Sprint planning is where the rubber meets the road. It’s the meeting where your English must be precise — you’re making commitments your whole team will be held to. For Vietnamese engineers on international Agile teams, the right phrases can mean the difference between a sprint that runs smoothly and one that derails on day two.
🗣️ Key Phrases to Say Out Loud
Practice these before your next sprint planning:
| Phrase | IPA | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| ”I estimate this at 3 story points.” | /aɪ ˈestɪmeɪt ðɪs æt θriː ˈstɔːri pɔɪnts/ | Đánh giá effort |
| ”We need to clarify the acceptance criteria.” | /wiː niːd tə ˈklærɪfaɪ ðə əkˈseptəns kraɪˈtɪəriə/ | Làm rõ tiêu chí nghiệm thu |
| ”I’m not comfortable committing to this.” | /aɪm nɒt ˈkʌmftəbəl kəˈmɪtɪŋ tə ðɪs/ | Không tự tin commit |
| ”Can we split this story?” | /kæn wiː splɪt ðɪs ˈstɔːri/ | Chia nhỏ user story |
| ”What’s our velocity this sprint?” | /wɒts aʊər vəˈlɒsɪti ðɪs sprɪnt/ | Hỏi về velocity |
| ”This has too many unknowns.” | /ðɪs hæz tuː ˈmeni ʌnˈnəʊnz/ | Quá nhiều rủi ro chưa rõ |
| ”Let’s timebox this discussion.” | /lets ˈtaɪmbɒks ðɪs dɪˈskʌʃn/ | Giới hạn thời gian thảo luận |
Pronunciation focus: acceptance criteria — most Vietnamese speakers stress wrong syllables. Correct: ac-CEP-tance cri-TE-ri-a (stress on 2nd syllable of each word).
📚 Vocabulary
1. velocity /vəˈlɒsɪti/
Nghĩa: số story point team hoàn thành trung bình mỗi sprint Example: “Our average velocity is 32 points — let’s not commit to more than 28 to leave buffer.”
2. capacity /kəˈpæsɪti/
Nghĩa: khả năng thực tế của team sprint này (tính theo người-ngày) Example: “With two engineers on leave, our capacity is down to 60% this sprint.”
3. acceptance criteria /əkˈseptəns kraɪˈtɪəriə/
Nghĩa: tiêu chí để coi một story là “done” Example: “Before we estimate this, we need acceptance criteria — what does ‘done’ look like?“
4. spike /spaɪk/
Nghĩa: task nghiên cứu/khám phá — không tạo ra deliverable ngay Example: “Let’s add a spike to investigate the third-party API before we commit to building the integration.”
5. definition of done /ˌdefɪˈnɪʃn əv dʌn/
Nghĩa: danh sách tiêu chuẩn mà mọi story phải đáp ứng Example: “According to our definition of done, all PRs need passing tests and a review before we close the ticket.”
6. blocker /ˈblɒkər/
Nghĩa: vấn đề ngăn cản tiến độ Example: “I need to flag a potential blocker — we’re waiting on security approval for the new dependency.”
7. timebox /ˈtaɪmbɒks/ (verb)
Nghĩa: giới hạn thời gian cho một hoạt động Example: “Let’s timebox this to 10 minutes — if we don’t have an answer, we add a spike.”
🎯 Practice Now
Sprint Planning Dialogue
Read this dialogue out loud — play both roles:
Scrum Master: Okay team, let’s look at story PROJ-142: “User can reset their password.” Does everyone understand the requirements?
Developer (you): I have a question — what are the acceptance criteria for the email flow? Do we need to handle expired tokens?
SM: Good point. Yes, tokens expire after 24 hours. The user should see a clear error message.
Developer: Got it. In that case, I’d estimate this at 5 story points. There’s backend work, email template, and error handling — it’s more complex than it looks.
SM: Any concerns about committing to this sprint?
Developer: I need to flag one thing — I’m not comfortable committing to the email integration without clarifying which provider we’re using. Can we add a spike first?
SM: Fair point. Let’s timebox that — add 2 points for a spike to finalize the provider, then we’ll bring the full story next sprint.
Practice tips:
- Say “I need to flag” naturally — it means “I want to raise an issue”
- “I’m not comfortable committing” is a professional way to push back
- “Timebox” is always a verb — “let’s timebox this”, never “do a timebox”
⏱️ 5-Minute Drill
Read this estimation script aloud, as if you’re in a real planning meeting:
“I’ve had a chance to look at the stories for this sprint. For PROJ-101, I estimate 3 points — it’s a straightforward UI change with no backend work. PROJ-102 is more complex: we need to integrate with the payment gateway, handle errors, and write integration tests. I’d estimate 8 points, but I want to flag that there are too many unknowns around the API rate limits. Can we add a spike to investigate? That way we can commit confidently next sprint.
For PROJ-103, the acceptance criteria aren’t clear to me — specifically, what happens when a user uploads an unsupported file type? If we can clarify that today, I’m happy to estimate it. Otherwise, I’d recommend we split the story and only bring the happy path into this sprint.”
Focus on: natural pausing, stress on estimate, spike, commit, clarify.
🌟 Today’s Challenge
In your next planning meeting or retrospective:
- Use “I’d estimate this at X points” instead of just saying a number
- If something is unclear, say “Can we clarify the acceptance criteria?” before estimating
- If you’re overloaded, say “I’m not comfortable committing to all of this given our capacity”
Precision in planning saves painful retrospectives.
QC & Agile English drops every evening for Vietnamese tech professionals working on international Agile teams. 🇻🇳