Free sprint planning timer for agile teams. Timeboxed planning sessions for 1-week and 2-week sprints. Includes timers for each planning phase.
Scrum Guide recommends a maximum of 8 hours for a 2-week sprint, but most efficient teams complete it in 2–4 hours. 1-week sprints: 1–2 hours. Use the timer for the full session and for individual agenda items — keep backlog refinement to 30 minutes maximum.
Part 1 (What): Product Owner presents backlog items, team selects what fits the sprint. Set a timer for 50% of your planning time. Part 2 (How): Team breaks selected items into tasks and estimates. Set timer for remaining 50%. Alarm signals when to move on.
Set a visible timer for the full session and for each agenda item. When an item's timer ends, make a decision and move on — park unresolved discussions in a "parking lot" list. The timer makes scope creep visible and creates shared accountability for pacing.
Planning poker: give each estimator 60 seconds to decide their vote (timer creates independence, prevents anchoring). After reveal, if estimates diverge, the highest and lowest estimators each get 2 minutes to explain — then re-vote. This structured timing prevents estimation sessions from dominating planning.
Timeboxing forces prioritization — the team must decide what matters most rather than discussing everything. It creates urgency that prevents perfectionism and bikeshedding. Teams with strict sprint planning timers ship more consistently than those with open-ended discussions.