Free PI Planning Readiness Checklist

Free SAFe / Agile Planning Resource

Prepare your next PI Planning event with a practical readiness checklist and editable planning workbook.

Assess business and backlog readiness, plan realistic team capacity, track dependencies and ROAM risks, align PI Objectives and turn planning outcomes into clear follow-up actions.

Free PDF checklist + editable Excel workbook

What You’ll Get

• Printable PDF checklist for readiness reviews before, during and after PI Planning.
• Editable Excel workbook with practical planning and follow-up trackers.
• Six reusable workbook tabs covering readiness, team capacity, dependencies, ROAM risks, PI Objectives and post-planning actions.
• GO / CONDITIONAL GO / NO-GO readiness logic to make preparation gaps visible before the event.

Need the complete process first? Read the SAFe PI Planning Checklist: Before, During & After.

Who This Resource Is For

The checklist is designed for teams that want to identify readiness gaps before PI Planning instead of discovering them during the event.

• Release Train Engineers and Scrum Masters coordinating PI Planning preparation.
• Product Management and Product Owners preparing priorities, features and team backlogs.
• Architects and technical leaders surfacing enablers, constraints and dependencies.
• Agile teams planning capacity, objectives, risks and cross-team commitments.

How to Use the Checklist

1. Run a readiness review before the event. Check business context, backlog quality, architecture input, stakeholders and logistics while there is still time to close gaps.
2. Plan realistic team capacity. Include availability, support work, holidays and known constraints before teams commit to PI Objectives.
3. Make dependencies and risks visible. Record owners, dates and ROAM decisions so cross-team issues do not disappear after breakout sessions.
4. Validate PI Objectives. Confirm that objectives are understandable, aligned and supported by realistic capacity and dependencies.
5. Convert outcomes into follow-up actions. Use the workbook after the event to track unresolved risks, dependencies and commitments.

Example: What a Readiness Review Should Surface

A useful PI Planning readiness review should make preparation gaps explicit before teams enter breakout sessions. For example, an ART might discover that priorities are agreed but capacity assumptions, dependency owners or architecture decisions are still unresolved.

• GO: priorities are clear, major features are understood, team capacity is known, key dependencies have owners and critical architecture questions are resolved.
• CONDITIONAL GO: planning can proceed, but named actions must be closed during or immediately after the event—for example one dependency date, one capacity assumption or one architecture decision.
• NO-GO: teams cannot make credible commitments because essential inputs are missing, such as unclear business priorities, unavailable capacity data or unresolved decisions that materially affect multiple teams.

The goal is not to make the checklist bureaucratic. It is to expose the few gaps that could reduce planning quality, create unrealistic PI Objectives or push unresolved risks into execution.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does this page include direct download links?

No. Complete the access form above and you will be directed to the TechTeamSynergy Free Resources Hub, where the PDF checklist and editable workbook are available.

Can the workbook be adapted to our ART?

Yes. The workbook is intended to be customized with your teams, capacity assumptions, dependencies, risks, PI Objectives and post-planning actions.

Where can I learn the full PI Planning process?

Start with the SAFe PI Planning Guide and use the PI Planning Checklist as the practical companion.