Sprint review
A sprint review is the Scrum event at the end of a sprint where the Scrum Team and stakeholders inspect the Increment, the work completed in the sprint, and discuss progress toward the Product Goal. Under the 2020 Scrum Guide its purpose is to inspect the outcome of the sprint and decide what to adapt next.
The longer version
The Scrum Team presents the results of its work to key stakeholders, and progress toward the Product Goal is discussed. Stakeholders react, ask questions and say what has changed in their world, and the Product Backlog may be adjusted as a result. The Scrum Guide 2020 calls it a working session and says the team should avoid limiting it to a presentation. It is timeboxed to a maximum of four hours for a one-month sprint and is shorter for shorter sprints.
The sprint retrospective that follows is for the Scrum Team alone and looks at how the work was done. The review looks at what was built and is open to stakeholders. The Guide adds that the review "should never be considered a gate to releasing value", since an Increment may be delivered to stakeholders before the sprint ends. Work has to meet the definition of done before it is shown, and a review is a poor place to find that it does not.
Working software in a real environment gives better feedback than slides, and feedback written down while people are looking at the product is worth more than recollection afterwards. Teams that collect annotated screenshots or recordings of comments, tied to the thing being shown, leave the review with items that can go straight to the backlog.
Common questions
What is a sprint review?
A sprint review is the Scrum event held at the end of a sprint, in which the Scrum Team shows the completed Increment to stakeholders and everyone discusses progress toward the Product Goal. The outcome is a shared view of what was built and what the team should work on next.
Who attends a sprint review?
The whole Scrum Team attends, meaning the Product Owner, the Scrum Master and the developers, and presents the results of its work to key stakeholders. Stakeholders are the people with an interest in the product, such as customers, sponsors or colleagues from other teams, and their feedback is the main input.
How does a sprint review relate to the sprint retrospective?
The sprint review inspects the product Increment with stakeholders and can change the Product Backlog. The sprint retrospective is held afterwards by the Scrum Team alone and inspects how it worked, to plan improvements to its process, tools and relationships. One looks at the work, the other at the way of working.
How long should a sprint review last?
The Scrum Guide sets a maximum of four hours for a one-month sprint, and the event is usually shorter for shorter sprints. A two-week sprint therefore tends to need an hour or two, with the time spent discussing the Increment, not preparing slides.
Is a sprint review a demo?
A demonstration of the working Increment is normally part of the sprint review, but the event is meant to be more than that. Stakeholders give feedback, the group discusses progress toward the Product Goal, and the Product Backlog may be adjusted, so it is a working session and not a one-way presentation.
Bug reports that arrive ready to triage.
Collect replay, console, network and browser context with the Free plan.