Sprint
A Sprint is a fixed-length timebox of one month or less in Scrum during which the team creates a usable, potentially releasable product Increment.
Explanation
The Sprint is the heartbeat of Scrum. Each Sprint is a container for all other Scrum events: Sprint Planning, Daily Scrum, Sprint Review, and Sprint Retrospective. Sprints have a consistent duration throughout a development effort, and a new Sprint starts immediately after the conclusion of the previous one.
During a Sprint, no changes are made that would endanger the Sprint Goal, quality does not decrease, the Product Backlog is refined as needed, and scope may be clarified and renegotiated with the Product Owner as more is learned. If the Sprint Goal becomes obsolete, the Product Owner can cancel the Sprint, though this is rare.
Sprints enable predictability by ensuring inspection and adaptation of progress toward the Product Goal at least every calendar month. Shorter sprints generate more learning cycles and reduce the risk of cost and effort going to waste. Most teams use two-week sprints as a practical balance between overhead and feedback frequency.
Key Points
- •Fixed-length timebox of one month or less
- •Contains all other Scrum events
- •No changes that endanger the Sprint Goal are permitted
- •Only the Product Owner has the authority to cancel a Sprint
Exam Tip
Sprints are always timeboxed and never extended. If the work is not done, remaining items return to the Product Backlog.
Frequently Asked Questions
Related Topics
Sprint Planning
Sprint Planning is the Scrum event that initiates each Sprint by defining the Sprint Goal, selecting Product Backlog items to work on, and creating an actionable plan for delivering the Increment.
Sprint Review
The Sprint Review is a Scrum event held at the end of the Sprint where the Scrum Team presents the Increment to stakeholders, gathers feedback, and collaborates on what to do next.
Sprint Retrospective
The Sprint Retrospective is a Scrum event where the Scrum Team inspects how the last Sprint went with regard to people, relationships, processes, and tools, and creates a plan for improvements.
Timeboxing
Timeboxing is the practice of allocating a fixed, maximum amount of time for an activity, after which the activity stops regardless of whether it is complete.
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Burndown Chart
A Burndown Chart is a graphical representation of work remaining versus time in a Sprint or release, showing whether the team is on track to complete the planned work.
Relative Estimation
Relative Estimation is an agile technique where work items are sized in comparison to each other rather than in absolute units like hours or days, providing faster and more accurate estimates.
Sprint Review
The Sprint Review is a Scrum event held at the end of the Sprint where the Scrum Team presents the Increment to stakeholders, gathers feedback, and collaborates on what to do next.
Sprint Backlog
The Sprint Backlog is the set of Product Backlog items selected for the Sprint, plus the Sprint Goal and the plan for delivering the Increment.
Timeboxing
Timeboxing is the practice of allocating a fixed, maximum amount of time for an activity, after which the activity stops regardless of whether it is complete.
Resource Leveling
Resource leveling is a resource optimization technique in which adjustments are made to the project schedule to keep resource usage at or below a defined limit, often resulting in a longer project duration.
Risk Register
The risk register is a project document that records the details of individual project risks, including their identification, analysis results, response plans, and current status.
Stakeholder Mapping
Stakeholder mapping is the visual representation of stakeholder relationships, influence, interest, or other attributes using grids, matrices, or diagrams to support analysis and engagement planning.
Cost Performance Index (CPI)
Cost Performance Index (CPI) is an EVM efficiency metric that measures cost performance as the ratio of earned value to actual cost: CPI = EV / AC.
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