Even though department heads are busy, it is still important to remain on top of what is happening with the rest of the company. One of the most useful types of meetings is called a sprint review meeting. For teams that follow an agile methodology, sprint reviews allow for regular check-ins where feedback and discussion can take place–helping team members grow in their field–while also providing visibility to the rest of the organization.
The Purpose of Sprint Review Meetings
In an Agile methodology, the goal is to develop a potentially shippable product, feature, or campaign during every sprint. Therefore, sprint review meetings are necessary for making sure that these goals were accomplished. When the various team members break up and do their own thing, they might not stay in the loop with other team members.
When multiple departments are pulled in different directions, a sprint review agenda can bring everyone together to see which teams are reaching their project goals. Made up of equal parts celebration and constructive feedback, these review meetings are an essential aspect of agile teams.
The Sprint Review Checklist
At the end of every sprint, bring your team together and cover your goals, the work you accomplished, and take a look ahead. Use this helpful sprint review agenda for your next meeting:
- Review the goal(s) of the previous sprint
- Demo (demonstrate) the product/feature/campaign completed
- Invite and collect feedback from the team about the product
- Note and discuss sprint work that was not completed
- Peek at the remaining backlog and look ahead at the next sprint
First, take a look at the goals you and the team set during your sprint planning meeting. See if they were met. As with other parts of this meeting, don’t get bogged down on questions of process (that’s a topic for your sprint retrospective).
Next, take a look at the products, features, or campaigns. Demonstrate this product and show everyone how it works. During this stage, ask the team to submit feedback on the design, build, or project in general. Requesting this feedback beforehand can help keep this part of the meeting moving swiftly, but remember to allow for live feedback if your team is comfortable.
If there was any work from the sprint that wasn’t completed, note this in your report. Some teams may want to dive into why or defend their work. Remember that a sprint review meeting is not the time for process discussions. Ask your team to bring those thoughts to the sprint retrospective.
Finally, take a look at the backlog. This helps the team to reset, reorient, and prepare for the next sprint planning meeting.
This checklist will help everyone make sure they get out of their sprint review meetings as much as possible. For teams in larger organizations, this may need to be summarized in a sprint review agenda template.
Sprint Review vs Retrospective
There is a common source of confusion. While they might take place back-to-back, these separate meetings serve different purposes.
The sprint review focuses on the work that has been accomplished. The review meeting might also focus on work that hasn’t been completed yet but might require feedback. Typically held immediately after the sprint review, the goal of a sprint retrospective is to examine the processes that took place behind the work or how the work was accomplished.
Agile teams need to understand the critical role that review meetings play in an agile methodology. When sprint review meeting agendas are run correctly, they can drastically improve the performances of an organization by maintaining visibility and alignment across teams and departments.
