Five events are defined by Scrum. Each of these elements is timeboxed. In other words, the event ends at the end of the allotted time regardless of the progress. With the exception of the sprint which cannot be completed before the end of the time defined. The objective of this strict organization is simple: there is a tendency to remain more focused on the objective of an event when it is constrained by time.

Sprint

Let's start with the sprint. Its maximum duration is 4 weeks. It includes sprint planning, daily melee, sprint review and sprint retrospective. The objective and the quality criteria are set over the duration of the sprint. The scope can be clarified and renegotiated between the Product Owner and the Development Team according to the course of the sprint.

Sprint planification

The sprint begins with the sprint planning, which has a maximum duration of 8 hours for 4-week sprints. And this duration is proportionally lower for sprints of shorter duration. During this meeting, the Product Owner and the Development Team, assisted if necessary by the Scrum Master, will have to answer three questions.

• What is the specific purpose of the sprint?
• Which Product Backlog priority elements can be converted into a potentially deliverable increment during the sprint? And it is up to the development team to determine how much work they feel they can do in the time allotted to the sprint.
• How will the selected elements be converted into a potentially usable increment by the end of the sprint?

Daily meeting

Let's move on to the second scrum event: the daily meeting. As its name suggests, it takes place every day. This meeting has a maximum duration of 15 minutes. It allows the Development Team to synchronize, measure its daily progress and adjust its action plan accordingly.

During this fray, each member of the Development Team present answers the following three questions:

• What did I do yesterday that helped the development team achieve the sprint goal?
• What am I going to do today that will help the development team achieve the sprint goal?
• Do I see any obstacles that could prevent me or the development team from achieving the sprint goal?
• This is not a reporting meeting at all, but a meeting that belongs to the development team.

Sprint review

At the end of the sprint, a sprint review is carried out consisting of inspecting the increment and adapting the Product Backlog if necessary. Its maximum duration is 4 hours for a 4 week sprint and a lower maximum duration for shorter sprints. Product Owner invites key stakeholders to participate. The intention is to gather feedback from them and strengthen collaboration.

It is also an opportunity to project a little in the future and to evoke the anticipated content of the next sprint which, often, can be influenced by what is shown, the reactions provoked by the demonstration, the presentation of the increment. It also allows you to discuss the difficulties encountered by the Scrum team and to take stock of the progress.

Retrospective

We end with the sprint retrospective that takes place between the sprint review and the planning of the next one. At this meeting, the Scrum team inspects itself in order to draw lessons from the experience acquired on the sprint to put them to the advantage of the next sprint, through the elaboration of an action plan for improvement.

For example, the team may find a lack of efficiency in a recurring activity and decide in hindsight to test a new technique. In a future retrospective, it may take stock of this experiment and then decide to retain, abandon or strengthen the use of this technique according to the results found.

Its duration is limited to 3 hours maximum for a 4 week sprint. Again, for shorter sprints, the meeting usually lasts less.

Sum up

In summary, the sprint encapsulates the 4 Scrum meetings. Each offering opportunities for adaptation. The daily meeting to adapt the action plan to the daily life aimed at achieving the sprint objective. Planning and then sprint review to adapt the product itself. And finally, the retrospective for adapting the way you work.

In addition, various techniques and tools could be bring to those events in order to galvanize the team and add some news to the powerful habit of scrum rythm. Have a deep look at the litterature and always found something to make some fresh air during the meetings.

Sources:

Scrum 5 Events