Don't commit to the Sprint Backlog

Your commitment is the Sprint Goal!

I find it painful how many Scrum Teams see the Sprint Backlog, notably their selected Product Backlog Items as their commitment. And then commitment is perceived as ‘signed with blood’.

This often leads to issues like:

• The Sprint ‘fails’ when one or more items aren’t finalized.

• Stress levels go up towards the end of the Sprint. People are working overtime…