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  <mainDescription>&lt;h3>&#xD;
    Getting started&amp;nbsp;&#xD;
&lt;/h3>&#xD;
&lt;p>&#xD;
    Release&amp;nbsp;planning is concerned with creating a strategic project plan (where the internal and external releases of&#xD;
    the project are identified), and tactical iteration plans for individual iterations within releases. It aims at&#xD;
    creating the right level of granularity for each purpose, so that the investment in planning is held to a minimum.&#xD;
&lt;/p>&#xD;
&lt;p>&#xD;
    Begin by understanding the high-level features that the system is expected to possess. These are the system's main&#xD;
    themes or services, and they are typically described or listed in a vision document. They serve to set goals and&#xD;
    expectations, both internally and externally, and they guide and constrain the iteration planning.&#xD;
&lt;/p>&#xD;
&lt;p>&#xD;
    The project plan is coarser-grained than iteration plans. As &lt;a class=&quot;elementLinkWithUserText&quot;&#xD;
    href=&quot;./../../../core.mgmt.common.base/guidances/supportingmaterials/references.mgmt_D80619F3.html#LEF07&quot;&#xD;
    guid=&quot;_JlTPUM6aEdyuBO4ZIzcyig&quot;>[LEF07]&lt;/a> notes, a system can be described with a list of 25-50 features, calibrated&#xD;
    to the relative complexity of that system. Iteration plans, on the other hand, are described in terms of individual&#xD;
    user stories, use cases and scenarios, or other work items that will be&amp;nbsp;developed in each iteration.&#xD;
&lt;/p>&#xD;
&lt;p>&#xD;
    As early in the project as possible, ideally as part of the kick-off of a new project, hold a planning session (with&#xD;
    the whole team and the stakeholders of the system) during which the initial project plan is established.&#xD;
&lt;/p>&#xD;
&lt;p>&#xD;
    Update the project plan as often as necessary to reflect changing business priorities and needs.&#xD;
&lt;/p>&#xD;
&lt;p>&#xD;
    Iteration plans help to estimate and track individual iterations. For each iteration, its plan is created just-in-time,&#xD;
    based on the currently highest prioritized work items in the product backlog.&#xD;
&lt;/p>&#xD;
&lt;h3>&#xD;
    Common pitfalls&#xD;
&lt;/h3>&#xD;
&lt;p>&#xD;
    One of the biggest challenges with agile planning is to resist pressure from upper management if they require to see&#xD;
    complete plans up-front in the project. This is best avoided by involving them in the planning process, and by&#xD;
    demonstrating the value of empirical planning by making the process transparent and open (to the organization and the&#xD;
    project's stakeholders) so that they can easily follow the progress of the project.&#xD;
&lt;/p>&#xD;
&lt;p>&#xD;
    It can be difficult to find the right level of granularity for the features of a given system. With too many features,&#xD;
    the planning process becomes tedious and error-prone, and will work counter to the intent.&#xD;
&lt;/p></mainDescription>
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