In this comprehensive guide to Scrum Events (sometimes also called Scrum Ceremonies or Rituals), we take you on an in-depth exploration of the key stages of the Sprint, an essential element of the Scrum agile method. Each event will be discussed in detail to help you improve your understanding of the Scrum framework and optimize your team’s collaboration and efficiency to succeed in your agile transformation.
Sprint Planning, Daily Scrum, Sprint Review and Retrospective are the events we’ll be looking at. We will highlight their objectives, participants, roles and responsibilities, recommended durations and expected results.
This comprehensive guide aims to provide you with the information you need to master the basics of the Scrum Ceremonies and drive continuous improvement and maximum value creation for your products. Immerse yourself in the world of Scrum events and discover how these fundamental Sprint steps can transform the agile management of your projects.
Sprint Planning is the first Sprint event.
Objective:
Establish theSprint Objective and select the Product Backlog items to be accomplished, which will be integrated into the Sprint Backlog.
Participants :
- Mandatory (or Necessary) : Product Owner, Scrum Master, Developers.
- Optional (or Possible) : Stakeholders.
Roles and responsibilities :
- Product Owner: Presents priority elements of the Backlog and clarifies requirements.
- Scrum Master: Facilitates the meeting and helps resolve potential obstacles.
- Developers: Estimate workload and commit to backlog items.
- Stakeholders: Provide information and feedback, if available.
Recommended duration :
Eight hours maximum for a one-month Sprint, adjusted proportionally for shorter Sprints.
Result of the ceremony:
The outputs of Sprint Planning are : A clearly defined Sprint objective and a list of Backlog items selected for the current Sprint (in the Sprint Backlog).
In conclusion, Sprint planning is a crucial step in aligning the team with the objectives and expectations of the current Sprint, ensuring an efficient start-up and better coordination throughout the process.
Daily Scrum
The Daily Scrum is a short, synchronized daily meeting that enables the team to coordinate and share progress and obstacles.
Objective:
Foster communication within the team, share progress and identify any obstacles.
Participants :
- Mandatory (or Necessary) : Developers.
- Recommended (or Desirable) : Scrum Master.
- Optional (or Possible) : Product Owner.
Roles and responsibilities :
- Developers: Share their progress, plan their work for the next 24 hours and point out obstacles.
- Scrum Master: Facilitates the meeting, ensures that time is respected and helps to resolve any reported obstacles.
- Product Owner: Listens to updates and provides clarification if necessary.
Recommended duration :
15 minutes.
Result of the event:
Update progress, identify potential obstacles and improve team coordination for the next 24 hours.
In short, the Daily Scrum is a key element in ensuring transparent and effective communication within the team, enabling the progress of the Sprint to be monitored and any obstacles encountered to be dealt with quickly. To go further, you can read my first blog post with a list of
practical tips for improving your Daily Scrum
.
Sprint Review
The Sprint Review is a meeting held at the end of each Sprint to evaluate the work accomplished and gather feedback from stakeholders on the elements achieved.
Objective:
Inspect the work done during the Sprint and gather feedback from stakeholders to adapt the Product Backlog.
Participants :
- Mandatory: Product Owner, Scrum Master, Developers.
- Recommended: Stakeholders.
Roles and responsibilities :
- Product Owner: Presents the completed elements and gathers feedback from stakeholders.
- Scrum Master: Facilitates the meeting and ensures that feedback is taken into account.
- Developers: Present completed elements, discuss challenges encountered and solutions adopted.
- Stakeholders: Provide feedback on completed elements and take part in discussions to adapt the product backlog.
Recommended duration :
Four hours maximum for a one-month Sprint, adjusted proportionally for shorter Sprints.
Result of the event:
Stakeholder feedback integrated into the product backlog, work done assessed and adapted accordingly.
In short, the Sprint Review is essential for validating the work carried out, gathering feedback from stakeholders and adapting the product backlog accordingly, thus ensuring continuous product improvement and better alignment with user expectations.
Sprint retrospective
What is the purpose of the sprint retrospective?
Review the progress of the Sprint, identify strengths and areas for improvement, and define improvement actions for the next Sprint.
Who’s taking part in the retrospective?
- Mandatory: Product Owner, Scrum Master, Developers.
Roles and responsibilities :
- Product Owner: Actively participates in discussions and contributes to improvement actions.
- Scrum Master: Facilitates the meeting, encourages open discussion and helps identify improvement actions.
- Developers: share their experiences, suggest improvements and commit to implementing the actions decided upon.
Recommended duration :
Three hours maximum for a one-month Sprint, adjusted proportionally for shorter Sprints and according to your needs.
Result of the event:
List of improvement actions to be implemented during the next Sprint to optimize processes and collaboration within the team.
In conclusion, the Sprint retrospective is a crucial moment for the Scrum team to inspect and adapt its working methods, thus fostering continuous process improvement and enhanced collaboration for future Sprints. To find out more, I invite you to read our article about
online Scrum retrospective
in the context of a remote team.
Bonus: Backlog Refinement
Please note! Backlog Refinement is not an official Scrum Ceremony (according to the Scrum Guide). Backlog Refinement is an ongoing activity that enables the Scrum team to collaborate on clarifying and prioritizing Product Backlog items throughout the Sprint. Click here for our full article on Backlog Refinement.
Purpose of the ritual : The purpose of Backlog Refinement is to ensure that the Product Backlog is clear, prioritized and ready for the next Sprint.
Participants :
- Mandatory: Product Owner, Developers.
- Recommended: Scrum Master.
- Optional: Stakeholders.
Roles and responsibilities :
- Product Owner: Clarifies Backlog items, communicates priorities and answers team questions.
- Scrum Master: Facilitates discussion, helps resolve blockages and maintain objectivity.
- Developers: Estimate backlog items, ask questions to clarify requirements and suggest improvements.
- Stakeholders (if involved): Provide additional information and feedback on Backlog elements.
Recommended duration :
The Scrum Guide does not define a specific duration for Backlog Refinement. However, it is recommended to devote around 10% of the team’s time to this activity throughout the Sprint.
Expected result:
An updated Product Backlog, with clarified, prioritized and estimated elements, ready for the next Sprint Planning.
By regularly performing Backlog Refinement, the Scrum team ensures that the elements of the Product Backlog are ready to be worked on during the next Sprints, thus reducing uncertainty and improving delivery predictability.
Conclusion
In conclusion, this complete guide to Scrum ceremonies has introduced you to the key stages of the Sprint and the various rituals that are essential to the smooth running of a Scrum project: Sprint Planning, Daily Scrum, Sprint Review and Sprint Retrospective. By mastering the objectives, participants, roles and responsibilities, recommended durations and expected results of each event, you’ll be able to optimize the collaboration and efficiency of your Scrum team.
Don’t forget that the Scrum method is based on continuous improvement and adaptability. Keep learning, experimenting and adjusting your practices to better meet your project needs and maximize value creation for your products. We hope this guide will help you take full advantage of the Scrum method’s potential and lead your projects to success.
Books to read on this theme
- “Agile Project Management with Scrum” by Alex Campbell is a practical guide to improving team productivity using selected Scrum strategies. Covering key aspects of Scrum, such as roles, rituals and artifacts, this book offers invaluable advice on adapting Scrum to the specific needs of each team and project. It’s an excellent choice for those who want to deepen their knowledge of agile project management and optimize their team’s performance.
“Who killed my Scrum Master?!” by ElMehdi Lagnandi. This book offers a playful and innovative perspective on the world of agile transformation. More than just a recipe, the book offers a deep reflection on constraints within companies, change and the fundamentals of agile transformation.
The book’s atypical writing style combines elements of a thriller with nimble feedback, making the main story and parallel narratives equally thrilling. The characters are well developed, adding to the complexity and interest of the story.
