Here’s how to make the Scrum framework practical

How do you make the framework of Scrum practical in your practice? Suppose you followed a training course and you want to introduce Scrum in your organization. Then the question arises: How do I start my first sprint and what does it look like in practice with all the events? Good question! When do you do which event? What structure works well? Read our chronological overview with timings and tips here as inspiration for the approach that best suits your team. Make it your own and apply Inspect and Adapt to this as well.

Sprint

Duration: 2 weeks

From the theory, a sprint should last up to a calendar month. In practice, a period of two weeks appears to be a nice length; long enough to get work Done and short enough to remember what has been done and what can be improved (Inspect & Adapt). Remember: the more uncertainties there are (does our product catch on, do we know what to do, do we have the right skills), the shorter you want the sprint to be. A shorter sprint means faster learning!

Pro tip: If your team is completely new to Scrum, choose a one-week sprint duration. That way the team will learn to get used to the events quickly.

Sprint Planning

Duration: 1-2 hours

When. Friday afternoon

A new Sprint naturally begins with the Sprint Planning. In the Sprint Planning, the Product Owner brings an ordered Product Backlog and figures out with the Development Team which set of Product Backlog Items will be included in the Sprint. If the Scrum team has already worked hard on effective Product Backlog refinement, the planning will proceed quickly.

I like to plan the Sprint Planning on Friday afternoon. That way the Scrum team is ready to start developing immediately after the weekend.

Pro tip: include and plan at least 1 improvement action from the previous retrospective.

Daily Scrum

Duration: max 15 minutes

When. Every day

Except on the day of the Sprint Change, you do a Daily Scrum every day. The purpose of the Daily Scrum is to do a brief (re)planning of the work for the next 24 hours. The Daily Scrum is for and by the Development Team. The Scrum Master and Product Owner do not need to attend. With starting teams, I do recommend that the Scrum Master does attend the Daily Scrum.

I like to schedule the Daily Scrum in the morning when everyone on the team is in. That’s often somewhere between 9:30 and 10 a.m.

Pro tip: Notice that the Development Team is doing a status report to you as Scrum Master? Take a step back and stand behind, rather than in front of, the team. Or break eye contact every time they look at you.

Sprint Review

Duration: 1 hour

When. Friday morning

The end of the Sprint is heralded by the Sprint Review. All the work that was actually Done is shown. A good Sprint Review is chaired by the Product Owner and consists of three parts: looking back at what was planned and what was finally finished; demonstrating the Increment, the working product; and finally looking at the forecast for the next sprint(s). The goal: to discover together with stakeholders what the most valuable features are for the product.

I like to schedule the Sprint Review on the last Friday of the Sprint, first thing in the morning. I put the Scrum Team with relevant stakeholders in a place where they can easily demonstrate and ideally use the product.

Pro tip: Invite managers who request reports to the Sprint Review. That way you save time!

Sprint Retrospective

Duration: 1.5 hours

When. Friday morning

The Sprint is then truly ended with the Sprint Retrospective. Don’t skimp on time! You want a safe environment to be created where the past Sprint can be looked back on in peace. Go to a quiet, creativity-fueled place and let go of the delusion of the day. Use a set structure for your retrospective and vary formats.

I like to schedule the Sprint Retrospective immediately after the Sprint Review on Friday morning.

Pro tip: look forward instead of back! So ask the team the question: what do we want our world to look like in 3 months? What will be different then?

Good luck.