A sprint begins with a discussion on the tactical implementation of a plan made during the strategical planning phase. Based on the general concensus of what should be completed during a particular sprint (backlog items) it is then decided what can actually be delivered in this sprint. A sprint lasts a miximum of 30 days and is divided into a set of meetings: Sprint Planning 1, Sprint Planning 2, daily Scrum, estimation meeting, sprint review and sprint retrospective.
Sprint Planning 1 – Clarifying Requirements
The Product Owner, the team, management, the user and the ScrumMaster are present at this first meeting of a sprint. The Product Owner clarifies the Product Backlog items and defines the goal of the upcoming sprint with the team members and management. Then the Backlog items that fit the goal and that can be accomplished by the team are selected. This is how the Selected Product Backlog is formed. Important: The team alone decides how many Backlog items to choose.
Boris Gloger explains Sprint Planning 1 in this Video.
Sprint Planning 2 – Design and Planning
Here the team members plan how they want to reach the goal they agreed upon at the Sprint Planning 1 meeting. In addition they discuss with each other how the application should be structured, which architecture to use, which interfaces should be written, whether test cases should be created and written. In brief: they discuss in detail what needs to be done. At the end of this meeting they have a list of essential tasks: the Sprint Backlog.
Boris Gloger explains Sprint Planning 2 in this Video.
Daily Scrum – Coordination and Feedback
Every day team members meet at the same time and the same place for 15 minutes for a ScrumMaster moderated meeting. At this meeting the team members agree upon who is responsible for which task. The team members themselves choose the task they want to take on next. The team members inform the ScrumMaster of blockades and problems so that they can find a solution as quickly as possible.
Boris Gloger explains Daily Scrum in this Video.
Estimation Meeting – Planning ahead and estimating
Product Owners and team members update the Product Backlog at least once during a sprint. In the process Backlog items are re-estimated and new Backlog items are placed in the Product Backlog. At the same time the order of the Backlog items is re-adjusted to take into account the new information. This meeting also allows time to update and complete the project’s release plan.
Boris Gloger explains the Estimation Meeting in this Video.
Sprint Review – Presentation of Results
The team presents the compiled functions at the end of the sprint. The team only shows those functions that are far enough along to actually be implemented. Untested or unstable functions are not shown and are considered to be undelivered.
Sprint Retrospective – continuous improvement
The sprint retrospective makes it possible for the team to learn systematically. Here the work processes that need improving in order for the team to work more effectively are analyzed. The results of the retrospective are recorded in the impediment backlog and consequently can be used as suggestions for improvement during Sprint Planning.