Sprints and Daily Scrum

Question 1

Why should timeboxes not extend beyond 4 weeks?

Answer 1

Becomes challenging to have manageable tasks.
Ability to control work diminished
Less control over schedule
Motivation may suffer because not seeing completion of work

Question 2

Should changes be allowed during a sprint?

Answer 2

Only small changes. Preserve the definition of “Done”

Question 3

What does it mean to be combining increments?

Answer 3

Taking results of multiple backlogs and testing them together.

Question 4

When running a large scale project, how does the scrum framework change?

Answer 4

It is preferred to have a single product backlog.
Preferred to have a single product owner. Multiple can cause confusion, have lack of control and lack of adaptability.
Sprints could run simultaneously.

Question 5

What accommodations should occur when running multiple sprints simultaneously?

Answer 5

Think about integrating the work from both sprint teams. Communication is key. Collaboration in sprint ceremonies is important.

Question 6

What questions should be asked when determining how to manage the flow of work?

Answer 6

1. How much work should occur in parallel?
2. When should work begin on a specific task?
3. How should task level work be organized?
4. Who should do the work?

Question 7

Can a sprint be canceled?

Answer 7

Yes

Question 8

When should a sprint be canceled?

Answer 8

Sprint goal needs to be reconsidered due to technology changes, consumer preferences, budget or schedule.

Question 9

What is sprint burn down?

Answer 9

Represents the time that remains.

Question 10

What is another term for a daily scrum meeting?

Answer 10

Daily Stand-up

Question 11

What is included in a daily scrum meeting?

Answer 11

Status of sprint is reviewed

Plans made for the upcoming day’s work

Question 12

Should daily scrum meetings occur before or after work begins?

Answer 12

Most optimal before.

Question 13

What are the benefits of the daily scrum meeting?

Answer 13

1. Motivation
2. Communication and Collaboration
3. Focus on goals of sprint
4. Synchronizes team’s work
5. Identify and remove challenges
6. Engage team to address challenges
7. Increase likelihood to meet goals
8. Reduce need for other meetings
9. Emphasize need to not postpone decisions
10. Increase transparency
11. Clarifies progress

Question 14

What are the mechanics of a successful daily scrum?

Answer 14

Timeboxed (15 minutes)
Standing (keeps focused)
Focus on 3 questions
Hold same time daily

Question 15

Why should daily scrum meetings be timeboxed to 15 minutes?

Answer 15

Keeps people focused on critical issues.

Question 16

What 3 questions should dominate daily scrum meetings?

Answer 16

1. What have you completed since the last meeting?
2. What do you plan to complete by the next?
3. What is getting in your way?

Question 17

What happens when people focus on effort and not what has been done?

Answer 17

People focus on their 3 hours of effort rather than getting done.

Question 18

How long should comments beheld to for participants?

Answer 18

2 to 3 minutes. Keep people from wandering

Question 19

Should the product owner attend daily scrums?

Answer 19

Sometimes but their attendance is less frequent than the scrum master.

Question 20

What tools can be helpful in daily scrum meetings?

Answer 20

Kanban chart

Burndown chart

Question 21

What opportunities does the Sprint review afford for the team?

Answer 21

Opportunity to examine the outcome, ask questions and make suggestions.

Question 22

What is the purpose of the sprint review?

Answer 22

Demonstrate work completed during the sprint.
Provide stakeholders the opportunity toe examine and compare results to the vision.
Transparent look at work.
Opportunity to make changes before attention turns to next sprint.

Question 23

Who attend the sprint review session?

Answer 23

Product Owner
Scrum Master
Development Team
Internal and external stakeholders

Encourage wide range of attendees to get feedback.

Question 24

Who runs the sprint review meeting?

Answer 24

Product Owner usually

Question 25

How long should a sprint review be?

Answer 25

For every week of sprint, there should be 1 hour of meeting.

Question 26

What are the outcome goals of the Sprint Review?

Answer 26

All attendees feel like they have had opportunity to ask questions and get answers to their satisfaction.

Question 27

What is the focus of the sprint retrospective?

Answer 27

Focus on the process that has been followed to deliver the product.
Focus on how artifacts were used
Focus on the team, not the stakeholders
Focus on how the shippable product aligned with customer’s wants

Question 28

What is looked at in a sprint restrospective?

Answer 28

1. People who worked on the sprint
2. Relationships between scrum team and stakeholders
3. Processes
4. Tools used

Question 29

What are common questions asked during a sprint retrospective?

Answer 29

1. What worked well?
2. What should the team continue doing?
3. What did not work well?
4. What should team stop doing?
5. How should the process be improved?