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Exercises "Sprint Planning"

Summary

Here you will find the definitions of the most important terms from this chapter.

Increment

An Increment is a concrete step towards achieving the Product Goal and the goal of each Sprint. An Increment is a tested, usable or saleable partial result. The Commitment to the Increment is the Definition of Done. All work that does not meet the Definition of Done is not considered an Increment.

Sprint Retrospective

Opportunity for Developers to improve productivity and processes in a Sprint, usually held after the Sprint Review.

Sprint Review

Collaborative meeting for inspecting the outcome of the Sprint and determining future adaptations. The Scrum Team presents the achieved work to key stakeholders and progress toward the Product Goal is discussed.

Daily Scrum

(= daily stand-up meeting)

15-minute event for the Developers. Here the progress towards the Sprint Goal is inspected and, as necessary, the Sprint Backlog is adapted as well as adjusted for the upcoming planned work. Daily Scrum improves communication, identifies impediments and promotes quick decision-making.

Sprint Planning Meeting

The Sprint Planning Meeting is the initiation of the following Sprint. During this meeting, the work to be done during this Sprint is determined. At the end there will be a plan that has been created by the whole Scrum Team.

Topics covered:

  • Why is this Sprint valuable?
  • What can be accomplished in this Sprint?
  • How should the selected tasks be completed?

The duration of the Sprint Planning Meeting depends on the duration of the Sprint. The meeting lasts a maximum of eight hours for a maximum Sprint duration of four weeks.

Sprint

A Sprint is a time-boxed iteration where the Scrum events (Sprint Planning, Daily Scrums, Sprint Review and Sprint Retrospective) take place and the Product Owner's ideas are transformed into valuable results (= Increments). A Sprint lasts a month or less and a new Sprint starts directly after the previous Sprint has been completed.

Sprint Goal

The Sprint Goal - which is the commitment to the Sprint Backlog - is set by the Product Owner and should be known by all participants at the end of the Sprint Planning Meeting. The Sprint Goal gives the Developers the rough direction of the Sprint as well as an outlook.

Definition of Done

The "Definition of Done" (DoD) is an important agile tool that helps teams plan and execute work. Basically, the DoD is simply a set of criteria that the product must meet in order to be considered done.

Test yourself

Please answer the following questions independently. Take your time and think carefully about what you want to answer before having a look at the solutions.

How many Scrum Events exist? Please specify all of them.

There are five Scrum Events:

  • Sprint,
  • Sprint Planning,
  • Daily Scrum,
  • Sprint Review and
  • Sprint Retrospective

in that order.

What questions should you ask yourself in the Sprint Planning Meeting?
  • Why is this Sprint valuable?
  • What can be accomplished in this Sprint?
  • How should the selected tasks be completed?
Who attends the Sprint Planning Meeting?
  • Scrum Team consisting of:
    • Product Owner,
    • Developers and
    • Scrum Master
  • Possibly representatives of the customer or user
What is the outcome of the Sprint Planning Meeting?

As a result of the Sprint Planning Meeting, the Developers agree on the Sprint Goal (i.e. the implementation of all selected user stories) and on achieving this agreed Sprint Goal as far as possible.

What is an Increment?

An Increment is a Scrum Artefact. The corresponding commitment is the "Definition of Done". An Increment is a concrete step towards achieving the Product Goal and the goal of each Sprint. An Increment is a tested, usable or saleable part of a product. All work that does not meet the Definition of Done is not considered an Increment.

Which commitment belongs to the Increment?

The commitment that belongs to the Increment is the "Definition of Done".

What is the Definition of Done?

The "Definition of Done" (DoD) is an important agile tool that helps teams plan and execute work. Basically, the DoD is simply a set of criteria that the product must meet in order to be considered done.

Who specifies the working hours needed to realise the different tasks?

The team decides collectively according to its gut feeling. However, the Velocity of the previous Sprints should also be taken into account in this context. Estimation plays a central role here.

How much time is required for the Sprint Planning Meeting?

The Sprint Planning Meeting takes a maximum of 2 hours per Sprint week, i.e. for a four-week Sprint the associated Sprint Planning Meeting takes 8 hours.