Sprint demo
A sprint demo is the part of the end-of-sprint meeting where a team shows stakeholders the working software it finished during the sprint. Scrum has no event called a demo. Its event is the Sprint Review, which the Scrum Guide 2020 calls a working session that the team should avoid limiting to a presentation.
The longer version
The word demo does not appear in the Scrum Guide 2020. Teams use it anyway, as shorthand for the showing part of the Sprint Review, where the Scrum Team presents the results of its work to key stakeholders. Some teams call the whole event the demo, and the name tends to shape the meeting. An hour billed as a demo becomes a presentation with an audience, while a review is supposed to end with a conversation about what to do next and, where needed, an adjusted Product Backlog.
A few habits make the showing part work. Only finished work is shown, since the Guide says an item that does not meet the Definition of Done cannot be presented at the Sprint Review. The software runs in a real environment with realistic data, and the person driving follows a user's task from start to end. Slides and screenshots of code say little to a stakeholder who wants to know whether the thing works. Each item opens with the problem it solves, so the people watching know what to judge.
Feedback is the reason for showing anything. Comments made while people are looking at the product are specific, and they fade quickly once the call ends, so someone other than the presenter records them against the screen or the item they concern. A demo is also a poor place for sign-off. Acceptance against agreed criteria belongs to the Product Owner's check of each story or to user acceptance testing, and the Guide says the Sprint Review should never be considered a gate to releasing value.
Common questions
What is a sprint demo?
A sprint demo is a demonstration of the work a team completed during a sprint, given to stakeholders at the end of that sprint. In Scrum it happens inside the Sprint Review, where it is followed by discussion of progress and of what to do next.
Is a sprint demo the same as a sprint review?
The sprint demo is one part of the sprint review. The Scrum Guide defines the Sprint Review as a working session in which the Scrum Team and stakeholders inspect the outcome of the sprint and determine future adaptations, and the demonstration is the portion where the work is shown.
Who presents at a sprint demo?
The people who built the work usually present it, with the Product Owner framing what the sprint set out to achieve. The Scrum Guide says only that the Scrum Team presents the results of its work to key stakeholders, so each team decides who drives.
What should a team show in a sprint demo?
A team should show work that meets its Definition of Done, running in a real environment. Unfinished items are named as unfinished and left out of the demonstration, because the Scrum Guide says work that does not meet the Definition of Done cannot be presented at the Sprint Review.
How long should a sprint demo take?
The Scrum Guide sets no length for a demo, since it does not define one. The Sprint Review that contains it is timeboxed to a maximum of four hours for a one-month sprint and is usually shorter for shorter sprints, and the demonstration should leave room for the discussion that follows.
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