Sprint Rituals
4 minute read
Daily
Stand-ups
Purpose
Quick update of what happened since last stand-up, current tasks and any blockers for today. Some teams will review all open tickets, where some will only review each team members current task.
Who is required
- Everyone in domain team
Who is optional
- CTO
- Engineering Manager
- Product Owner/Manager
- QA
- UX team
Duration
10-15 minutes.
Fortnightly
Stand-up-of-stand-ups
Purpose
One representative from each team declares completed work and upcoming work for each team since the last SoS, plus any blockers. Department announcements are also issued at this meeting.
Who is required
- Everyone in engineering department
Who is optional
- Account Management
- Customer Success
- Partners team representatives
Duration
10-15 minutes.
When in Sprint
Mid-Sprint.
Sprint Retrospectives
Purpose
Evaluate the Sprint that is about to, or has recently, closed. Determine what was successful or unsuccessful, and raise actions to address both. Allow team members to air concerns and share encouragement. This is a session internal to the team and for their own benefit only.
More information on Sprint Retrospectives.
Who is required
- All domain team members
Who is optional
- CTO
- Engineering Manager
Duration
45-60 minutes.
When in Sprint
Before end of Sprint, or shortly after completion of Sprint.
Sprint Planning
Purpose
Define the body of work that will compose the next Sprint, and its goals. Team is the key stakeholder of this meeting, it is for their benefit. It is not for roadmap shaping (see Shaping Sessions), nor backlog grooming (see Backlog Grooming).
More information on drafting Sprint Goals.
Who is required
- All team members
- Product Manager/Product Owner
- UX Team Representative
Who is optional
- CTO
- Engineering Manager
Duration
60 minutes.
When in Sprint
Before Sprint starts.
Sprint Review
Purpose
Declare success/fail of each Sprint goals and present goals of next Sprint. Sprint deliverables demonstrated if possible.
Who is required
- Iteration Manager
- Senior
- Product Manager/Product Owner
- UX
Who is optional
- CTO
- Engineering Manager
Duration
10-15 minutes.
When in Sprint
After Sprint finishes.
Backlog and product feedback grooming
Purpose
Senior team engineer and iteration manager meet to triage product feedback and prioritise product backlog items.
Who is required
- Iteration Manager
- Senior
Who is optional
- CTO
- Engineering Manager
- Other team members
- Product Manager/Product Owner
- Subject Matter Experts
Duration
60+ minutes.
When in Sprint
Mid-Sprint.
Out-of-Sprint common rituals
Shaping sessions (roadmap or broad-level)
Purpose
High-level overview of effort required for roadmap items and facilitate the product team in making priority decisions.
Who is required
- Iteration Manager
- Product Manager/Product Owner
- Senior
- Subject Matter Experts
- UX team representative
Who is optional
- CTO
- Engineering Manager
Duration
As long as required. May need to be run across multiple meetings.
When in Sprint
Anytime.
Feature Alignments
Purpose
Gather as a team, and invite stakeholders, to review a roadmap item (epic) and finalise a set of acceptance criteria that accurately reflects all the new features and enhancements required to meet the item’s objectives. This session often involves additional scope (MVP) discussion in finer detail than was relevant in shaping sessions. These sessions should be recorded and made available to any stakeholders that can be present.
Who is required
- Iteration Manager
- Senior
- Other team members
- Context-dependant stakeholders (CS, product team)
Who is optional
- CTO
- Engineering Manager
- UX team representative (as required by Domain Team)
Duration
Usually 1 hour, but if requirements are not clear enough additional sessions might be required.
When in Sprint
Anytime.
Technical Breakdowns
Purpose
Breakdown roadmap commitments into epics, issues, dependencies, and blockers with a focus on incremental delivery.
Who is required
- Iteration Manager
- Senior
- Other team members
Who is optional
- CTO
- Engineering Manager
- Product Manager/Product Owner
- UX team representative (as required by Domain Team)
Duration
As long as required. May need to be split across multiple meetings.
When in Sprint
Anytime.
Checkup Sessions
Purpose
Review the new features and enhancements produced by the team with stakeholders to discover any bugs, fully demonstrate behaviour and to identify future work. These sessions should be recorded and made available to the wider company.
Who is required
- Iteration Manager
- Senior
- Other team members
Who is optional
- CTO
- Engineering Manager
- Product Manager/Product Owner
- UX team representative (as required by Domain Team)
Duration
As long as required. May need to be split across multiple meetings.
When in Sprint
Anytime.