Monday — Set Course
Duration: 30 minutes Facilitator: Rotates weekly When: Start of the week (Monday by default; shift to match your working week)
Purpose
Agree what we intend to land this week. Everyone leaves knowing what they’re working on and why. This guide assumes a single boat of 4–5 engineers.
Before the Meeting (Facilitator, 5 min prep)
- Pull up the board
- Note what’s still in flight from last week
- Check WIP limits — are we at cap?
- Flag any new urgent Run that came in over the weekend
Script
| Time | Activity | Detail |
|---|---|---|
| 0–5 min | Board review | What’s still in flight? Anything that should have landed last week but didn’t? |
| 5–15 min | Name this week’s intended Landing(s) | For each: who benefits, what’s the outcome, what type (Customer/Business/Platform/Decision)? |
| 15–20 min | WIP check | Are we at the limit? What needs to finish before we start anything new? |
| 20–25 min | Run check | Any reactive work eating capacity? Any proactive Run we should schedule? |
| 25–30 min | Confirm ownership | Every active item has a named owner. Every person can state what they’re focused on. |
Outputs
- Board updated with this week’s intended Landings
- Every active item has an owner
- WIP limits respected (or explicit exception named with what’s paused)
- Each team member can answer: “What am I working on and why does it matter?”
Anti-Patterns
| ❌ Don’t | ✅ Do |
|---|---|
| Load up new starts because people feel “free” | Ask “what needs to finish?” before “what should we start?” |
| Treat it as sprint planning with task assignments | Set direction and intended outcomes, not task lists |
| Skip the WIP check | WIP limits are the engine — respect them or name the exception |
| Let items carry forward without acknowledging it | If something didn’t land last week, say why and decide: continue, cut scope, or drop |
| Run longer than 30 minutes | If it’s going long, you’re planning too much detail — save it for Route Planning |