Agile rituals: practices for a successful Scrum (2/2)

Agile Ritual: Focus on sprints

The first part of this article was devoted to roles and structures in Scrum. In this part, we'll be focusing in greater detail on the Sprint part of the process, a key point for an effective implementation of the agile method.

First of all, it is necessary to consider that the objectives defined during the sprint planning were Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Temporally defined (S.M.A.R.T). The sprint review must then allow the team to present the achievements made during the sprint, through a series of demonstrations to the stakeholders.

Objective:

Carried out on the last day of the sprint, just before the retrospective, it must "show" the product. The purpose of this meeting is to present the results in a concrete way. In short, what has been done during the sprint as an achievement in view of the Backlog.

Prerequisite:

The team must ensure that the equipment necessary for the smooth running of the demonstrations is ready and functional (network, components, data)

The participants are the stakeholders and other people in the organization, the Product Owner, the developers and the Scrum Master.

Duration:

As a general rule, it depends on the duration of the sprint. For example, for a two-week sprint, the duration will not exceed 2 hours. For a three week sprint it will be less than 4 hours.

Agile Ritual Flow:

A few minutes before the start of the meeting, the team prepares everything necessary to ensure that the demonstration goes well.
Then, at the beginning of the meeting, the Scrum Master sets the framework for the review.
The Product Owner then reminds the participants of the sprint objectives. Finally, for each finished story, the team performs a demonstration of what has been done and collects feedback. At Blue Soft, each demonstration is done by the developer who has done the story (a story can be composed of two tasks done by two developers).

The output result consists of :

An updated backlog (updated after the demonstration).
Taking feedback into account (and creating new stories if necessary).
Detailed and discussed stories that meet the conditions of feasibility.
Stories dealing with business rules understood by the team.

NB: The review is an opportunity to share the achievements of the team or the progress of the product with the rest of the organization. Thus, it allows to communicate on the life of the product and to offer visibility on the progress of the developments.

The typical retrospective Sprint meeting At Blue Soft

Objective:

This step allows the different parties to share their feelings on the progress of the sprint that has just ended. Indeed, it consists of reviewing the aspects requiring improvements and adjustments.

Prerequisite:

The presence of the entire team that participated in the sprint.
Avoid a horizontal hierarchy, to favor the quality of exchanges.

The participants are the stakeholders, the Product Owner, the developers and the Scrum Master

Duration of the agile ritual:

45 minutes to 1 hour maximum

Procedure:

For this moment of collective reflection at the end of each sprint, there are several variations in the process. The most common format, at Blue Soft, is as follows:

The choice of location depends on the Scrum master's assessment of the sprint's progress. Sometimes, the retrospective can be held outside the premises of Blue Soft for specific cases.
When the sprint is going well without any major events, the retrospective takes place in a meeting room with the whole team around the table.
A round table discussion is launched, with each team member taking a turn to speak.
Capitalize on good practices that have been unanimously accepted by the team,
Point out what did not work during the sprint in order to readjust or change practices.

In summary, the typical ceremony allows each team member to speak to the following questions: