Five Events Of Scrum

The Scrum framework is one of the simplest Agile Methods an organization can implement to shift from the traditional software methods to the Agile methodology. Scrum is an iterative and incremental method of Developing a product and creative adaptive solutions for complex problems. Scrum framework consists of three important roles the Scrum Master, the Product Owner, and the Developer. There are many associate roles in the Development Team such as Scrum architect and business analyst. However, they are selected by the Developers themselves. A Scrum team consists of a small number of Developers trained to become self-organizing so that they can handle any impediments themselves. The Scrum Master is the true leader who oversees the product development process, and the Product Owner communicates with the Scrum Team and the stakeholders. We know that the tasks for a product are carried out in small-time frameworks called Sprints. These Sprints require planning, reviewing, retrospectives, etc., which are achieved through meetings arranged by the team called the Scrum events. This article talks more about these Scrum events and helps the professional understand the difference between all the events. 

What is a Scrum Event?

A Scrum event is a gathering or a meeting of the Scrum team with/without the stakeholders. Here, the team discusses important details of the project so that everyone on the team is updated about the progress of the Product Development. The main purpose of all Scrum events is to promote transparency, openness, and communication among the team members and all the people involved in the project. As compared to the traditional software methods where only the project manager knows the details of the project, the Scrum framework believes that everyone involved has to be updated so that they can plan their tasks accordingly and the work is carried out efficiently. The meetings include discussions around what tasks are completed daily using Scrum and Agile practices, which features require revision or upgrade, and how customer feedback is helping Product Development. 

The 5 Scrum Events

Product Increments are carried out in Sprints, lasting 2-4 weeks. To effectively communicate the project details to the Scrum team and assess the work done in a Sprint, the team conducts five Scrum events. These events intend to keep communication and collaboration smooth and help the team members improve their knowledge and become effective in the future. These five Scrum of events are:

• Daily Standup or Daily Scrum
• Sprint Planning
• Sprint Review
• Sprint Retrospective
• The Sprint

Daily Scrum

As the name implies, this event occurs daily as Scrum aims to use all team members' time and resources efficiently. The limitation of the daily Scrum is 15 minutes as Scrum aims to keep the meetings time-boxed. It is called daily stand-up as most of the teams find it helpful to conduct the meeting when the team is standing and not sitting. However, it is not compulsory but may be efficient. The main purpose of the daily Scrum is to understand the project's progress and to estimate whether the project would get completed within the Sprint time. This meeting helps the Developers to assess their progress and plan their activities for the day ahead. Usually, this meeting takes place at the same time and place, making it effective and less time-consuming. 

Before the Scrum Guide update, the developers used to answer three questions in the daily Scrum, which gave an idea about their progress. These questions were what they did yesterday, what they will do today, and whether they are facing any impediments in their Development. However, the update states that the Developer does not need to answer only these questions during the meeting but could add on more issues and other progress if they feel relevant. This helps improve communication between the developers and helps the project function better. This meeting usually takes place between the Developers, but if the team is new and the Developers are less experienced, then a Scrum Master should conduct the meeting. The Product Owner and other members related to the project can also join the meeting but should not be allowed to talk as it may extend the duration of the meeting. If any concern has to be addressed, it should be done after the session as one issue may delay the work for other people. 

Sprint Planning

Any Sprint has a plan before it begins as it directs the team members to get started with the Product Development. Sprint Planning is the event where the Product Owner and the Developers discuss the items that have to be included in the Sprint Backlog from the Product Backlog. The Product Backlog is a list of items that must be integrated into the product. The Sprint Backlog contains the items that have to be completed during a particular Sprint. In Sprint Planning, the Product Owner discusses which features must be included in the upcoming Sprint by understanding the customer feedback, the stakeholders' feedback, and the market's demand. The meeting is timeboxed for eight hours if the Sprint is for one month; it would be shorter for shorter Sprints. 

The meeting addresses three important questions:

• Why is this upcoming Sprint valuable?

This question answers how the product increments developed in Sprint would help the product increase its value in the market. The team decides a Sprint goal and discusses why the current Sprint would be valuable for the stakeholders. The Sprint goals are decided at the end of the Sprint Planning. 

• What is done during this Sprint?

The Product Owner may demand many items that have to be completed during the Sprint. However, it is up to the developers to decide which items could be finished by the end of the Sprint based on Sprint's velocity and the complexity of the product feature. As the team gets used to Developing the Product Increments, they understand how much they could complete in future Sprints. 

• What are the ways to complete the chosen work?

This question answers the how of the process. The team members discuss the different techniques they will use to create the increment from the user story. The complex tasks are broken down into simple ones, and the team decides how to create an increment from a user story. 

Sprint Review

After the team completes the Sprint Backlog items and is ready with the Product Increment, it is evaluated by the Product Owner, the Scrum Master, and the stakeholders. The Product Owner checks whether the decided items on the Sprint Backlog are completed or if any feature has to be completed in the next Sprint. They also assess whether the working model is the same as the user story given at the Sprint's start. If the stakeholders or the Product Owner have any doubts or queries, the Development Team addresses them. Also, they give feedback on the Developed product and decide whether it is ready for delivery. Hence, the name of the events suggests, the product is being reviewed by the customers and the stakeholders. The meeting is timeboxed for four hours if the Sprint is for one month; it would be shorter for shorter Sprints. 

The usually takes place at the end of the Sprint. The aim of the event is not to get all the features perfectly Developed but is to improve such that the next iteration is better continuously. The stakeholders include the customers, the management, and other people who are related to the project. The main focus of this event is to get feedback for the work done in the past few weeks over the Sprint. This feedback will guide the team to perform effectively in future Sprints. Scrum has included this event about the Agile Manifesto principle which suggests the team reflects on being more effective at regular intervals. This principle is also the basis of the next event called the Sprint Retrospective.

Sprint Retrospective

The Sprint Retrospective takes place after the Sprint Review and is the last event of the Sprint. This event is also a type of review where the Developers receive feedback, however, it does not include the stakeholders or other project members. It is an internal meeting which only includes the Developers, the Product Owner, and the Scrum Master. The Scrum team reviews what tasks could be improved in the next Sprint by reflecting on the things which may have gone wrong in the previous one. No matter how good the Scrum team is and the greater the number of years of experience, Scrum believes there is always room for improvement. Most of the teams may skip the Sprint Retrospective stating it as unnecessary, however, it is one of the most important meetings as it shows the reflection of the work of the Developers and makes them perform better in the next Sprint. 

This event should not be a monologue of pointing out other people’s mistakes, it should be a discussion of what went wrong and how they could fix it in the next Sprint. Since this event is an internal meeting, many experts also suggest that the Scrum Master should praise the achievements of the team and encourage them to keep up their excellent work. This boosts up their morale and helps them to work effectively in the next Sprint. The Sprint Retrospective is all about understanding the past mistakes and celebrating the achievements of the last Sprint so that the team concludes their current Sprint. The meeting is timeboxed for three hours if the Sprint is for one month; it would be shorter for shorter Sprints. 

The Sprint

The Sprint itself is considered to wrap up all these four events. A product has to be built continuously by frequently integrating Product Increments in the scrum. This helps the product stay relevant to the market and make it popular among the users. It would give satisfaction to the stakeholders and customers. For a product to be completely built, the team has to continuously add product increments, which can only be achieved by following these events regularly. After a Sprint is completed, the next Sprint Planning begins and the entire cycle continues. Sprints have a fixed duration which is decided when a new project begins. When a Sprint stays fixed, the amount of work that could be done can be estimated and the future Sprints can be calculated properly. In an overview, a Sprint is considered as an event that includes all the events under it.  

Conclusion

Scrum events are important for the team to communicate and collaborate and work on a complex project. The events promote transparency and help everyone plan their tasks according to the requirements. Daily Scrum helps the team plan their day and Sprint Planning helps the team to separate the prioritized and non-prioritized items on the Product Backlog items. Both of these events help the developers plan their strategy to address the issues and tasks they have been assigned. Sprint Review and Sprint Retrospective help the team reflect on the tasks they completed in the previous Sprint. The review consists of feedback by the stakeholders, and the retrospective consists of feedback by their own or other team members. These events occur at the end of the Sprint and are important for the Developers to improve themselves and the product in the upcoming Sprint. Hence, the value derived from the Scrum events depends on the maturity, present stage of team development, and stability of the Scrum team.By enrolling in Simpliaxis Agile courses, teams can elevate their understanding of Scrum events, empowering them to navigate project complexities with confidence and efficiency