cycle-plan_skill

Overview

This skill plans Linear cycles using historical velocity and capacity analytics to recommend a realistic scope. It suggests target points, reserves buffer for unplanned work, highlights dependency risks, and balances assignments across the team. Use it to turn velocity data into an actionable cycle plan quickly.

How this skill works

The skill analyzes recent cycle history to compute average velocity, completion rate, and scope creep. It combines that with current team capacity (headcount, PTO, focus time) to recommend a target range and buffer. It then selects and assigns issues by priority, checks dependencies, and produces a balanced cycle plan with workload breakdown and risk notes.

When to use it

• Planning the next sprint or development cycle
• Deciding which issues to include given team capacity
• Balancing workload across engineers and roles
• Validating a draft cycle for blockers and overcommitment
• Setting a realistic target after a period of volatility

Best practices

• Plan to 80–90% of measured capacity and reserve ~10% buffer for unplanned work
• Schedule blocking or dependency-heavy tasks early in the cycle
• Prioritize P1/P2 items and avoid pulling work that is blocked by future cycles
• Distribute points across team members to avoid single-person bottlenecks
• Re-run velocity analysis every few cycles to capture trend shifts

Example use cases

• Generate a target range (e.g., 32–36 points) from five-cycle velocity history
• Assemble a cycle plan that maps P1/P2 issues to engineers and shows point distribution
• Detect and flag cross-cycle dependencies before finalizing scope
• Adjust planned scope after accounting for PTO, holidays, and availability changes
• Produce a short execution plan listing capacity, target, buffer, planned issues, and workload balance