PMP Q #22- Release Planning Inputs
Q22. Which of the following are needed to do release planning? (Select Three)
A. Release Goal
B. Resource Calendar
C. Estimated Velocity
D. Estimated Product Backlog
E. Definition of Ready (DoR)
Okay, let’s discuss all options one by one:
Option A – “Release Goal” – Understanding the release goal is the starting point for release planning. You should articulate the goal for the release and how this goal is aligned with the product vision and strategy. Following are a few examples of a Release Goal:
- You want to make the system compliant with newly published regulations
- You want to release a fundamental functionality in the market so that people start using it
- You want to push MVP (Minimum Viable Product) in the market so that you can learn about it.
So for the release plan, you need an understanding of what you are trying to achieve. What is the purpose of doing this release, and what goal is it has?
Option B – “Resource Calendar” – The resource calendar shows the availability of resources by reflecting working days, vacations, leaves, and non-working days for individual resources. You don’t need a resource calendar to plan a release because release planning does not look at individual-level accountability. Instead, it sees what a team can release as a whole. Release planning is about something other than who is taking leave; what is their engagement level for this whole duration, or what all team members are allocated for a particular time?
Option C – “Estimated Velocity” – Velocity is the average amount of work a team can complete in one iteration. Estimated velocity implicitly considers information that the resource calendar provides –
- Who will participate in the upcoming iterations to achieve the release goal?
- Availability of resources after considering their leaves and holidays
It is an essential input to developing a release plan as it gives information on how many iterations the team needs to accomplish the release goal.
Option D – “Estimated product backlogs” – It is an important input in release planning.The items linked with the release goal need to be estimated because, in the absence of that, how will you identify a possible timeline and release date?
Option E – “Definition of Ready” – The Definition of Ready helps identify how much product backlog item should be ready before you take it into the iteration. It does not help to predict anything related to the release plan.
So, the correct options are the Release goal (Option A), Estimated velocity (Option C), and Estimated product backlog (Option D).
