25+ Scrum Anti-patterns of Sprint Planning: Task Creation & More

Sprint Planning should be a place where the team aligns, commits, and gets ready to build something valuable together. But sometimes, it feels more like a never-ending debate, a guessing game, or worse… a rushed task dump! If that sounds familiar, you're not alone.

In this blog, we’re diving into the Anti-patterns of Sprint Planning, those pesky habits and pitfalls that sneak in and sabotage your Sprint before it even begins. From Sprint Planning mistakes that waste time to Scrum task creation issues that confuse more than they clarify, we’re unpacking them all.

Whether you're a Scrum Master trying to run smoother sessions or a developer tired of unclear tasks, this guide is here to help. Let’s explore what not to do, so your team can get back to what they do best: delivering great work, Sprint after Sprint.

What is Scrum Sprint Planning?

Scrum Sprint Planning is an event in the Scrum framework that marks the official beginning of a Sprint. Where the Scrum Team, including the Product Owner, Scrum Master, and Developers, comes together to decide what they’ll build and how they’ll go about it during the upcoming Sprint.

Instead of trying to deliver an entire product all at once (which could take months!), Sprint Planning helps the team break down high-priority requirements from the large, complex Product Backlog into manageable chunks that can be completed within a defined timeframe, typically 1 to 4 weeks.

During Sprint Planning, the team identifies:

• A Sprint Goal – the desired outcome of the Sprint.

• A Sprint Backlog – the prioritized items and tasks needed to reach that goal.

What is the Purpose of Sprint Planning? 

The main goal of Sprint Planning is to give the team a clear, focused direction for the Sprint. It allows the Scrum Team to:

• Choose the most important Product Backlog items to work on.

• Break down those items into smaller, actionable tasks.

• Estimate effort, discuss feasibility, and align on the Sprint commitment.

For Developers, it’s an opportunity to assess technical challenges. For Product Owners, it’s a chance to ensure the team is working on the most valuable features. For Scrum Masters, it’s about keeping the session smooth and focused.

However, many Sprint Planning mistakes stem from skipping critical discussions, underestimating effort, or vague task creation, leading to Scrum Task Creation Issues that frustrate everyone.

By understanding the what and why of Sprint Planning, your team can avoid these pitfalls and start every Sprint with purpose and clarity.

25+ Scrum Anti-patterns of Sprint Planning

Scrum anti-patterns of Sprint Planning can lead to confusion, overcommitment, poor collaboration, and missed goals. In this guide, we break down 25+ planning pitfalls to help you spot and avoid them.

Scrum Anti-patterns of Sprint Planning: Task Creation

We often see teams create tasks for product backlog items during sprint planning, but those tasks are skill-based tasks like coding, testing, documentation, etc. Is it the right way to do it? 

What can all go wrong if we keep creating tasks like this? I was in a meeting with a team, and one of the team members asked a question related to daily scrum.

The question was – why have daily scrums? We all know daily scrum is a critical inspect and adapt event but what if the team doesn't find it useful? Why was it not helpful for them?

We were starting to go through the whole process and found that sprint planning is the real culprit. The team shared their sprint backlog, which was something like below:-

Product Backlog Items for the current sprint –

• Automate opening investment page for agents based on customer type with basic customer details.

• Generate a single view of all investments for a particular customer based on customer Id.

• Automate opening loan page for agents based on customer type with basic customer details.

• Generate a single view of all loans for a particular customer based on customer Id.

Tasks board

What is happening here?

• The team internally gets divided into multiple parts to take care of their work based on skills, not looking at the whole story. Everyone was demonstrating waterfall (sequential) behavior. 

• None of the team members were interested in hearing other parts of the work. Since Daily Scrum is for team and team not interested in each other's work, why do they have daily scrums?

• Sprint planning lasted 1 hour for two weeks because they knew stories, as they have refined during PBR. The velocity is well known, so the team was picking up items from the ordered product backlog. Since the team is creating a skilled-based task, tasks usually remain the same for all PBIs, so it didn't take much time. The team was attaching those standard tasks for every PBIs. It was done in 30 mins!

• The team has not discussed design and architecture during planning; otherwise, those could have been visible on board. Result? Duplicate code to avoid dependencies on each other, but who cares about technical debts and code smells?

• There were many more issues related to poor planning, such as delayed feedback, bigger batch size and choking workflow, etc. I will share those sometime during the face-to-face discussion.

• The Sprint Goal was missing!!

Agile Task Creation Best Practices

To avoid common Scrum task creation issues, it’s important to follow a few simple but powerful best practices. Below, we’ve outlined effective ways to improve task clarity, ownership, and flow, so your team can stay focused and deliver with confidence.

• No skilled-based task. Better not to create tasks at all but still needed than component-wise tasks may be a better option like front-end, service, integration, etc. 

• Avoid tools such as Jira for sprint planning and use a physical board or online board to visualize and facilitate team Collaboration. 

• The task must emerge while discussing approach and design rather than pre-planned.

• The whole team approach needed to have collective ownership.

• The focus should be to complete one PBI at a time. If the team feels there is not enough work for everyone for the whole team to complete one PBI, then start the next PBI.

• Frequent integration of code is essential to reduce technical debt.

• Smaller batch size to maintain flow and improve the feedback loop

Most importantly, commit to the Sprint Goal, not to the plan. Inspect and adapt the sprint plan daily as work progresses. 

Anti-patterns of Sprint Planning: Product Owner

When the Product Owner slips into old habits or misunderstands their role, things can quickly go off track. From turning Sprint Planning into a command-and-control session to skipping proper backlog prep, these missteps can create chaos, not clarity. 

Let’s look at some common Sprint Planning pitfalls caused by Product Owners and how to steer clear of them.

1. Planning the Sprint Alone Before the Meeting

When the Product Owner pre-defines the Sprint backlog without involving the team, Sprint Planning becomes a handoff session instead of a collaborative one. This top-down behavior not only demotivates Developers but also kills self-management.

Fix: Come prepared with prioritized backlog items and a proposed Sprint Goal—but leave space for discussion. Let the team select what they can commit to, aligning it with capacity and technical feasibility.

2. Pushing Teams to Overcommit 

Many POs insist on squeezing in “just one more story” to boost output, often citing past velocity. This leads to burnout, sloppy work, and missed Sprint Goals.

Fix: Respect team forecasts and avoid micromanaging scope. Focus on delivering meaningful outcomes, not maximizing story points. Shift the conversation from how much to why this matters to reinforce value thinking.

3. No Clear Sprint Goal or Business Objective

Instead of a unifying Sprint Goal, the team gets a random list of tasks. This lack of cohesion creates confusion, reduces accountability, and disconnects work from product vision.

Fix: Work with stakeholders and the team to craft a clear, focused Sprint Goal tied to the Product Goal. It should guide decision-making and allow flexibility in the "how."

4. Bringing Last-Minute Items into Planning

Scrum teams get blindsided when the PO drops new, unrefined backlog items into planning. This creates unnecessary tension and leads to poor estimation or task breakdown in sprint planning.

Fix: Invest in regular backlog refinement. If last-minute work is often necessary, examine whether stakeholder engagement or forecasting practices need improvement.

5. Planning Multiple Sprints  

Some organizations, under PO or leadership pressure, pre-plan several Sprints in detail, removing agility entirely. This rigid planning leads to rework, waste, and demoralized teams.

Fix: Use rolling-wave planning: keep future items lightly refined but flexible. Let Sprint Planning remain the place for detailed, just-in-time commitments.

6. Using Sprint Planning to Enforce Sprint Exit Criteria

When management or the PO enforces artificial “Sprint Exit Criteria” like zero defects or complete closure, it discourages experimentation and realism in planning.

Fix: Stick to a clear Definition of Done and let Sprint Goals focus on delivering value, not perfection. Reframe “failure to finish everything” as a learning opportunity, not a failure.

7. No Product Vision

 A disconnected PO often lacks input from real stakeholders or fails to represent their needs accurately. This leads to Sprint Goals that are irrelevant or low-impact.

Fix: Strengthen stakeholder engagement. Use customer feedback, analytics, and business goals to shape the backlog. Share the product vision regularly with the team to foster better alignment.

8. Doing It Solo

Some POs work in isolation, skipping regular refinement sessions or updating the backlog at the last minute. This leads to confusion, delays, and low-quality discussions during Sprint Planning.

Fix: Treat backlog refinement as a shared, recurring ceremony. Collaborate with Developers and stakeholders to ensure stories are understood, valuable, and actionable before planning day.

Anti-patterns of Sprint Planning: Scrum Master

Let’s explore the Sprint Planning Anti-patterns Scrum Masters fall into, the Sprint Planning mistakes they often overlook, and how to correct these before they derail your team’s success.

1. Passive Observer, Not a Facilitator

A Scrum Master who simply books the meeting and watches from the sidelines is missing the point. Sprint Planning requires active facilitation—making space for voices, clarifying misunderstandings, and guiding the process.

Fix: Use your facilitation skills to foster dialogue. Nudge the PO to bring a clear goal. Ask questions that surface blockers, dependencies, and risks.

2. Failing to Enforce Timeboxing

Sprint Planning dragging on for hours? That’s a classic Scrum anti-pattern. Scrum Masters must keep the event focused, ensuring it doesn’t turn into an endless backlog grooming session.

Fix: Timebox discussions. If stories aren’t ready, take them offline or schedule a refinement session. Keep the team focused on planning, not analysis.

3. Ignoring Retrospective Insights

When Sprint Planning doesn’t reflect improvements discussed in the previous Retrospective, teams repeat the same issues. A missed opportunity for growth.

Fix: At the start of Sprint Planning, revisit one improvement item from the last Sprint. Ask: “How can we apply this in the coming Sprint?”

4. Letting the PO Dominate the Sprint Plan

One of the common mistakes scrum masters make is letting the product owner dominate the sprint plan. If the PO comes in with a pre-selected backlog and the Scrum Master stays silent, they’re enabling a command-and-control dynamic, one of the worst Sprint Planning mistakes.

Fix: Remind the team that backlog selection is a collaborative activity. Facilitate a discussion between the PO and Developers to co-create the Sprint Goal.

5. Failing to Shield the Team from External Pressure 

When management pushes unrealistic expectations or last-minute scope, and the Scrum Master doesn’t push back, it leads to low morale and burnout.

Fix: Be the team’s advocate. Educate stakeholders on a sustainable pace. Say no when necessary to protect the team’s ability to deliver quality.

6. No Clarity Around Sprint Goal

Sprint Planning that ends without a defined Sprint Goal creates confusion and a lack of purpose, setting the stage for chaos.

Fix: Drive the team to deine a Sprint Goal that’s clear, measurable, and aligned with the Product Goal. Don’t let the meeting end until that’s done.

7. Skipping Conversations About Capacity

Another overlooked Sprint Planning mistake is assuming the team has full capacity every Sprint. Vacations, holidays, and other duties all impact delivery.

Fix: Start planning by reviewing team capacity and known constraints. This ensures realistic commitments and protects work-life balance.

8. Over-Focusing on Velocity Metrics

Scrum Masters who obsess over increasing team velocity often drive teams toward overcommitment and output-focused planning.

Fix: Shift focus to outcomes. Remind the team that delivering value, not points, is the real measure of success. Use velocity for forecasting, not pressure.

Anti-patterns of Sprint Planning: Developers 

Whether it’s overplanning, underplanning, or ignoring capacity constraints, these Anti-patterns of Sprint Planning can quickly derail momentum. Let’s explore the most common Sprint Planning Anti-patterns Developers tend to fall into, and how to avoid them.

1. Overcommitting  

Teams often ignore holidays, meetings, sick days, and personal time, planning as if every developer will be at full capacity the entire Sprint. This leads to burnout and unmet Sprint Goals.

Fix: Factor in everything—time off, context switching, support duties, etc. Be honest about what’s achievable. Planning based on ideal hours is a classic Scrum anti-pattern.

2. Ignoring Technical Debt 

In the rush to deliver features, Developers sometimes skip essential refactoring or bug fixes. This builds up technical debt, slows future development, and lowers product quality.

Fix: According to Stefan Wolpers, founder of Age of Product, you can reserve up to 20% of your Sprint capacity for improving code quality, fixing bugs, or reducing tech debt. A healthier codebase means smoother future Sprints.

3. Planning Every Task in Detail

Some teams treat Sprint Planning like a Gantt chart session, outlining every sub-task upfront. This is unnecessary and often wasteful.

Fix: Focus on understanding the work and identifying dependencies. Plan just enough to start and adapt along the way. Scrum welcomes emergence and learning.

5. Estimating at the Sub-Task Level

Estimating every tiny sub-task creates overhead without meaningful benefit. It becomes a bookkeeping exercise rather than a planning aid.

Fix: Estimate user stories or backlog items only if it helps align understanding. Don’t estimate sub-tasks unless there’s a compelling reason, it’s a Sprint Planning mistake.

6. Skipping Planning Altogether

Assuming “we know what we’re doing” and rushing into the Sprint without discussion misses a valuable opportunity for alignment, technical decisions, and team synergy.

Fix: Use Sprint Planning to talk about architecture, risks, tools, and pairing strategies. It’s not just about task selection; it’s a chance to design success together.

7. Avoiding Conversations 

Some Developers only focus on delivering functionality, ignoring questions like: “Are we building this the right way?” or “Should we spike or pair here?”

Fix: Use Sprint Planning to surface architectural decisions, knowledge gaps, or tool concerns. These conversations reduce long-term risk and build shared understanding.

8. Not Speaking Up During Sprint Planning

Quiet nods don’t equal alignment. If Developers don’t raise concerns or clarify uncertainty, Sprint plans become shaky, and expectations go unchecked.

Fix: Encourage open discussion, even if it feels uncomfortable. If something’s unclear or feels too big, say it. A healthy planning session thrives on transparency.