needs something
- To Team: the team that must provide it
- Description: what the dependency is about
- Status: identified, accepted, resolved, or blocked
The dependency board helps facilitators identify and resolve integration risks during PI planning.
Planning Poker
Planning Poker enables real-time collaborative estimation:
- A facilitator opens a Poker session for a backlog item.
- Each team member casts a vote (story point value or "?" for uncertainty).
- When all votes are in, the facilitator reveals results.
- The system calculates: total votes, average, min, max, and whether consensus was reached.
- If no consensus, the facilitator clears votes and starts a new round.
Votes are upserted — if a user changes their mind before reveal, their existing vote is updated rather than creating a duplicate.
Agile Metrics
Track key agile health indicators over time:
| Metric | Description |
|---|---|
| Velocity | Story points completed per sprint |
| Cycle Time | Time from work started to work completed |
| Lead Time | Time from request to delivery |
| Throughput | Number of items completed per time period |
| WIP | Work in progress count |
| Defect Rate | Defects per unit of work delivered |
| Sprint Goal Success | Percentage of sprint goals achieved |
Metrics are recorded per PI and sprint, with trend views that show how the metric evolves over time for continuous improvement tracking.
Permissions
- Team Members can cast poker votes and view PI data
- Scrum Masters / RTE can create PIs, manage teams, and facilitate poker sessions
- Product Owners can set business value on objectives
- Organization Admins have full access across all PIs
Tips & Best Practices
Map dependencies on a physical or digital board during PI planning. Focus on resolving "blocked" dependencies before leaving the planning event — unresolved dependencies are the top cause of PI execution failure.
Use the velocity trend metric to calibrate sprint capacity for future PIs. Teams should plan to their demonstrated velocity, not an aspirational target.
When Planning Poker reveals a wide spread (e.g., min=2, max=13), have the highest and lowest voters explain their reasoning before the next round. This discussion often surfaces hidden complexity or assumptions.
Related Features
- PM Standards — governance frameworks complementing agile methods
- Capacity Modeling — resource capacity planning that feeds sprint capacity
- KPI Boards — track agile metrics alongside operational KPIs