Sprint Review – Collaboration of the Scrum Team and Stakeholders

Objective

Sprint review is one of the four events of the Scrum frame-work. This is a recommended four-hour time-boxed event for a one-month Sprint. The time-box is typically adjusted for shorter Sprints. It is an inspect and adapt mechanism for the Scrum Team. The Scrum Team and stakeholders review the work product increment that was developed during the Sprint. The objective of the Sprint Review  is for the development team to demonstrate that Sprint commitment has been met (or not).

Who attends and what happens?

Attendees include the Scrum Team and key stakeholders invited by the Product Owner. The Product Owner sets the stage and explains what items have been ‘Done’ (see my blog post –Definition of “Done” for more details http://agilekingdom.com/definition-of-done-dod/) and what was not done. It is important to have this kind of transparency on presenting what was “done” and not done in Scrum, where transparency is one of the pillars of empiricism. The Development Team demonstrates the work it has ‘done’ and answers questions about the product increment. So, this is not just a demo, but a session for the development to clarify questions on the product increment they built during the Sprint.

Feedback

Stakeholders provide feedback to the team about the product increment. The Scrum Team moves any incomplete Sprint backlog items to the Product backlog. Based on the feedback from stakeholders, the Scrum team may add any additional product backlog items to be considered for future sprints. So, the result is a revised product backlog and may be adjusted overall product backlog to meet new opportunities.

This event is not to go over status. Helpful advice in conducting a Sprint review for the development team is not to spend too much time for preparing slides etc., the focus should be on showcasing the current product increment.

The Development Team discusses what went well during the Sprint, what problems it ran into and how those problems were solved.

Additional Status

The Product Owner projects likely completion dates based on progress made so far (if needed). The team collaborates on what to do next, valuable input for the next Sprint Planning event. Additional valuable things that may be discussed are the review of current market place or potential product changes that  add value to the product. Additional status like a review of timeline, budget, potential capabilities and features for the next anticipated release of the product may be discussed. The team adapts to collaborate on next things that could be done to optimize value.

Even though the completed Sprint backlog items may have been accepted, the Product Owner may choose to ship the product at a later time. That’s why it’s called a potentially shippable product increment. The decision to either ship the product at the end of the current Sprint or at a later time is completely up to the Product Owner.