Skip to content 
How To Have Successful Sprint Review Meetings
If you want to run your team agilely, you need a successful sprint review meetings process. This is a meeting where the team demonstrates what they have accomplished in the last sprint and discusses what they will do in the next one.
As with any Agile meeting, the goal is always to keep the whole process focused on specific objectives. This means that a successful sprint review meeting is well-organized and runs smoothly. With clear goals and objectives, your team can use the meeting to showcase their work and get feedback from stakeholders.
This article will discuss some tips for having a successful sprint review meeting. By the end of it, you will know how to set up the meeting, run it effectively, and get the most out of it.
Let’s get right into it.
Sprint Reviews In Agile
The sprint review meeting is a vital part of the agile methodology. It’s a meeting where the team demonstrates what they have accomplished in the last sprint and discusses what they will do in the next one. The goal of the meeting is to get feedback from stakeholders and help the team members align their work with the project’s overall objectives.
The meeting usually lasts for one to two hours, and it is generally held on the last day of the sprint. The team demonstrates their work by walking through each user story they completed during the sprint. They also show any prototypes or products that they have created. After that, they discuss how each story was implemented and answer any questions from stakeholders.
Speaking of stakeholders, the sprint review meeting is an excellent opportunity for the team to get feedback from them. It can help them clarify what they should be working on in the next sprint and help identify any potential roadblocks.
Keeping in mind the Scrum principles of commitment, courage, focus, openness, and respect, the sprint review meeting is a chance for the team to show their work and get feedback. This allows them to make any necessary changes before the next sprint begins.
Setting Up A Successful Sprint Review Meeting
Now that you know what the sprint review meeting should achieve, let’s look at setting it up effectively. Here are some steps to follow.
Pre-Meeting
1. Set Clear Goals And Objectives
The first step in setting up a successful sprint review meeting is to set clear goals and objectives. This will help ensure that everyone understands why the meeting is taking place and what they should be looking to achieve.
Some things to consider when setting goals and objectives include:
- What do you want the stakeholders to learn from the meeting?
- What do you want the team to accomplish in the next sprint?
- What are the potential roadblocks that could prevent the team from achieving its goals?
2. Create An Agenda
Once you have set your goals and objectives, it’s helpful to create an agenda for the meeting. This will help ensure that everyone is on track and that no one gets off-topic.
The agenda should include:
- Introductions – who is attending the meeting, and what are their roles?
- Review of Previous Sprint – what was accomplished during the last sprint?
- Demonstration of Work – how will the team be demonstrating their work?
- Discussion of Roadblocks – what are the potential roadblocks that could prevent the team from achieving its goals?
- Next Steps – what are the next steps for the team?
During The Meeting
1. Setting The Stage
The Product Owner starts by letting everyone know what the goal of the meeting is and what will be discussed. By reviewing what the sprint goals were, stakeholders can get a sense of where they’re at and what still needs to be done.
Sometimes, the Product Owner will dive a bit deeper into a specific context to ensure that everyone is on the same page.
2. Demonstrations
Any products that can be potentially released are demonstrated by the Development Team.
3. Feedback
The Development Team asks for feedback from the stakeholders on the product. The stakeholders might also evaluate whether the goals that were set for the sprint were accomplished.
4. Product Backlog
The focus then turns to the Product Backlog, especially those items that didn’t meet the definition of done. This is a good time to get feedback on those items from the stakeholders, as well as review any new information that might mean a change in priority for those items.
5. What’s next?
Finally, the attention turns to the future.
When it comes to the next sprint (or two), what items from the Product Backlog should the Development Team focus on?
What are the goals for those sprints?
These are all questions that are discussed (and answered) during this last part of the sprint review meeting.
Post-Meeting
1. Send Out Meeting Notes
To ensure everyone is on the same page, sending out meeting notes after the sprint review meeting is helpful. This will help clarify any decisions or actions taken during the session.
Moreover, sending out meeting notes can help keep the team accountable and ensure that everyone is on track to achieve their goals.
2. Follow Up With Stakeholders
Following up with stakeholders after the sprint review meeting is a great way to get feedback and ensure everyone is happy with the project’s direction.
3. Celebrate Successes
The sprint review meeting is also an excellent opportunity to celebrate successes. The team should take a moment to reflect on what they have accomplished and how far they’ve come. This can help motivate them for future sprints.
You can set up a successful sprint review meeting to help your team achieve their goals by following these tips.
Crucial People To Attend A Sprint Review
The Sprint Review is a meeting that is open to all stakeholders. This includes team members, managers, executives, and other individuals interested in the project. By inviting all stakeholders to attend, you can ensure that everyone understands what was accomplished during the sprint and what the team plans to achieve in the next sprint.
The Primary Purpose Of A Sprint Review Meetings
The primary purpose of a Sprint Review is to allow stakeholders to see the work accomplished during the sprint and provide feedback. The meeting should also include a discussion of potential roadblocks and next steps for the team.
Directing The Sprint Review
The scrum master or product owner typically runs the Sprint Review meeting. By having a designated individual responsible for running the meeting, you can ensure that it stays on track and that everyone has an opportunity to participate.
Typical Sprint Review Occurrence
The Sprint Increment Review should happen after the end of the sprint and before the start of the next sprint. This allows the team to have a feedback loop and make adjustments based on their feedback.
The Difference Between Sprint Review And Sprint Retrospective
The Sprint Review is a meeting that is open to all stakeholders. This includes team members, managers, executives, and any other individuals interested in the project. By inviting all stakeholders to attend, you can ensure that everyone understands what was accomplished during the sprint and what the team plans to achieve in the next sprint.
The Sprint Retrospective is a meeting that is open to team members only. This meeting allows the team to reflect on their past sprint and identify any potential areas for improvement. By focusing on the past sprint, the team can make changes that will help them improve their performance in future sprints.
Running A Remote Sprint Review Meeting
Part of a sprint planning process is the creation of a sprint review meeting agenda. If running a remote sprint review, everything else previously discussed still applies. Yet, there are a few other things that you will need to keep in mind.
With the focus on remote team management, the need to have a Sprint Review meeting that is both effective and efficient is critical. One can effectively run a remote Sprint Review meeting by following the following steps:
1. Preparation
A successful remote Sprint Review meeting requires preparation by both the team and the ScrumMaster. The team’s ScrumMaster will need to ensure that everyone understands what will be reviewed during the session and what is expected. The team should also have a good understanding of the product and what was accomplished during the sprint. One can do this by either reviewing the product backlog items or a demo of the completed features.
2. Agenda
One should tailor the agenda for a remote Sprint Review meeting to meet the team’s specific needs. Some common agenda items include:
- A review of the product backlog items and how they were addressed during the sprint
- A demonstration of the completed features
- Questions and feedback from stakeholders
- Reviewing the sprint goals and how the team met them
3. Facilitation
As the ScrumMaster, ensuring that the meeting is effectively facilitated is essential. This includes ensuring that everyone has an opportunity to speak, keeping the meeting on track, and ensuring that all questions are answered.
Even more importantly, when having a remote review, it is also vital to ensure that everyone stays engaged. This can be done by ensuring that the meeting is interactive, using visuals and other tools to keep everyone engaged, having a BNB wallet and asking engaging questions as the meeting progresses.
4. Recording
It is often helpful to have a recording of the Sprint Review meeting, especially if it is conducted remotely. This can be used as a resource for future reference or for training purposes.
When you consider that a remote sprint review meeting is an integral part of the sprint planning process, it is essential to ensure that it is both effective and efficient. With more and more teams having members that work remotely, it is essential to understand how to effectively run a remote sprint review, while still following the same process as if everyone were in the same room.
Ensuring that everyone can see and hear everyone else, utilizing an interactive agenda, and recording the meeting are all key to success.
A remote Sprint Review meeting can be as effective as a traditional meeting to review the progress of a sprint and get feedback from stakeholders.
Top Tips For Having Long-Term Successful Sprint Review Meetings
Now that we’ve looked at how to prepare for a successful sprint review meeting, let’s take a look at the critical ingredients for making these meetings run smoothly, time and time again.
Having an Effective Daily Stand Up Scrum Review Meetings
Having a team that can effectively communicate and collaborate is key to a successful sprint review meeting. One way to help ensure this is by using a daily kanban stand-up.
The daily kanban stand-up helps keep the team constantly updated on the project’s status. This includes sharing what has been completed, items in progress, and what still needs to be done. In addition, it allows team members to identify any potential roadblocks that may have arisen and work together to find a solution.
Having a daily kanban stand-up can help improve communication and collaboration within the team, leading to a smoother and more productive review meeting at the end of the sprint.
Using The Right Scrum Board
Another way to help ensure a successful sprint review meeting is by using the right Scrum Board. This helps track the project’s progress and visually displays what has been completed, what is in progress, and what still needs to be done. This can help team members understand the project’s status better, especially when it comes to team collaboration.
There are various scrum boards that you can use, depending on your needs and specific company policies. While the details of the board may vary, the key is to ensure that it is effective in tracking the progress of the project and that team members are using it regularly.
Everyone Directly Involved In The Review Should Attend The Meeting
The sprint review meeting is a crucial part of the scrum process and should include all those directly involved in the project. This includes team members, stakeholders, and anyone else who may impact the project.
Inspection And Adaptation Are Key
Inspection and adaptation are two critical concepts in the scrum review. Inspection refers to constantly looking at what is being done and making changes as needed. Adaptation refers to making changes to the plan based on feedback from stakeholders or team members.
The sprint review meeting is an ideal opportunity for inspection and adaptation. Stakeholders can provide feedback on the project, and team members can adapt the sprint plan based on that feedback. This helps to ensure that the project is continually moving forward and meeting the needs of those involved in it.
Storytelling Review
One way to provide feedback during a sprint review is through storytelling. Storytelling allows team members to share what they have accomplished during the sprint and how they could achieve it. It also provides an opportunity for stakeholders to give feedback on the story and its implementation.
Storytelling can be a powerful tool for providing feedback and helps to keep everyone engaged in the meeting.
Get Feedback From Customers And Stakeholders
Part of the Agile Workflow lifecycle is to get feedback from customers and stakeholders. This helps ensure that those most impacted by the project have a voice and can provide feedback on the project’s progress.
Each sprint review allows stakeholders to see what has been done so far and gives them a glimpse into the project’s future.
Set The Expectations Of Everyone Involved
One way to help ensure a successful sprint review meeting is by setting expectations ahead of time. This includes letting team members know what will be expected of them during the meeting and ensuring that everyone is on the same page.
It also includes letting stakeholders know what to expect from the meeting and setting expectations for how they can provide feedback. This helps to ensure that everyone is prepared for what’s to come.
Consider A Live Demo Of Product Functionality
Rather than going with a dry presentation that might be irrelevant to the customers, try a live demonstration of product functionality. This is where you’ll have someone show how the product works as it’s being built.
This can be an extremely effective way to get feedback from customers and stakeholders. Based on the type of product in question, it could also provide them with a better understanding of how the product will work when it’s fully completed. In addition, it helps to build excitement for the product and encourages feedback that can help guide those that are working on it in their day to day.
Can Self Employed Use Scrum Review?
If you’re a self employed consultant, you can absolutely use scrum. In fact, scrum can be a great way to help keep your projects organized and on track.
While you might not be able to go through the whole lifecycle and employ all of the practices associated with scrum, you can certainly use sprints and review meetings to improve your project management.
The best self employed jobs will allow you to iterate quickly and efficiently, learn from your mistakes, and move on to the next task.
Sprint review meetings can help you do all of those things by giving you regular feedback from clients or customers, allowing you to track your progress, and keeping you accountable to deadlines.
Final Thoughts
Taking the time to prepare for a sprint review meeting and ensuring that everyone has the same understanding of what will happen is critical to its success.
By setting expectations ahead of time and using various techniques to get feedback during and after your review, you can help make each review meeting you have a success.
In addition, never forget that being agile and adaptive is key to any successful team and project.
Recent Articles:
