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Leaning Scrum for the first time can be a bit overwhelming. There are many new terms and concepts in Scrum. The sprint is one of those terms, and you may be wondering:
What is a sprint, and how is it used in Scrum?
The recent increased popularity of design sprints has added confusion about how they are similar or different. I’ll walk through both what a sprint is and why it matters to your team.
What is a sprint?
Let’s begin by looking at the definition of a sprint.
What makes up a sprint?
A sprint is the basic unit of time in Scrum, and Scrum has a distinct rhythm and cadence that is structured around the sprint.
I like to think of Scrum as a relay race, with each sprint being a lap. The Scrum team hands off the “baton” of finished work to itself in the next sprint (that’s where the analogy starts to break down a bit).
The sprint serves as a boundary to focus the team. At the beginning of the sprint, they set a goal and select what work they will complete by the end of the sprint. This selected work receives all their attention, and no new work comes to the team during this protected time.
A sprint defines the scope of a team's attention for a period of time.
All the events in Scrum are contained within the sprint. Take a look at this graphic to see how all the events fall within the sprint.
The sprint in Scrum has a consistent length with a defined beginning and end. Once one sprint ends, the next begins without a gap in between.
The length of a sprint is usually one or two weeks, though I’ve been on teams with a three-week sprint. Beyond three weeks, the sprint loses its effectiveness because people no longer feel the cadence.
How is it different than a design sprint?
Design sprints have become increasingly popular over the years. And rightly so, they’re very effective at focusing a team on solving a problem and quickly iterating to a testable version of their idea.
A design sprint and a scrum sprint share names and some common features, but they are also distinct.
Similarities
- Usually one week in length.
- Provides focus for the team.
- Have prescribed events during the sprint.
Differences
- Scrum sprints fit in a larger framework.
- Scrum teams are consistent over time, whereas design sprint teams may exist only for the sprint.
- The events that make up the sprint are different for each.
As you can see, they have a lot in common. You can even combine the concepts by using a design sprint approach during a scrum sprint. Next, let’s look at what you would want to use sprints.
Related Guides
Why is a sprint important?
The cadence of a sprint can take a little getting used to for a team, but the benefits are well worth it, and I’ve never been on a team that wanted to go back after trying it for a few iterations.
How a sprint keeps your team focused.
Our world continues to get faster, more complex and more unpredictable. In this environment, we need clarity and focus to make progress. Sprints help teams focus by providing a boundary of time with a clear outcome.
When the sprint begins, the product owner casts a vision for the sprint by setting the sprint goal. Then the scrum team collaborates to select work from the top of the backlog that they will commit to completing by the end of the sprint.
During the sprint, the team will work on the PBIs they selected and only what they selected. The sprint is a safe block of time where the team is protected from distraction and competing priorities. The sprint defines the scope of a team's attention for a period of time.
How to choose the length of your sprint
There isn’t a one-size-fits-all for the length of your sprint in Scrum. One week is the most typical sprint length and beyond three weeks is uncommon.
Several factors influence the best sprint length for your situation.
- Team: Do you have a brand new team? I’d suggest maybe a two-week sprint. One week would likely feel too fast as they are learning the system, and three weeks would take a long time to feel like much of a rhythm.
- Environment: How stable is your environment? Are priorities changing daily? If you’re in the middle of a global pandemic, you want to shorten your sprint to one week. Anything longer than that and information, requirements, and requests have changed mid-sprint.
- Nature of the work: Some work is easier to break down than others. Web design is more suited to short sprints than video production. Although I often find that once the development team gets into their rhythm, they see how to break down their tasks more effectively. Then they can more easily work in the shorter sprints.
In the end, I suggest choosing one or two weeks. The great thing about Scrum is that you'll run a retrospective at the end of each sprint and evaluate what’s working and what’s not. If the current sprint length is too long or too short, you can evaluate and adapt as you go along. You don’t have to get it perfect the first time.
Leaning Scrum for the first time can be a bit overwhelming. There are many new terms and concepts in Scrum.
Well we’re here to help.
Related Guides
There are a lot of new terms when learning the Scrum essentials, and I hope this post helped clear up some of the vocabulary around sprints.
Action Plan
If you want to learn more about Scrum in general, check out my What is Scrum? A Guide for Everyday People to Learn Scrum. If you have more questions, please feel free to reach out on LinkedIn.
Still not sure about your next step with Scrum? I offer a couple of free coaching sessions each month. You can signup for a free 30-minute coaching session, and we can work together to identify a good next step for you.
Frequently Asked Questions
Scrum elements
What is the definition of done?
The definition of done is a list of what must be true to consider a PBI done. The whole team creates and agrees to what is in the definition of done and is updated as needed for the team to function effectively.
Learn to use the definition of done and explore acceptance criteria vs definition of done.
What is the increment in scrum?
It is the next complete piece added to build the product. The increment is complete in the sense that it should be ready to release to the end-user even if the team chooses to wait.
Learn more about incremental and iterative development or explore the essential Scrum glossary.
What is Scrum?
What is the definition of scrum?
Scrum is founded on three essential pillars leading teams to ask the following questions:
- How does this make things more visible? (Transparency)
- Where does this create space to evaluate? (Inspection)
- When does this encourage growth? (Adaptation)
Further explore the definition of scrum. Then browse the most common terms in a Scrum glossary and learn what is Scrum.
Is Scrum hard to learn?
This is because Scrum’s simplicity makes learning easy, but Scrum truly changes how you work, and that adjustment can be difficult. It changes power dynamics and expectations within the team and between the team and the rest of the organization.
You can explore further is Scrum hard to learn, along with the pros and cons of Scrum. Then browse the most common terms in a Scrum glossary and learn what is Scrum.
When did Scrum start?
Scrum was initially used as a term related to project management in 1986 by Hirotaka Takeuchi and Ikujiro Nonaka in their paper “New New Product Development Game” In the Harvard Business Review. The first recorded Scrum project came a little later in 1993 from Jeff Sutherland.
You can learn more about Scrum’s backstory. Then browse the most common terms in a Scrum glossary and learn what is Scrum.
What do all the scrum words mean?
Learning Scrum for the first time can be overwhelming. There are a lot of new terms and concepts in Scrum. I’ve listed the most common terms in a Scrum glossary.
Scrum design
What are the three pillars of Scrum?
Scrum is founded on three essential pillars, and each leads the team to ask a critical question.
- Transparency. How does this make things more visible?
- Inspection. Where does this create space to evaluate?
- Adaptation. When does this encourage growth?
Learn how to apply the three pillars of Scrum and then explore the most common terms in a Scrum glossary.
What are the values of Scrum?
There are five values critical to the practice of Scrum: commitment, courage, focus, openness, and respect.
- Commit to achieving the goals of the Scrum Team.
- Courage to do the right thing and work on challenging problems.
- Focus on the Sprint's work and the Scrum Team's goals.
- Open about all the work and the challenges with performing the work.
- Respect each other to be capable, independent people
Learn how to align Scrum values with your organization and then explore the most common terms in a Scrum glossary.
What is the sprint goal in scrum?
The sprint goal encapsulates the product owner’s vision into a concrete statement for the development team to measure the sprint against. The sprint goal provides a theme for the sprint’s work helping the team see how all the parts come together.
Learn more about the role of the sprint goal in scrum and explore the essential Scrum glossary.
How to use Scrum
Why use Scrum?
It forces clarity and prioritization, which provides the focus necessary for teams to be effective. Scrum embraces complexity and change by keeping many things simple and iteratively evaluating and adapting.
You can learn more about why to use Scrum and three challenges Scrum solves. Then browse the most common terms in a Scrum glossary and learn what is Scrum.
When does Scrum not work well?
Scrum isn’t always the best option for teams. Scrum can fail when there is a substantial mismatch between organizational culture and the Scrum values. It also depends on the nature of the work you do. If you work if very linear, predictable and tightly defined, you may not experience many benefits Scrum provides.
Find out more about aligning your organizational values with Scrum or how Scrum might fit in your context. Then browse the most common terms in a Scrum glossary and learn what is Scrum.
How do I know when to use Scrum?
Scrum functions at its best when you have a dedicated team focused on developing a singular product. Its agility shines when there are time constraints combined with uncertainty.
Explore the pros and cons of Scrum along with expectations vs. realities with Scrum. Then browse the most common terms in a Scrum glossary and learn what is Scrum.
Scrum backlog
What is the backlog in Scrum?
There are actually two backlogs, the product backlog and the sprint backlog. They each contain the definitive list of work to be done. The product owner keeps the backlog ordered by priority.
Learn to use the backlog in Scrum and check out the sprint backlog vs product backlog in Scrum.
How are the product backlog and sprint backlog different?
The product backlog prioritizes the features needed in the product. It is a singular visible source of requirements for the product.
The sprint backlog represents the work to do in a given sprint. It is a definitive list of all the scrum team is being asked to produce for the sprint.
Learn more about the sprint backlog vs product backlog in Scrum.
What is a PBI (product backlog item)?
Each item in the backlog represents precise work and value to deliver. Often these PBIs are written using both user stories and acceptance criteria. The PBIs are what gets refined during the backlog refinement session, and if one is too large, it may be broken down into smaller PBIs.
Learn more about how backlogs are used in scrum, the sprint backlog vs product backlog in Scrum and explore the essential Scrum glossary.
What is the Scrum sprint backlog?
The Scrum sprint backlog is a prioritized list of items from the product backlog that the development team plans to complete during the upcoming sprint.
It is a plan for the Sprint and is created during the Sprint Planning meeting where the Development Team decides on how to build the functionality that meets the Sprint Goal. The Sprint Backlog typically includes user stories, bugs, technical work, and other items that the development team needs to work on during the sprint. Each item in the Sprint Backlog has a clear definition of done, so the team knows when the item is considered complete.
The Development Team is responsible for creating and updating their Sprint Backlog throughout the Sprint, making sure they are on track to meet the Sprint Goal. The Sprint Backlog is a working document that helps the Development Team visualize their progress and make any necessary adjustments to their plan as they go along. The Sprint Backlog is also transparent, allowing stakeholders to see what work is being done during the Sprint.
Learn more about the backlogs of Scrum.
What is the Scrum product backlog?
In Scrum, the product backlog is a prioritized list of features, bugs, technical work, and other product-related items that need to be addressed by the development team.
It serves as a single source of truth for what needs to be done on the product.
The items in the product backlog are ordered based on their importance to the product owner and the value they bring to the end-user. As the project progresses, the product backlog is constantly updated to reflect new priorities, changes in requirements, and feedback from stakeholders.
The product backlog is a living document that evolves throughout the project's lifecycle. It provides transparency and enables collaboration among all members of the Scrum team.
Learn more about the backlogs in Scrum.
