Reviewing the Sprint

The sprint review gives the team the opportunity to inspect the work produced in the sprint and discuss the direction of the product, based on its current state. This ceremony is often referred to as a sprint demo, as it provides team members the opportunity to demonstrate their work. However, the sprint review is designed to consider elements of the product beyond simply what was produced in the sprint. This is a time for stakeholders to get a clear view of the product and to provide feedback.

Who Attends Sprint Reviews?

The product owner, stakeholders, scrum master, and development team attend the sprint review.

When Does a Sprint Review Occur Occur?

The sprint review occurs on the last day of the sprint just before the sprint retrospective.

What Happens During the Review?

During the sprint review, the team discusses the work they have completed during the sprint. They compare this work to the work that they committed to. The discussion includes conversations about work that was not completed and work removed from the sprint. The goal is ensure that the scrum team and stakeholders have a clear understanding of the product’s current state so that they can determine how to move forward. If there were or continue to be blockers to development, those issues are discussed.

Each developer gives a demonstration of his or her finished work. The product owner and stakeholders determine if the work is done and meets the necessary requirements. Developers may need to answer questions about their work in order to provide clarification to the stakeholders and product owner regarding how the product is working and what issues need to be addressed with the current functionality. This is not a sales demonstration, where you only want to highlight the best features of your product. This is a close inspection of the product and its known issues.

Once the demonstrations are complete, the product owner discusses the product backlog with the stakeholders to get feedback on the items remaining that are candidates for the next sprint. The current state of the product, the current market landscape, and internal factors (such as budgets and resources) can impact decisions on what to deliver next.