Planning Game

The XP planning game enables the team to foresee what features will be available when, using the release planning practice. The iteration planning practice enables the customer to steer the project by defining what to do, and what to defer, in each short iteration.

Part of the planning game is the tracking of velocity. This lets the team know well how fast they are going. Observing velocity can give an early warning of problems with testing or refactoring.

Is the Planning Game Essential?

The planning game is very important. The planning game is part of the essential cycle of the XP team's process: It defines what will be done, and it provides key feedback between programmers and customers.

My biggest fear in programming is that the team will do good work and yet not please the customer. The planning game can help you ensure that the programmers and the customers are in sync. Don't drop the planning game it's key.