Use the right planning horizon to stay focused

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To keep work focused and moving forward, we borrow principles from Agile and Lean. These frameworks assume that certain planning events happen at predictable intervals — and they help structure conversations and expectations around what matters now, what comes next, and what stays later.

Here are the four main horizons we use:

1. Daily Planning (Daily Standup)

A short, focused meeting every morning. The team syncs on what they’re doing, where they’re blocked, and what they need to focus on today. It’s about execution — keeping the iteration moving.

2. Iteration Plan (Sprint Planning)

At the start of each iteration, the team commits to a set of items from the product backlog. These become the goals for the next 1–4 weeks (depending on iteration length). Everyone agrees on what “done” means and how they’ll get there.

3. Product Increment Plan

This is the plan for the next 8–12 weeks — the medium term. It defines what areas the team will focus on, what milestones they aim to hit, and how those align with product or market events. This is often tied to release cycles, product launches, or major internal goals.

4. Product Roadmap

A strategic view that stretches at least 12 months into the future. The first quarter is typically defined with concrete success criteria and leading indicators. After that, the roadmap becomes more thematic — focused on strategic goals and product direction, owned by product leadership.

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