Fortnightly — Route Planning
Duration: 60 minutes Facilitator: Engineering lead + Product lead (jointly) When: Every two weeks, ideally early in the week (replaces sprint planning)
Purpose
Shape the next 2–4 weeks of work. Decide what needs a Preview before we commit to Build. Slice upcoming work into landable chunks.
Before the Meeting (Facilitator, 15 min prep)
- Review Landing Log from the past 2 weeks — what’s the mix?
- Pull the backlog of candidate work (roadmap, customer requests, platform needs)
- Note any Previews that were parked and might be worth revisiting
- Check capacity: holidays, known absences, ongoing Run load
Script
| Time | Activity | Detail |
|---|---|---|
| 0–10 min | Landing mix review | Look at the last 2–4 weeks. Balanced across types? Any type missing that should be present? Platform-heavy by accident? |
| 10–25 min | Incoming work | What’s coming from roadmap, customer needs, platform needs? Product and Engineering share context. |
| 25–40 min | Preview or Build? | For each incoming item: do we know enough to Build, or does it need a Preview first? Assign Preview type (Discovery/Demo) where needed. |
| 40–55 min | Slice into Landings | For Build candidates: what’s the smallest meaningful Landing? Can we slice vertically so value reaches a beneficiary sooner? |
| 55–60 min | Capacity & risks | Holidays, dependencies, known spikes in Run. Adjust expectations accordingly. |
Outputs
- A shaped queue of Preview and Build candidates for the next 2–4 weeks
- Each item tagged: needs Preview / ready for Build / blocked on [X]
- Upcoming Build work sliced into landable increments
- Landing mix acknowledged — course-correct if needed
- Capacity risks flagged
Key Questions to Ask
- “Do we know enough to build this, or are we guessing?”
- “What’s the smallest version that would be meaningful to someone?”
- “If we can only land one thing from this list in the next two weeks, which one?”
- “Is there anything here that Sales needs a Demo Preview for before we commit?”
- “What Run work are we expecting — does it change what we can take on?”
Anti-Patterns
| ❌ Don’t | ✅ Do |
|---|---|
| Turn it into detailed task breakdown | Shape and slice, don’t decompose into sub-tasks |
| Plan more than 4 weeks ahead in detail | Shape near-term, sketch far-term |
| Skip the “does this need a Preview?” question | This is how you avoid building the wrong thing |
| Let Product or Engineering dominate | This is a joint session — both perspectives matter |
| Ignore Run load when planning capacity | If Run is eating 30%, you can’t plan for 100% Build |
| Commit to everything discussed | This is a shaping session, not a commitment ceremony — Monday’s Set Course is where we commit for the week |