Are you serious? — Episode 51
One of the most misunderstood Scrum events is the Sprint:
“The heart of Scrum is a Sprint, a time-box of one month or less during which a “Done”, useable, and potentially releasable product Increment is created.” — Scrum Guide 2017 — Sprint section
Main reason for this misunderstanding is how the following quote is interpreted:
“Every day, the Development Team should understand how it intends to work together as a self-organizing team to accomplish the Sprint Goal and create the anticipated Increment by the end of the Sprint.” — Scrum Guide 2017 — Daily Scrum section
And there’s also this:
“At the end of a Sprint, the new Increment must be “Done”, which means it must be in useable condition and meet the Scrum Team’s definition of “Done”.” — Scrum Guide 2017 — Increment section
The issues that people have with this is that the time it takes to finish an item varies. This can be anything between a few hours and a few weeks. Hence it makes more sense to constantly work on the most valuable item from the backlog, demo it and than pick the next most valuable item. Many items are finished way faster than at the end of a Sprint.
Misunderstanding
These wrong assumptions come from a misunderstanding of what the Scrum Guide says:
“During which a “Done”, useable, and potentially releasable product Increment is created” DOESN’T MEAN “Where at the end a “Done”, useable, and potentially releasable product Increment is created”.
By the end of the Sprint DOESN’T MEAN when the Sprint ends. It means at the latest when the Sprint ends.
“At the end of a Sprint, the new Increment must be “Done” doesn’t rule out that the Increment is “Done” earlier.
Releasing and demoing during the Sprint
We just established that Scrum doesn’t say that you only can (potentially) release an Increment at the end of the Sprint. On the contrary:
“Scrum has been used extensively, worldwide, to […] Release products and enhancements, as frequently as many times per day” — Scrum Guide 2017 — Uses of Scrum
It’s true that the demo only is mentioned in the Sprint Review section:
“The Development Team demonstrates the work that it has “Done” and answers questions about the Increment” — Scrum Guide 2017 — Sprint Review section
However this doesn’t rule out that a team can demo their finished pieces of code earlier. A Scrum Team is self-organising:
“Self-organizing teams choose how best to accomplish their work, rather than being directed by others outside the team.” — Scrum Guide 2017 — Scrum Team section
If the team wishes to conduct demos regularly, then that’s their call.
Purpose of the Sprint Review
Many make the point that the Sprint Review doesn’t have a purpose anymore if you demo your functionality earlier. But the Sprint Review is far more than a demo. It is a vital event for the Scrum Team and their stakeholders to:
discuss what was planned, what was learned, what was “Done”, what wasn’t “Done”;
demonstrate the Increment and answer questions;
discuss what to pick up next.
I think it is very important to have the Sprint Review at regular intervals. It enhances predictability and transparency. Your stakeholders know when the event takes places so they can arrange to be there.
If you determine that the review is a demo only and if you instantly demo every time you finished an item I can guarantee you that not all your stakeholders will be able to attend. They may have other things to do to. They can’t all simply change their plans because you decide it’s time to demo!
Conclusion
The notion that items are only to be finalised and demoed at the end of the Sprint is incorrect. Scrum allows you to release as often as you want. Releasing as often as you want doesn’t make the Sprint Review obsolete. The Sprint Review is not a demo only. It is an important inspect and adapt opportunity with your stakeholders for which regular intervals are raising predictability and transparency.
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