What is a sprint in scrum?

Do you know what is a Sprint in Scrum? A Sprint represents a work cycle, usually over a time-boxed period of one month, during which some value is added to a product under development.

At the end of the Sprint, the product needs to have gained some increment that generates value in the eyes of the customer, and that satisfies a stated goal.

The development process of a Scrum project is divided into several Sprints, which take place consecutively, one after the other. Of course this doesn’t take place without planning; on the contrary, it is very well planned.

What is exactly a Sprint?

One of the pillars of a development project based on the Scrum methodology is its division into stages. Each of these phases has a set time, consisting of a cycle that lasts a week, two weeks or even a month.

The sprint can be considered the “main event” of the Scrum method, because it is where the other events will be applied, using the previously produced artifacts and actually developing the product. It is where the production of an item happens - or part of it, at least.

These are Sprints! Not only should they have a set of requirements and goals to be implemented by the developers, but they also need to pursue the development of functions, according to the customer's system idea.

How to start a Sprint?

Creating a Sprint involves constant communication between the development teams, the Scrum Master and the Product Owner. They must share their needs, their production capacity and their evolution in achieving goals, in order to avoid breaking expectations at the end of each stage.

However, before creating the Sprints of a specific project, you’ll need to define the features of the product to be developed, as designated by the Product Owner. For this to happen, an artifact called Product Backlog is built, which contains the main characteristics of the product to be developed.

The Product Owner also has the role of defining the priorities of the Product Backlog which they have made. As a result, the first meeting of the development team with the Product Owner is held once all the functions of the backlog are classified according to the priorities of each part.

Sprint divisions

Following a plan, Sprints in Scrum are divided into four types, for a more efficient organization of the project:

1 – Sprint planning: this is the planning meeting, in which the Development Team takes priority items from the Product Backlog - an ordered list of all requirements that need to be in the product - and separates them into the Sprint Backlog.

Professionals should share information and, together with the Project Owner, align the functions to be implemented and the tasks to be performed. This is the first event held in the sprint, and it should answer two key questions that are central to the Scrum method: “What will be done?”, and “How will it be done?”

Sprint Planning is divided into two parts, each with a suggested time of four hours. The first will define which Product Backlog items will be developed in the Sprint. The second part will define how these items will be addressed during the work - in other words, what tasks will be performed so that the selected elements are delivered at the end of this stage. You can use a diagram creator to help you plan this stage.

2 – Sprint Backlog: this corresponds to the groupings of priority items, i.e. what will be worked on in the Scrum Sprint, where a goal will be set, aiming at the development of some increment to the product.

As a result, a list of tasks is created, based on the Product Backlog and aligned with the priorities already defined by the Product Owner, who is the team member responsible for directing the project according to the customer's needs.

Typically, prioritization in Backlogs is done by score. Tasks which are more important to the PO, more difficult to perform, take longer, or have some technical uncertainty or risk, are scored higher.

3 – Sprint review: the product increment is usually obtained in the Sprint Review, a meeting that takes place after the end of each Scrum Sprint with all Scrum Team members and the customer, to get their feedback on the latest deliverable.

4 – Sprint retrospective: in the fourth and final type, the Scrum Team holds a retrospective to review what went right and wrong in the Sprint Scrum, always seeking to learn from failures and recognize achievements.

In addition, the production team must regularly hold meetings to discuss the progress of the work, hold brainstorms in order to find solutions for possible failures, and share information. These meetings are known as the Daily Scrum.

Ideally, Daily Scrums should be held every day during the Sprint, so the team can discuss their progress of the project. This makes it easier to quickly identify errors and reorganize to circumvent them.The Project Owner may be present in these meetings, but should not intervene unless they are requested to do so.

Characteristics of the Sprint Scrum

The main features of Sprint Scrum are:

• Short duration: one of the main characteristics of the Scrum Sprint is its short duration, usually a month or less. This allows flexibility and adaptability as the project delivers value to the customer in parts

• Fewer changes: during the Sprint, it is highly recommended that no change be made to what has been defined as the Sprint Backlog or the overall goal. This is another reason why the Scrum Sprint shouldn’t last too long, to allow for adaptation to variations in the project’s objectives.

• Rarity of cancellations: only the Product Owner has the authority to cancel a Scrum Sprint. Cancellations are very rare, and only happen if the goal is out of date, which is unlikely since the Scrum Sprint lasts so little time.

Having acquired an understanding of what is a Sprint in Scrum, you’ll know that Sprints increase the likelihood of satisfactory final product quality, reduced costs and, most importantly, a reduced timeframe, all of which will optimize your company's customer experience.

This article does not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editors or management of EconoTimes