⚠ HOW TO USE THIS GUIDE

Before submitting your plan, work through this checklist:

• ✅ Use the worksheet at the end to capture your data.

• ✅ Use Copilot prompts throughout to pull real system data.

• ✅ Perform this at both levels:

  • Per Team (Story level): individual team capacity & execution

  • Per Product/Value Stream (Epic level): full delivery flow across teams

✅ WHY THIS HELPS

Using this checklist allows you to:

• ✅ Build realistic, system-capacity-based plans

• ✅ Make business tradeoffs visible early

• ✅ Prevent overload and unplanned work from derailing delivery

• ✅ Improve predictability quarter over quarter

• ✅ Deliver business outcomes more reliably

• ✅ Continuously improve flow using real system data

• ✅ Increase leadership and stakeholder trust

1. CONFIRM TEAM CAPACITY — Per Team (Story Level)

Ask each team:

• What was this team’s 85th percentile Flow Velocity (Stories) over the last 3 quarters?

• Are we excluding:

  • Canceled work?

  • Zero Flow Time work?

• Have we adjusted for:

  • WIP carryover?

  • Historical unplanned work (% buffer)?

  • PTO, holidays, headcount changes?

  • Code Freeze

  • Use the Time Picker to look over the past years data where available to see the peaks and valleys in delivery to adjust capacity where needed. 

Example Capacity Calculation (Per Team):

Copilot Prompt:

"Provide 85th percentile Flow Velocity for this team (Story level), excluding canceled and zero Flow Time work. Apply unplanned work buffer and WIP carryover."

2. REVIEW CURRENT WIP — Per Team (Story Level)

Ask each team:

• What Stories are currently in progress?

• Which Stories are aging beyond target Flow Time?

• Which Stories are currently blocked or waiting?

• Which work delivers business outcomes?

• What can be canceled or deprioritized?

• Can we fully commit to finishing this WIP before starting new work?

Why blocked work matters:

• Blocked work burns system capacity.

• Aging + Blocked WIP = leading indicator of system failure.

• You must resolve or prioritize blocked work before pulling more.

Example:
Team Capacity = 10
Current WIP = 15
Blocked Items = 5
✅ Prioritize, resolve blockers, do not pull new work until WIP stabilizes.

Copilot Prompt:

"List all Stories currently in progress for this team, showing Flow Item Age, current state (Blocked, Waiting, In Progress), and flag aging > 45 days or blocked items."

3. BALANCE FLOW DISTRIBUTION

4. BOTTLENECKS & TIMELINE EVENTS — Per Team + Product Level

Ask your teams:

• What Timeline Events were logged?

• Which system bottlenecks repeatedly slowed flow?

• Have adjustments been made and documented as Timeline Events?

Copilot Prompt:

"Summarize Timeline Events for each team and for the full product grouped by root cause."

5. DEPENDENCY READINESS — Per Product/Value Stream (Epic Level)

• What dependencies exist?

• Are delivery commitments secured?

• Are buffers applied for dependency risk?

Copilot Prompt:

"List open dependencies tied to committed Epics for this quarter."

6. BUSINESS OUTCOMES ALIGNMENT — Per Product/Value Stream (Epic Level)

• Every Epic has a defined, measurable business outcome.

• Measurable success metrics are assigned.

Example Table:

Copilot Prompt:

"List all Epics planned for this quarter with linked business outcomes and metrics. Flag any missing outcomes."

7. EXPERIMENTS & SYSTEM IMPROVEMENT — Product + Portfolio Level

Run system experiments each quarter. Make measurable and transparent using Timeline Events. 

Copilot Prompt:

"List current Flow Experiments, baselines, targets, and active results."

8. EPIC FLOW CONTROL — Per Product/Value Stream (Epic Level)

Ask:

• How many Epics are active across product?

• Are Epics aging beyond target Flow Time?

• Are Epic WIP limits being enforced?

Copilot Prompt:

"List active Epics with Flow Item Age, % complete, and flag Epics aging past delivery window."

9. FINAL COMMITMENT READINESS — Full System Check