Is it time to bid farewell to Big Room Planning?

Many organizations have been on their agility journey for quite some time, and the appeal of certain ways of working, especially Big Room Planning (BRP), can come into question. Some have gone so far as to declare that BRPs don’t work for their organization, deeming them a costly overhead.

If this sounds familiar, the real question is how to get the most value out of Big Room Planning as your organization matures in its agile journey.

There are different approaches to quarterly planning. Our experience shows that if you have external dependencies and want to create sustainable cross-functional alignment, Big Room Planning is still one of the most impactful ceremonies available to connect strategy, OKRs, and value delivery by teams.

Let’s delve deeper into the evolution of BRP adoption within organizations to understand what actions you can take to get the most value from this approach to quarterly planning, incorporating the principles of business agility foundations.

Stage 1 – BRP Adoption

When organizations begin their journey toward new ways of working, everything is novel. They embrace fresh agile practices, such as work breakdown, estimation, and prioritization. Introducing new ceremonies to their calendars generates a mix of excitement and apprehension, especially when preparing for their first BRP. There is usually a high level of support and education required for both leaders and teams, presenting a great opportunity for a coach to build and grow internal capability grounded in business agility foundations.

Typical Challenges:

• Not everyone is well-versed in agile practices, and team backlogs might be underdeveloped.
• Convincing senior leadership to allocate two days for BRP can be a tough sell.
• Preparing for the initial BRP often feels chaotic and involves a steep learning curve.

Stage 2 – BRP Consolidation

The second BRP sees increased engagement and enthusiasm, with organizations embracing this planning approach more wholeheartedly, as teams understand more about what is expected and can engage in improvements from learning through the initial BRP. 

The lead-up to this event usually includes a more focused quarterly prioritization effort, and teams become more adept at navigating the process. Improvements start to take root during the second BRP, but teams also strive to create more sophisticated roadmaps and identify dependencies earlier.

The role of coaches evolves during this phase, as delivery teams become more proactive in preparation, and product owners concentrate on aligning and crafting product visions and roadmaps.

Typical Challenges:

• Teams start discussing product roadmaps, but their maturity in this area remains low.
• Alignment issues persist between organizational strategy, OKRs, and team alignment.
• The growing complexity of inter-team dependencies, both within the value stream or tribe and across other parts of the organization, poses challenges.

Stage 3 – BRP Ownership

Facilitating the third BRP becomes more manageable, with teams becoming more self-sufficient in their preparations. Organizational vision and priorities take centre stage, and teams begin to connect more deeply with them.

Some organizations experiment with the BRP format, running fully virtual events, hybrid gatherings, or breaking the event down over several half-days. The coach typically takes a back seat as ownership of BRP transfers to the rightful leaders. This is when the essential aspects of BRP start to solidify, but it’s also a time when teams start to question the way forward. It is important to remember at this stage that with each BRP facilitated, it’s an opportunity for the organization and its teams to grow and evolve.

Typical Challenges:

• The ongoing cost of in-person events, especially if function rooms are being hired, becomes a point of scrutiny.
• BRP exposes issues in the organisational operating rhythm, creating tensions among high-demand teams.
• The demands on key capabilities and personnel start to emerge.

Stage 4 – BRP Mastery

The fourth phase of BRP can be the most challenging and is when organizations often question the value of BRPs. What once excited organizations during the initial adoption phase, the newfound transparency, can turn into a spotlight on what’s not working, often with BRPs taking the blame.

This tension point, however, holds the potential for substantial improvement. BRPs illuminate not just team dynamics during quarterly planning but also systemic bottlenecks and complex team structures.

Typical Challenges:

• Managing or reducing complex webs of dependencies remains elusive.
• Capacity and demand on critical capabilities and personnel impede organizational priorities and team success.
• Traditional stage-gated projects or waterfall release cycles clash with the quarterly cadence of BRPs and other portfolio ceremonies. The need for quicker release cycles becomes more evident.

Over the years, enthusiasm for agile practices, particularly Big Room Planning (BRP), has waned for some. However, this is an opportunity for organizations to reevaluate their approach to prioritization and planning, and consider how they extract value from quarterly planning events.

BRP, by design, serves to align quarterly priorities, reaffirm the organizational mission, and connect strategy, OKRs, and value delivery by teams. These factors remain crucial, and it now tests whether the organization can elevate itself to a new level of business agility.

The era of isolated product or technology teams is shifting, requiring a broader perspective and encouraging organizations to adopt a “system thinking” lens. By viewing the system as a whole, organizations can identify where interconnectedness and complexity lie. Relationships, interactions, and patterns become important as you assess how information and value flow through the organization. By actively focusing on and resolving bottlenecks and points of tension, Agile Transformation Services enable organizations to adapt to changing priorities and grow as their environment evolves.

At this juncture, it’s worth pondering some key questions:

• Has your organization fully embraced business agility foundations and lean practices? Can it swiftly adapt to market changes, new demands, or innovative technologies, or is it static?
• Does customer-centricity drive your organization? How quickly do you learn, gather feedback, and adapt?
• Are your teams guided by a common vision and empowered to deliver without complex dependencies? Do your teams align with the value stream and have the autonomy to achieve customer outcomes?
• How quickly can you bring new products and services to the market?
• Can you measure the value you deliver, establish feedback loops for learning and adaptation, and make informed decisions about initiatives?

While scrutinizing business agility foundations, you can adjust your BRP approach to make it more streamlined and efficient. We encourage organizations to continue learning and adapting accordingly. Only after understanding and mastering something can you decide how and when to modify it. However, remember the benefits it brings and adhere to key guiding principles to ensure you don’t lose these advantages.

Meet Teams Where They Are: Tailor your approach to teams, whether they are new to BRP or seasoned. Each BRP should be a learning opportunity, so set realistic expectations.

1. Embrace Transparency: Transparency extends beyond showcasing visions and delivery plans; it’s about identifying organisational bottlenecks and opportunities for greater efficiency.
2. Actively Address Tensions: If recurring obstacles and blockers persist, proactively work to resolve them. Otherwise organisations risk remaining stuck with slow, suboptimal processes that can’t pivot and adjust quickly.

In conclusion, the evolution of BRP within an organization is a natural progression. While the appeal of BRPs may dim over time, it remains a valuable tool for testing and enhancing an organization’s agility. This approach, grounded in business agility foundations, strengthens the ability to adapt and deliver value in a dynamic business landscape.