Scrum Events
What happens during a Sprint?
The SCRUM Cycle is an iterative process that repeats several times until the product is fully developed. We will look at a few key events that always take place during a Sprint, how long they take and why they are essential.
Overall, Scrum is simple and the whole process can be summarized as follows:
1. The Product Owner adds tasks for a complex problem to the product backlog
2. The SCRUM team transforms selected tasks into a valuable increment during a sprint
3. The SCRUM team and stakeholders review the results and adjust for the next sprint
4. Iterate until satisfied
The Sprint
As essential as it gets: a Sprint is where all the work towards a better product actually happens. This includes the Sprint Planning, Daily Scrums, Sprint Review, and Sprint Retrospective.
A Sprint always has a fixed length of 1 month or less (2 weeks is most commonly used) and can only be cancelled by the Product Owner in case the Sprint Goal has become obsolete.
During a Sprint:
- no changes are made that would endanger the Sprint Goal (work towards the Sprint Goal)
- quality is not decreased (always strive to create an increment that delivers more value)
- Product Backlog Refinement happens as needed (in preparation for the next Sprint)
- scope may be clarified and renegotiated with the Product Owner as more is learned (the Product Owner takes the final decision)
Sprint Planning
The Sprint Planning starts the sprint with all team members agreeing on the upcoming scope of work. It’s timeboxed to max. 8 hours (shorter sprints correspond with a smaller timebox, i.e. max. 4 hours for a 2 week Sprint) and should answer the following questions:
1. What is the sprint goal and why is this sprint valuable? → The Product Owner proposes how value can be increased during the current sprint and the team collaborates to define a shared Sprint Goal that everybody commits to. Every sprint must have a Sprint Goal.
2. What can be achieved during this sprint? → Product Owner and Developers discuss what items to select from the Product Backlog and may refine them during this process. The Scrum Team only selects as much work as they think they can reasonably complete during a Sprint. As iterations go on, the team becomes more and more confident in their ability to accurately estimate and forecast.
3. How will the selected work be completed? → Only the developers decide how the work is done, as they are self-organizing.
The Product Owner ensures that attendees are prepared to discuss the most important Product Backlog items and how they map to the Product Goal. The Scrum Team may also invite other people to attend Sprint Planning to provide advice. It’s possible to invite other stakeholders to the Sprint Planning if they have something relevant to contribute.
The Sprint Goal, the Product Backlog items selected for the sprint and the plan that was decided during the Sprint Planning are together called the Sprint Backlog.
Daily Scrum
The SCRUM team exchanges ideas on a daily basis in the Daily Scrum to check their progress towards the Sprint Goal. The Daily Scrum is timeboxed to 15 minutes and is an event mainly for the developers. It is also sometimes called Daily Standup, from the practice of everyone standing while discussing their points. This is done to encourage everyone to keep it short and stay inside the timebox.
In order to reduce complexity, the Daily Scrum is held at the same time at the same place every day. The goal is to bring up any impediments, take quick decisions together and allow everyone to move on with their work.
Sprint Review
At the end of each sprint, the Sprint Review is held to present the completed product increment to key stakeholders and discuss progress towards the Product Goal. The team receives direct feedback on the results and revises the Product Backlog based on the findings and feedback.
The Sprint Review is an important event for collaboration and communication between the development team and outside stakeholders. It’s important to treat it as an opportunity to clarify, align and discuss together rather than just giving a one-sided presentation without allowing any questions.
The Sprint Review is timeboxed to max. 4 hours for a 1-month-Sprint, meaning it would take max. 2 hours for a regular 2-week-sprint.
Sprint Retrospective
The Sprint Retrospective is the final event of every sprint and is timeboxed to max. 3 hours.
The "Retro" creates an opportunity for the Scrum team to review and reflect on the past sprint in order to improve quality and effectiveness. It involves evaluating team collaboration, process adherence and tool utilization or reviewing the Definition of Done.
It’s the place to ask questions like "What went well?" and "What didn’t work at all?" or for individuals to reflect upon their way of working together. If you suspect there’s a lot of tension between team members (or outside the team), this is the place to bring it up and work towards a solution.
The Sprint Retrospective is the final and conclusive event for any sprint. And remember, after every sprint, the next sprint is immediately started.
Timebox Summary
| Event | 1 Month Sprint | 2 Week Sprint | 1 Week Sprint |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Sprint Planning |
8 hours |
4 hours |
2 hours |
|
Daily Scrum |
15 minutes |
15 minutes |
15 minutes |
|
Sprint Review |
4 hours |
2 hours |
1 hour |
|
Sprint Retrospective |
3 hours |
1 hour 30 minutes |
45 minutes |