What Is Sprint Review?
A sprint review is a formal event in Agile project management, particularly within the Scrum framework, where the Scrum Team presents the results of their completed work increment to key stakeholders and gathers feedback. It serves as an opportunity for inspection and adaptation of the product, occurring at the end of each development sprint. The primary goal of a sprint review is to demonstrate what was accomplished during the sprint, discuss the product backlog as it stands, and collectively decide what to do next based on feedback and evolving market conditions. This collaborative event ensures transparency and facilitates alignment between the development team and the business needs, contributing to continuous improvement of the product.
History and Origin
The concept of the sprint review is an integral part of Scrum, an agile framework for developing and sustaining complex products. Scrum itself originated in the early 1990s through the work of Ken Schwaber and Jeff Sutherland, drawing inspiration from a 1986 Harvard Business Review article by Hirotaka Takeuchi and Ikujiro Nonaka, which described a "holistic" or "rugby" approach to product development. The official definition of Scrum, including the sprint review, is maintained in the Scrum Guide, first published in 2010 by Schwaber and Sutherland. This guide outlines the events, roles, and artifacts that constitute Scrum, emphasizing empirical process control and iterative development. The sprint review was designed to be a crucial feedback mechanism, ensuring that product development remains aligned with evolving customer needs and market realities. The most current version of the authoritative guide is the 2020 Scrum Guide.5, 6
Key Takeaways
- The sprint review is a collaborative meeting held at the end of each sprint to inspect the increment and adapt the product backlog.
- It involves the Scrum Team (developers, Scrum Master, and Product Owner) and relevant stakeholders.
- The main objective is to gather feedback on the completed work and determine future actions for the product.
- The output of a sprint review is a revised product backlog that reflects new insights and priorities.
- It is distinct from the sprint retrospective, which focuses on process improvement within the team.
Interpreting the Sprint Review
Interpreting the sprint review involves more than just observing a demonstration; it is about assessing the progress towards a product goal and adjusting future efforts. For stakeholders, it's an opportunity to see tangible results and provide critical feedback loop directly to the development team. For the team, it's a chance to understand if their efforts are truly delivering value and to incorporate external perspectives into their planning. Effective interpretation involves active listening, asking clarifying questions, and engaging in constructive dialogue about the product increment and upcoming work. The insights gained help inform decisions about resource allocation and future sprint goals.
Hypothetical Example
Consider a financial technology (FinTech) company developing a new mobile banking application. Their development is structured into two-week sprints. At the end of a sprint, the team holds a sprint review.
Scenario: The team has completed features allowing users to view their account balance and recent transactions.
Sprint Review Process:
- Demonstration: The cross-functional team demonstrates the new features on a test device, showing how a user logs in, navigates to their accounts, and sees their balance and transaction history.
- Discussion of Value: The Product Owner explains the business value delivered by these features, such as increased transparency for customers.
- Feedback Gathering: A bank executive (stakeholder) suggests that the transaction history should also include a search function and filtering by date range, which was not initially planned for this release but is deemed highly valuable. A compliance officer asks how transaction data integrity is ensured.
- Product Backlog Adjustment: Based on this feedback, the Product Owner adds "Add transaction search and filter" as a high-priority item to the product backlog, along with a task for "Implement enhanced transaction data validation" to address the compliance query. The team discusses the effort involved and provides preliminary estimates. The revised backlog then guides the planning for subsequent sprints.
This process ensures that the development of the mobile application remains aligned with evolving user and business needs.
Practical Applications
Sprint reviews are widely applied in organizations that adopt Agile methodology, particularly within software development and product management. Their utility extends beyond mere demonstrations, serving as a cornerstone for responsive project management in dynamic environments. In the financial services sector, for instance, sprint reviews help firms rapidly adapt to changing market conditions, evolving customer demands, and new regulatory requirements.4 By regularly showcasing functional increments, financial institutions can accelerate time-to-market for new products, such as mobile banking features, investment platforms, or internal compliance tools. They also enable proactive risk management by allowing early identification of issues and immediate course correction, contributing to a higher return on investment for development efforts. Sprint reviews foster transparency and collaboration, crucial for complex projects involving diverse teams and external oversight bodies.3
Limitations and Criticisms
Despite their benefits, sprint reviews can encounter limitations. One common criticism is that they can sometimes devolve into a mere "show and tell" session rather than a collaborative discussion, especially if stakeholders are disengaged or the focus is solely on presentation rather than genuine feedback loop and adaptation. If the Scrum Team perceives the review as a performance evaluation rather than a collaborative inspection, it can hinder honest communication about challenges or incomplete work. Additionally, managing the expectations of a large or diverse group of stakeholders during a sprint review can be challenging, potentially leading to conflicting demands or scope creep if the Product Owner does not effectively manage the product backlog. Critics also point out that the emphasis on "working software" over comprehensive documentation in Agile can lead to insufficient records, making it difficult for new team members to gain full context or for long-term strategic planning.1, 2 Successful sprint reviews depend heavily on active participation, clear communication, and a shared understanding among all participants of the event's purpose.
Sprint Review vs. Sprint Retrospective
While both are essential events within the Scrum framework, the sprint review and the Sprint retrospective serve distinct purposes. The sprint review focuses outward, inspecting the product increment and adapting the product backlog. Its goal is to answer the question: "What did we build, and what should we build next?" It involves the Scrum Team and external stakeholders, discussing the delivered value and future product direction.
Conversely, the sprint retrospective focuses inward, inspecting the team's process and adapting its way of working. Its goal is to answer: "How did we work, and how can we improve our process?" This event is typically attended only by the Scrum Team, fostering a safe environment for discussing internal challenges, collaboration, tools, and practices to enhance efficiency and satisfaction in future sprints.
FAQs
What is the primary purpose of a sprint review?
The primary purpose of a sprint review is to inspect the completed work increment, gather feedback from stakeholders, and adapt the product backlog based on new insights.
Who participates in a sprint review?
The sprint review involves the entire Scrum Team (Product Owner, Scrum Master, and Developers) and key stakeholders who have an interest in the product's development, such as users, customers, or business leaders.
How long does a sprint review typically last?
According to the Scrum Guide, a sprint review is time-boxed to a maximum of four hours for a one-month sprint. For shorter sprints, the event is typically shorter.
Is a sprint review a formal presentation?
While a sprint review involves presenting the completed work, it is intended to be a collaborative and informal working session, rather than a rigid, formal presentation. The goal is to encourage dialogue and feedback.
What happens after a sprint review?
After a sprint review, the Product Owner typically updates the product backlog based on the feedback received and the team's discussions. This revised backlog then informs the planning for the next sprint, ensuring continuous improvement and alignment with evolving goals.