This is in continuation of Part – 1, which you can read by going to the below link.
Agile Asanas: Scrum Sprint Inputs and Outputs 2021 (Sprint I/O) – Part 1
[ This post is part of the Agile Asanas series.
To read all posts in Agile Asanas series, use this link. ]
- A brief on Scrum Events
- A brief on Scrum Artifacts
- A brief on Scrum Artifacts
- Event – 1: Sprint Planning (Inputs and Outputs)
In this part we will see the rest of the Inputs and Outputs (IOs) of three contained events:
- Event – 2: Daily Scrum
- Event – 3: Sprint Review
- Event – 4: Sprint Retrospective
Event – 2: Daily Scrum
When? Happens daily after the Sprint Planning.
Who? Developers. If the Product Owner and the Scrum Master are working on backlog items, they can participate as developers.
How Long? Timeboxed to 15 minutes a day.
What For? Inspect progress toward the Sprint Goal; Adapt progress towards work being completed from the Sprint Backlog; Synchronization; Communication.
Inputs:
- Sprint Backlog: See Scrum Planning I/O. Sprint backlog is an actionable plan which has enough details that helps the team to understand the progress during the Daily Scrums.
- Spring Goal: Questions are asked in Daily Scrum have to be aligned towards the Sprint Goal. It can be of any structure and the team can use any technique.
- Development Activities: See Development Activities input in Sprint Planning.
- Impediments: Obstacles which are preventing the team members from executing their work and achieving the objectives.
- (Sprint) Burndown Chart: The burndown chart is a widely used information radiator in Scrum Projects. This shows the remaining cumulative work till day for the current Sprint. The Daily Scrum can happen in front the Task Board with Burndown Chart.
Outputs:
- Updated Sprint Backlog: Daily scrum helps in inspection, planning, adaptation for the next 24 hours. If any new work is needed, the Sprint Backlog is updated. Sprint backlog is also updated when work is completed.
- Updated Development Activities: The development activities are updated. Estimates for them may also change.
- Impediments Backlog: Not all obstacles can be resolved immediately, after the Daily Scrum. Impediments Backlog helps here to keep track of them when raised in Daily Scrum. It has to be tracked and resolved by the Scrum Master.
- Updated (Sprint) Burndown Chart: The Sprint Burndown Chart can be updated. It can be after the Daily Scrum, or at the end of the day.
To have proper utilization of time (it’s timeboxed to 15 minutes!) revised estimates or updating of tasks can be done immediately after the Daily Scrum. However, Daily Scrum is not the only time when developers can adjust their plan. They can meet throughout the day, after Parking-Lot meeting by some team members to adapt/adjust their plan.
Event – 3: Sprint Review
When? Happens at the end of the Sprint, and before the next Sprint Planning.
Who? Product Owner, Key Stakeholders, Developers and the Scrum Master.
How Long? Timeboxed to 4 hours for one-month Sprint. Length will be less for shorter Sprints, e.g., 2 hours for 2 weeks Sprint.
What For? To inspect the increment and adapt the product backlog.
Inputs:
- Product Backlog: Product backlog items which have met the Definition of Done (Increment) and “Not Done” (or the stories not completed) in this Sprint are explained by the Product Owner.
- Product Goal: See Sprint Planning I/O.
- Increment: A usable version of the product developed by the Developers of the Scrum Team (or the entire Scrum Team). It is the combination of all product backlog items completed in the current Sprint and value of increment of all previous Sprints.
- Sprint Goal: See Sprint Planning I/O.
- Sprint Backlog: See Sprint Planning I/O.
- Definition of Done: See Sprint Planning I/O.
- Business Conditions: I am taking this as an umbrella area - for market conditions, environmental conditions, new or changed business conditions, new opportunities etc. Based on these, the Product Backlog can be updated.
Outputs:
- Revised Product Backlog: It will have probable product backlog items for the next Sprint.
- Inspected Increment: The increment demonstrated by the Developers to the key stakeholders.
Note: Increment can be delivered at any time during the Sprint as per the latest Scrum Guide, 2020. This is the final increment combining all previous increments. - Completion Date Forecast: Product Owner gives the likely completion date based on progress done to date.
- Actual Velocity: Shows the actual velocity of the Scrum team, i.e., taking up the items actually done in this Sprint.
Event – 4: Sprint Retrospective
When? Happens at the end of the Sprint, and before the next Sprint Planning.
Who? Developers, Product Owner and the Scrum Master.
How Long? Timeboxed to 3 hours for one-month Sprint. Length will be less for shorter Sprints, e.g., 90 minutes for 2 weeks Sprint.
What For? For the Scrum team to inspect itself, increase quality and effectiveness. A plan is created for improvements that can be undertaken in the next Sprint.
Inputs:
- Product Goal: See Sprint Planning I/O.
- Definition of Done: See Sprint Planning I/O.
- Sprint Backlog: See Sprint Planning I/O.
- Spring Goal: See Sprint Planning I/O.
- Impediments Backlog: See Daily Scrum I/O.
Outputs:
- Updated Definition of Done: The Scrum team can plan ways to update the Definition of Done, e.g., stronger criteria for quality.
- Updated Definition of Ready: The Scrum team can update the Definitions of Ready.
- Improvement Plan: Improvements are identified in the retrospective and a plan is created to implement those improvements. The items from this plan can be added to Product Backlog for prioritization and subsequent execution in the next and/or upcoming Sprints.
Conclusion
In your Agile Certified Practitioner (ACP) exam, Scrum is expected to be a major topic of focus. You must be very clear about the 3 artifacts, 5 events, the what, when, who and why these events take place.
Along with Scrum, the practices of Scrum can result in some situational questions and you must be ready for such questions.
References:
[1] Online Course: PMI-ACP Live Lessons – Guaranteed Pass, by Satya Narayan Dash
[2] Online Course: PMI-ACP 21 Online Contact Hours, by Satya Narayan Dash
[3] Book: I Want To Be An ACP, the Plain and Simple Way to be a PMI-ACP, 2nd Edition, by Satya Narayan Dash
[4] A Deeper Look: Top Changes in the New 2020 Scrum Guide for Agile Practitioners, published by MPUG, US
[5] The 2020 Scrum Guide, by Ken Schwaber and Jeff Sutherland
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