In
our previous article on Agile meetings, we discussed sprint planning. Let’s look at what happens next.
Sprinting and the Daily
Scrum
Once
we’ve finished sprint planning and have a commitment, we are ready to start the
sprint. This is a two-week time box in which the team creates a tranche of working,
potentially deliverable software.
During
a sprint the team will hold a daily scrum, a 15-minute meeting in front of the sprint backlog (a visual display of what needs to be done,
usually in the form of a whiteboard covered in written-on Post-It notes).
This provides an opportunity to
synchronise as a team and talk about what we’ve done, what we plan to do and
anything standing in our way.
The
scrum master oversees the meeting and listens out for any problems that may
have arisen that could cause a delay.
It’s their responsibility to remove impediments and mitigate any future
risk. The scrum master uses a number of
charts and techniques to understand if the team is on track and, if it’s lost
direction, how to get it back on track.
We
encourage continual feedback, so outside of the daily scrum there are regular
conversations within the team and with the product owner to ensure we’re on the
right path. The sprint is finished at the end of two-week time box.
Keep an eye out for
our next article on the ‘Sprint Review’.
