What is Sprint review? Meeting, Purpose, & Ideas

Introduction

In Agile project management, the Sprint Review is a critical event that brings the team and stakeholders together to assess the progress made during a Sprint. Like other scrum events such as sprint retrospectives and daily stand-ups, sprint reviews also serve as a platform to enhance collaboration and transparency among the scrum team. In a sprint review meeting, the scrum team gets a chance to determine whether they have achieved the sprint goal or not. 

In this article, we will learn all about sprint review, its purpose, benefits, and how to run a successful meeting. 

What is a Sprint Review?

A sprint review is a fundamental ceremony in the scum framework, held at the end of each sprint cycle. In this collaborative meeting, the Scrum team presents the completed work completed in the sprint to the relevant stakeholders and gathers feedback. By demonstrating the increments and gathering the stakeholder’s insights, the team can determine whether the increment aligns with the product goals and vision or not. 

Sprint review is a time-boxed event, typically lasting one or two hours depending on the length of the sprint. For example, the sprint review might last up to four hours for a four-week sprint. During Sprint review meetings, most of the time is spent on:

• Presenting the increment
• Gathering feedback from the stakeholders
• Updating the product backlog
• Collaboration and planning

What is the Purpose of Sprint Reviews?

The fundamental purpose of the sprint review is to review the work completed in the sprint, gather feedback, and ensure alignment with the product vision and requirements. Some of the key objectives of this meeting are as follows:

Presentation of Completed Work: The development team demonstrates the features completed during the sprint to stakeholders and other scrum team members. They also explain which work items were completed and which have not, providing a clear view of sprint outcomes. 

Stakeholder Feedback Collection: Stakeholders provide feedback on the demonstrated increments, enabling the team to identify areas for improvement and adjust the subsequent sprints. They may ask questions from the development team to ensure everyone is on the same page.

Discussion on Next Steps: It also allows the team to consider changes in the business, technical climate, marketplace, customer behavior, and customer feedback.  The team discusses what to do next and updates the backlog to meet these requirements. 

Progress Toward the Product Goal: The team reviews the increments alignment with the Product Vision, Key Value Drivers, Product Goal, and Sprint Goal. It enables the team to ensure they are working in the right direction. 

Celebrate Achievements: One of the most important purposes of the sprint review is to celebrate the achievements of the development team. Recognizing their efforts and dedication can keep the team motivated and enhance their productivity.   

Why are Sprint Reviews Important?

One of the greatest advantages of sprint review meeting is, it provide a comprehensive insight into what was planned in the last sprint and what was actually done. After regular sprint reviews, the team can identify gaps, refine the product backlog, and align future efforts with stakeholder expectations and business goals. 

Facilitates Feedback and Collaboration

Sprint review provides an opportunity for the development team to get regular feedback from the stakeholders. This feedback allows the team to understand the stakeholder’s growing needs and refine the product to align it with business goals and customer needs. 

Enables Adaptation and Flexibility

The sprint review enables the team to adapt the backlog based on the feedback and changing business needs. This flexibility ensures that the team is always working on something valuable work items.

Early Risk Mitigation 

Regular sprint review meetings, allow the team to identify risks or issues at the early stage of the development process. This early detection enables the team to address potential issues before they become significant problems.

Enhance Stakeholders Engagement

Regular sprint review cycles increase collaboration between the scrum team and stakeholders. As a result, it enhances stakeholders’ involvement in the development process and they feel more empowered and invested in the product success.

Ensures Alignment with Product Vision

Sprint review provides an opportunity for continuous refinement of the increments. This ensures that every delivered increment is meaningful and aligns with the product vision.  

Who Should Participate in the Sprint Review?

The Scrum Team and Key stakeholders participate in the sprint review meeting. Here is the breakdown of all participants and their roles in the sprint review meeting:

Scrum Master – organize and facilitate the meeting, keeping it focused and collaborative.  

Product Owner – manage the product backlog, explain how complete sprint aligns with product vision, and add any future improvements, bug fixes, or changes needed to the backlog. 

Development Team – Present the increments (complete work items) to the stakeholders, answer technical questions, and gather feedback and suggestions from stakeholders. 

Stakeholders – Evaluate the presented increments, give feedback, ask questions, and engage with the product owner to refine the product backlog based on their needs or insights. 

How to Conduct a Sprint Review Meeting?

Like other scrum ceremonies, sprint review also needs comprehensive planning for success. If it is not planned and conducted efficiently, the meeting can become unproductive and fail to achieve its goal. Therefore, there are certain steps that teams need to follow to conduct a successful sprint review meeting: 

Step 1. Create an Agenda

Before organizing the meeting, it is crucial to create an agenda so everyone clearly understands what to expect. This includes setting time, date, duration, recap of sprint goal, meeting objectives, and order of events. Additionally, you can allocate time for each session such as demonstration, feedback, QA, and backlog refinement.  

Step 2. Prepare the Demo

One of the common mistakes teams usually make is they turn up to the meeting without preparing the demo. As a result, they often struggle to showcase the increments effectively, leading to disorganization and unproductive meetings. Hence, ensure increments are presentable and all necessary materials are ready to use.

Step 3. Demonstrate the Increments

Here is the most important step. Demonstrate the increments to the stakeholders. Explain what backlog items were completed and how they meet the acceptance criteria or definition of done. Additionally, show stakeholders what issues occurred during the sprint and what actions were taken to resolve them.

Step 4. Gather Feedback

Next, invite stakeholders to provide feedback on the deliverable increments. Encourage openness and transparency to gain valuable insight into what is working well and what needs improvement. The product owner should facilitate this session to ensure all the feedback is gathered accurately.

Step 5. Ask Questions

Encourage stakeholders and the development team to ask questions from each other. This will help them clear confusion and understand the product needs and requirements more efficiently. It will also build trust and promote collaboration between them. 

Step 6. Update Backlog

Now based on the feedback collected from the stakeholders and discussion, update the backlog items to align it with product goals and vision. This may include adding new items, reprioritization, estimate adjustment, or removing irrelevant items.

Tips for Success

Here are some tips for conducting a successful Sprint Review:

Active Stakeholders Involvement: Sprint review shouldn’t be limited to only the demo of the increments. The team should actively involve the stakeholders and gather feedback from them. This will help the team to understand whether they are in the right direction or not. 

Spend some time on preparation: Ask the team to prepare for the demo 2 days before the meeting. The team should review what increments will be discussed and present in the meeting. 

Keep it short: Although the suggested time for the sprint review is four hours, try to make it as short as possible to keep it relevant and focused.  

Invite relevant people only: Although it is good to invite stakeholders to the meeting, ensure only those who are directly involved in the product or its outcome should be invited. This will keep the meeting focused and eliminate unnecessary distractions. 

Follow-Up: Once the meeting is completed, follow up on any actions to ensure the gathered feedback is implemented accurately.

FAQs

Do I need all my developers in the sprint review? Can some be there while others are doing other work?

Although all developers don’t need to participate in the meeting, having them all can ensure that everyone is aware of the feedback and decisions made during the meeting. Additionally, it can increase collaboration and openness among the team members.

What is the best time to schedule the sprint review?

The sprint review meeting is typically scheduled at the end of the sprint, allowing team members to present the work completed in the sprint. 

Is sprint review meeting mandatory?

Yes, Sprint review meeting is crucial in the scrum framework. It is a critical opportunity for the scrum team and stakeholders to assess the increments and align them with the product goal and vision. 

What is a dry run in sprint review?

Dry run is a concept in sprint review, generally referred to as a rehearsal meeting that development conducts before the actual review. The main purpose of the meeting is to ensure that the meeting goes smoothly and everyone is prepared.