🏖️Planning Our Summer Vacation the Scrum Way

Yes, I actually ran a retrospective on sunscreen. 😎

Vacations are meant to be relaxing, right?
But anyone who’s ever tried to plan a family trip knows the truth: they can be mini-projects packed with shifting priorities, unclear stakeholders, overambitious goals, and the ever-lurking threat of total chaos.

This year, I decided to apply a little structure—well, Agile structure—to the madness. After all, if Scrum works at work, why not use it to plan something equally complex (and possibly more political): our summer vacation?

No joke. I brought out the whiteboard (figuratively), grabbed my imaginary sticky notes, and turned our vacation planning into a living Scrum board.

Here’s how it went. Spoiler: We made it out alive, still speaking to each other, and I even got a tan. ☀️

🎯 Step 1: Define the Product Goal

Every product needs a clear goal.
In our case:
“A stress-free, fun-filled summer vacation for the whole family, with minimal arguments and maximum relaxation.”

You might laugh, but this goal helped us prioritize. Any idea that didn’t support this mission was dropped from the backlog (looking at you, 14-hour driving route through 6 countries in 5 days).

📋 Step 2: Build the Backlog

Here’s where it got real.

We opened the backlog floodgates, and suddenly everyone had “must-haves”:

• Flights ✈️

• Accommodation 🛏️

• Budgeting 💸

• Car rental 🚗

• Excursions 🎢

• Kid-friendly activities 🍦

• Internet access (non-negotiable for some) 📶

• Local cuisine 🍝

• …and someone added “sunset yoga” 🧘‍♀️ (not naming names).

It was chaos—but fun chaos. The key was getting it all out in the open.
Transparency, people. The first Agile value in action.

🧠 Step 3: Sprint Planning Begins

Just like in Scrum, we broke down our planning into sprints.

Sprint 1: Booking Essentials

• Lock in dates ✅

• Choose a destination ✅

• Book flights and hotel ✅

• Early win = momentum!

Sprint 2: Logistics & Research

• Check local COVID rules

• Confirm activities

• Arrange transfers

• Compare restaurants (“Is this TripAdvisor review sarcastic or British?”)

Sprint 3: Packing & Prep

• Create packing list

• Assign items to each person

• Buy missing gear

• Print travel docs

• Charge all devices (and parents 😅)

☕ Daily Stand-Ups (With Coffee, Obviously)

Every morning over breakfast, we’d do a mini stand-up.
Quick check-in, no status reports, no judgment.

What did we do yesterday?
“Booked the ferry. Found out half the rooms don’t have Wi-Fi.”

What are we doing today?
“Finalizing packing. Double-checking sunscreen count.”

What’s blocking us?
“Someone still hasn’t decided if they’re bringing their hiking boots.”

It became part of our rhythm. Informal. Collaborative. And honestly? Kinda fun.

🔍 Retrospective… on the Beach 🏖️

After we returned home (tanned and only mildly exhausted), I snuck in a family retrospective over watermelon slices and sea breeze.

✅ What went well:

• Planning in sprints helped us avoid burnout

• Everyone got involved (even the teens!)

• We actually finished packing before midnight (a first)

• We didn’t overbook ourselves with “should-do” stuff

❌ What could’ve gone better:

• Someone forgot the charging cables 😅

• More buffer time before the flight would’ve helped

• Too many decisions left for the last minute

🧠 What we’ll try next time:

• Shared digital checklist

• Earlier prep

• More “free time” blocks (to nap or explore without a plan)