The Sprint

Sprints are the heartbeat of Scrum, where ideas are turned into value.

The Sprint is the name of the time-boxed period in Scrum where work is done. This Sprint can be between one and four weeks long, but most Sprints are around two weeks. This is often called the "iteration."

They are fixed length events of one month or less to create consistency. A new Sprint starts immediately after the conclusion of the previous Sprint.

All the work necessary to achieve the Product Goal, including Sprint Planning, Daily Scrums, Sprint Review, and Sprint Retrospective, happen within Sprints.

During the Sprint:

- No changes are made that would endanger the Sprint Goal;

- Quality does not decrease;

- The Product Backlog is refined as needed; and,

- Scope may be clarified and renegotiated with the Product Owner as more is learned.

A Sprint could be canceled if the Sprint Goal becomes obsolete. Only the Product Owner has the authority to cancel the Sprint.

Sprint Planning

For Sprint Planning, the entire Scrum team comes together and meets to confirm how much capacity, meaning time and people, are available during this Sprint, and then they identify what items from the Backlog will be done during the Sprint. This becomes the Sprint Backlog, and ultimately, the Sprint goal.

This is a time for the Scrum Master to facilitate team communication and answer the following questions throughout the event:

- Who is available during this Sprint?

- Are there any vacations or conflicts that we should know about?

- What has been our average velocity, meaning how many points or Backlog items have we been able to complete in a single Sprint in the past? What can and should be accomplished by the team in this upcoming Sprint?

- What is the ultimate Sprint goal? How will the work get done?

- Throughout the Sprint, who is responsible for what tasks?

- Definition of Done.

Definition of Done.

Definition of Done refers to an agreed upon set of items that must be completed before our user story or Backlog item can be considered complete.

Sprint goal

The Sprint goal is the overarching objective that the team aims to achieve and helps the team understand the why of the Sprint. This should be taken from a big picture view of the items on the Sprint Backlog.

The Daily Scrum

which is sometimes referred to as stand up.

is a time for the Scrum Team to synchronize and prioritize activities for the day. In 15 minutes, and at the same time and place every day, each team member answers the following questions:

- What did I do yesterday that helped the Development Team, meet the Sprint goal?

- What will I do today to help the Development Team meet the Sprint goal?

- Do I notice any impediment that prevents me or the Development Team from meeting our goals?

Daily stand ups should provide the Scrum Master with the opportunity to quickly unblock the team with little delay. And Daily Stand-ups are an opportunity to reinforce focus on the Sprint Backlog and Sprint Goal.

Sprint Review

This Sprint event is crucial to the Scrum Pillars of inspection and adaptation, and demonstrates the values of openness, courage, and respect. Let's discuss what I mean by that.

- The Sprint Review is a meeting with the entire Scrum Team where

- the product is demonstrated in order to determine which aspects are finished and which aren't.

- During a Sprint Review, the Development Team and Product Owner will play a heavy role in this inspection and discussion.

- They will also cover an exploration of which items should be considered done in the Product Backlog, and

- they'll demonstrate and inspect the product.

Sprint Reviews should be really fun and uplifting.

The Sprint Review is when the team gets to impress each other with the cool things they've accomplished over the last 1 to 4 weeks. These time-boxed meetings should not exceed four hours and they're a good opportunity for the team to practice the Scrum Values of openness and respect, as they give feedback about the completed work. Often, some of the greatest product ideas come out of the Sprint Review.

Product Increment

is what is produced after a given Sprint and is considered releasable.

The Scrum Guide states that “An Increment is a concrete stepping stone toward the Product Goal. Each Increment is additive to all prior Increments and thoroughly verified, ensuring that all Increments work together. In order to provide value, the Increment must be usable.”

Sprint Retrospectives

The Sprint Retrospective is an essential meeting of up to three hours for the Scrum Team to take a step back, reflect, and identify improvements about how to work together as a team. In a Sprint Retrospective, the Scrum Team will reflect on what's working or not working for the team regarding the people, the processes, and the tools. What improvements are worth exploring in the next Sprint? What improvements were put in place for the last Sprint? Were they helpful or not, and why?

First, it's important to demonstrate the Scrum value of respect and always allow the team to remain blameless. If any team member is worried there may be negative consequences for providing feedback, your outcome won't be as beneficial. You'll need to create a safe space for candor by acknowledging potential awkwardness and, if needed, create a space for anonymous or private feedback.

Participation is key because retrospectives only work if participants feel like their input matters. If you notice folks aren't volunteering their perspectives, search for ways to generate new ideas, such as asking them: What is one thing we could try in the next Sprint? What slowed us down? What happened that we didn't expect?

Next, balance the negative with the positive. Don't just ask where you can improve, but also ask things like, where did we notice success? You want your team to feel like they were successful, and you also want to recreate these successful outcomes.

Finally, make sure to act on it. Teams can get discouraged from participating in future retrospectives if it feels like their feedback won't inspire change. Search for improvements, or simply convert the things that worked best into your team's habits and norms.

Best practices

- Ask open-ended, probing questions.

Ask questions that require thoughtful discussion rather than a yes-or-no answer. For example, ask, “How could we have better achieved our Sprint Goal?” rather than “Did we achieve the Sprint Goal?””

- Consider diverse styles of communication and participation.

Make it easy for all team members to contribute their ideas and feedback. For example, not everyone feels comfortable speaking up in a large group. Try things like starting the retrospective with silent reflection by journaling or putting the team into pairs before starting a larger group conversation.

- Cover the many aspects of the Sprint when conducting a retrospective.

1. The productivity and efficiency of the team

2. The scope and understanding of the definition of done

3. Communication and interactions within the team

4. Stakeholder communication

5. Progress towards more long-range release plans

- Consider reflecting periodically on Scrum theory and values by asking specific questions.

- For example, ask, “How could the team become more transparent?” or “How did we abide by our Scrum values in this Sprint?”