And recognize it as the pivotal event it is
Many people struggle with the Sprint Review. I already knew this from experience, but my recent poll on LinkedIn clarified it again. I asked what people found the most important event in Scrum. From 861 respondents, more than 50% choose the Retrospective. But more surprisingly, the Sprint Review got the lowest score.
Often the reason for this low praise is that either the Scrum Team or the stakeholders don’t understand its purpose. For example, many see the Sprint Review as a demo only. By limiting it to this, you are bound to alienate the people you wish to align with. And you invalidate the merit of the Sprint Review.
In this article, I will clarify why the Sprint Review is such an important event. When you are convinced already, you may find arguments you can use to your advantage. When you aren’t clear about the purpose of the Sprint Review yet, it may help you to gain this understanding.
It’s the oldest Scrum Event
Jeff Sutherland and Ken Schwaber created Scrum in 1995. Their first Scrum paper showed a rudimentary form of the framework. It only described two events: the Sprint and the Review. There was no mention of Daily Scrums or Retrospectives! Sprints followed the following steps:
Develop
Wrap
Review
Adjust
Scrum changed a lot over the years. Things were added and removed. But the Sprint Review always kept the central spot.
It’s at the Heart of Scrum
Scrum is a framework to create products in a complex environment. It follows the following approach:
During the Sprint, the team takes a small step, creating one or more product Increments.
At the Sprint Review, the team and its stakeholders review the sum of the product Increments and other news that can impact decision making.
At the Sprint Review, the team and its stakeholders discuss what to do next.
This continues Sprint after Sprint. The Sprint Review is where the team and its stakeholders inspect the Sprint outcome and adapt the Product Backlog. It is the event to foster the important product decisions.
It is about the product
Scrum has two events at the end of the Sprint. The Sprint Retrospective focuses on how the team can improve their way of working. The Sprint Review focuses on what to do next to maximize the value of the product.
Scrum is a framework to maximize the value of your product in a complex environment. All events exist to achieve this. But the Sprint Review does this the most. The product is in the spotlights. This in contrast with the Sprint Retrospective, which focuses on the team.
It ticks all the boxes of the Agile Manifesto
The founders of Scrum helped to create the Manifesto for Agile software development. It is therefore no surprise Scrum ticks all the agile boxes. But more specifically, it’s the Sprint Review that addresses these things.
“Individuals and interactions over processes and tools” — At the Sprint Review, the Scrum Team and its stakeholders discuss the current state of the product and what to do next.
“Working software over comprehensive documentation” — At the Sprint Review, the Scrum Team shows their working product to the stakeholders.
“Customer collaboration over contract negotiation” — At the Sprint Review, the Scrum Team and the stakeholders — like customers — collaborate on what to do next.
“Responding to change over following a plan” — At the Sprint Review, the Scrum Team and stakeholders may discuss what changed in their environment, impacting the journey towards the Product Goal. It is the purpose of the Sprint Review to allow for a change of direction.
It is where the strategical goal is discussed
The Product Goal is the long term objective of the Scrum Team. The work during the Sprint is aimed at optimizing the chances to achieve the Product Goal.
This Product Goal is a topic of discussion at the Sprint Review. The Scrum Team informs the stakeholders about their progress towards the Product Goal. Together they discuss what would be the best course of action next to achieve this Product Goal. This is a vital aspect of the Sprint Review.
It is where the next Sprint objective is conceived
The Sprint Goal for the next Sprint doesn't come out of the blue. While it is officially formulated at the Sprint Planning, it is already a topic of discussion at the Sprint Review.
When the Scrum Team has an idea for the next Sprint objective, they will verify this with their stakeholders. Alternatively, the Scrum Team can uncover ideas for the next Sprint objective with its stakeholders.
It functions as the deadline for the Sprint Goal
Every Sprint, the Scrum Team commits to meeting the Sprint Goal. The Sprint Goal is formulated at the Sprint Planning. At the Daily Scrum, the team aims to optimize the chances to meet this Sprint Goal.
The deadline for this Sprint Goal is the Sprint Review. Because it is here where the Scrum Team discusses the outcome of the Sprint, formulated in a Sprint Goal. It is this event where the team wants to show the next product Increments.
It’s the event to discuss all impacting developments
Many people believe the Sprint Review is a demo only. But this is far from the truth. If you would only use the Sprint Review to demo, there’s little benefit for the stakeholders. Yes, they will see the latest additions to the product. But often teams only show the user interface. As a result, they will only receive feedback on that.
There’s a lot to unpack here. Teams should look for ways to show the sum of all product increments. Also, they may want to look for ways to allow the stakeholders to experience the product themselves. After all, you don’t want to show off, but to learn.
On top of that, perhaps teams are in the position to release the product during the Sprint, allowing them to get feedback from the actual use of the product. This then can be input for the Sprint Review. Actual usage information is generally better than feedback to a demo.
But also important, there may be all kinds of other developments that can impact the product and the Product Goal. Market conditions may change, the financial position of the company may change, priorities may change. All these are vital input to understand what to do next. These should be discussed at the Sprint Review.
It fosters decisions to pivot or even stop
The Sprint Review is the event where Scrum Teams and their stakeholders discuss what to do next. This can include decisions to take a totally different route to reach the Product Goal. It can also include decisions to focus on a different Product Goal.
It can even include the decision to stop working on the product altogether. The Sprint Review is THE event to take the strategical decisions on the product.
Wrap-up
There you have it. These are my arguments to see the Sprint Review as the most important event of them all.
It’s the oldest Scrum Event;
It’s at the heart of Scrum;
It is about the product;
It ticks all the boxes of the Agile Manifesto;
It is where the strategical goal is discussed;
It is where the next sprint objective is conceived;
It functions as a deadline for the Sprint Goal;
It’s the event to discuss all impacting developments;
It fosters decisions to pivot or even stop.
It’s here where the Scrum Team and stakeholders discuss the product Increment and collaborate on what to do next. It is at the heart of Scrum.