As Agile ways of working become more and more mainstream, there is a misperception that we should not plan more than a few months ahead. This is a mistake – it goes against our brain’s need for certainty. Executive leadership needs to have an overview of a long-term strategic plan, teams at every level need to have an overview of where they are going together and why because what we make now affects what we might make later.

We start with strategic objectives and slice them down to make a longer-term plan which provides direction – one that is long in time and thin in details. From that prioritized Long & Thin plan, we break the prioritized items down into a Short & Fat 90-day plan for action, and then into team plans that fit the sprint for results. We revisit and reprioritize the plans often. In this way, plans at every level are dynamic and drive common understanding, overview and ownership.