Sprint Cadence
We’ve chosen to adopt two weeks sprints as our basic sprint length for 1 to 100 companies. Our logical on that is pretty simple: it’s the most common sprint cadence in software development. Could we do one week, three weeks, or a month? Sure. But we’ll spend more time thinking about and arguing about “optimal” sprint length versus just going with the industry standard everyone is used to. So two weeks is an easy choice that balances the need for focused work with regular feedback and adaptation.
Daily Coordination
- Daily Huddle (15 minutes)
- Ad-hoc Discussions
- Use chat or direct calls to handle urgent issues or clarifications that cannot wait until the next stand-up.
- Encourage team members to be proactive in reaching out to each other whenever they need help or information.
Weekly Coordination
Sprint Planning (Every Two Weeks, ~1–2 hours)
- Frequency: At the start of each new sprint (every two weeks).
- Attendees: Product Owner, Development Team, Scrum Master/PM, QA.
- Agenda:
- Review product backlog: The Product Owner presents the highest-priority items.
- Task breakdown & estimates: The development team breaks down the work into actionable tasks and estimates effort.
- Sprint goals: Decide on the sprint backlog and define specific, measurable sprint objectives.
- Goal: Clearly outline which stories and tasks the team commits to completing in the upcoming sprint.
Backlog Refinement / Grooming (Once per week, ~1 hour)
- Frequency: Midway through each sprint or once a week.
- Attendees: Product Owner, Development Team, Scrum Master/PM.
- Agenda:
- Review upcoming user stories: Ensure stories are well-defined, have acceptance criteria, and are properly estimated.
- Reprioritize items: Discuss any changes in priority or scope.
- Add/remove items: Based on stakeholder feedback or new information.
- Goal: Keep the backlog in a healthy state with well-defined tasks that are ready for the next sprint.
Weekly Status Check (30–45 minutes)
- Frequency: End of each week.
- Attendees: Scrum Master/PM, key stakeholders, and optionally the development team.
- Agenda:
- Sprint progress: Quickly review current sprint status, velocity, and any risks.
- Updates & risks: Discuss high-level issues, risks, or dependencies.
- Stakeholder feedback: Address any mid-sprint feedback or concerns.
- Goal: Provide a concise update to stakeholders and ensure the project is on track.
Sprint Review & Demo (End of Each Sprint, ~1 hour)
- Frequency: Every two weeks, but it can coincide with a monthly overview if the timing aligns.
- Attendees: Entire team, Product Owner, stakeholders, and invited users (as applicable).
- Agenda:
- Demonstrate completed work: Show new features or changes that were done during the sprint.
- Collect feedback: Stakeholders share initial impressions or requests for improvement.
- Celebrate successes: Recognize achievements and hard work.
- Goal: Validate that delivered features meet expectations and gather feedback.
Sprint Retrospective (End of Each Sprint, ~1 hour)
- Frequency: Every two weeks, but also serves as a monthly reflection.
- Attendees: Entire development team, QA, Scrum Master/PM.
- Agenda:
- What went well: Identify and celebrate successful practices.
- What didn’t go well: Discuss challenges or issues that need improvement.
- Action items: Propose concrete changes for the next sprint.
- Goal: Continuously improve processes, collaboration, and morale.
Monthly Roadmap Review (30–60 minutes)
- Frequency: Once a month.
- Attendees: Product Owner, Scrum Master/PM, key stakeholders, and optionally the development team.
- Agenda:
- Review roadmap milestones: Ensure progress is on track with longer-term goals.
- Adjust priorities & resourcing: If market, business, or team changes occur, update the roadmap.
- Discuss bigger-picture blockers or dependencies: Identify issues requiring cross-team or organizational support.
- Goal: Align the project trajectory with organizational or product-level objectives.
Reporting & Metrics
- Burndown/Burnup Charts: Track sprint progress and forecast completion.
- Velocity Tracking: Monitor average story points per sprint to improve planning.
- Issue Tracking & Resolution: Keep tabs on high-priority bugs and production issues.
- Team Health: Use surveys or quick check-ins to gauge team morale.