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🔄 Scrum Sprint Cycle

Roles, events, artifacts, and timeboxes — the complete Scrum framework
Process Domain · Agile · ~50% of Exam
🔄 Sprint Cycle Flow
flowchart LR
  PB["📋 Product Backlog
Owned by PO
Prioritized list of
all desired work"]
  SP["📝 Sprint Planning
⏱ 8hr max (4wk sprint)
Select items → create
Sprint Backlog + Sprint Goal"]
  SPRINT["🏃 Sprint
⏱ 1–4 weeks (typically 2)
Team builds the
increment"]
  DS["☀️ Daily Scrum
⏱ 15 min
Sync, plan next 24hr
Inspect progress"]
  SR["🔍 Sprint Review
⏱ 4hr max
Demo increment
Get feedback"]
  RETRO["🔄 Retrospective
⏱ 3hr max
Inspect process
Plan improvements"]
  INC["📦 Increment
Potentially shippable
Meets Definition
of Done"]

  PB --> SP
  SP --> SPRINT
  DS -.->|"Every day
during sprint"| SPRINT
  SPRINT --> INC
  INC --> SR
  SR --> RETRO
  RETRO -->|"Next sprint"| SP

  style PB fill:#dbeafe,stroke:#2563eb
  style SP fill:#fef3c7,stroke:#b45309
  style SPRINT fill:#dcfce7,stroke:#16a34a
  style DS fill:#fef3c7,stroke:#b45309
  style SR fill:#ede9fe,stroke:#7c3aed
  style RETRO fill:#fce7f3,stroke:#c026d3
  style INC fill:#dcfce7,stroke:#16a34a
👥 The 3 Scrum Roles

🎯 Product Owner

  • Owns and prioritizes the Product Backlog
  • Defines user stories and acceptance criteria
  • Maximizes the value of the product
  • Single person (not a committee)
  • Makes scope decisions
  • Represents stakeholders and customers

🛡️ Scrum Master

  • Servant leader for the team
  • Removes impediments
  • Coaches the team on Scrum practices
  • Facilitates events
  • Shields team from distractions
  • Does NOT assign work or manage the team

💻 Development Team

  • Self-organizing — decides HOW to do the work
  • Cross-functional — has all skills needed
  • Ideal size: 3–9 members
  • No sub-teams or hierarchies
  • Collectively accountable for the increment
  • Pulls work from Sprint Backlog
📅 The 5 Scrum Events

🏃 Sprint

⏱ 1–4 weeks (typically 2)
The container for all other events. A fixed timebox during which the team creates a potentially shippable increment. Sprint length doesn't change once set.
Key rule: No changes that endanger the Sprint Goal. Scope may be clarified with PO.

📝 Sprint Planning

⏱ 8hr max for 4-week sprint
What can be done this sprint? How will it get done? Team selects items from Product Backlog and creates the Sprint Backlog.
Who: Entire Scrum Team. Output: Sprint Goal + Sprint Backlog.

☀️ Daily Scrum

⏱ 15 minutes max
Quick sync: What did I do? What will I do? Any impediments? Same time, same place every day. Not a status report to the Scrum Master.
Who: Development Team (SM facilitates if needed, PO optional).

🔍 Sprint Review

⏱ 4hr max for 4-week sprint
Demo the increment to stakeholders. Gather feedback. Discuss what's next. Adapt the Product Backlog based on feedback.
Who: Scrum Team + stakeholders. Not a sign-off meeting.

🔄 Sprint Retrospective

⏱ 3hr max for 4-week sprint
Inspect the process: What went well? What didn't? What to improve? Create actionable improvement items for next sprint.
Who: Scrum Team only (no stakeholders). Last event in the sprint.
📦 The 3 Scrum Artifacts
📋

Product Backlog

Ordered list of everything needed in the product. Single source of requirements. Continuously refined.
Owner: Product Owner
📝

Sprint Backlog

Items selected for the sprint + plan for delivering them. Owned by the Dev Team. Updated daily.
Owner: Development Team
📦

Increment

Sum of all completed backlog items. Must meet the Definition of Done. Potentially shippable every sprint.
Commitment: Definition of Done
📊 Key Agile Metrics

Velocity

Story points completed per sprint. Used for forecasting, not performance evaluation.

Burn-Down Chart

Work remaining vs time. Slopes downward. Shows if team is on track within a sprint.

Burn-Up Chart

Work completed vs total scope. Shows progress AND scope changes over time.

Cycle Time

Time from work started to work completed. Lower = more efficient.

Lead Time

Time from request to delivery. Includes wait time. Customer-facing metric.

Cumulative Flow

WIP and flow over time. Widening bands = bottleneck. Used heavily in Kanban.

💡 Exam Tips

Sprint Review ≠ Retrospective. Review = inspect the product (with stakeholders). Retro = inspect the process (team only).

Scrum Master ≠ Project Manager. SM is a servant leader and coach, not a task assigner or decision maker.

Product Owner is ONE person. They can delegate work but are the single accountable voice for backlog priority.

Definition of Done is a shared understanding of what "complete" means. If it doesn't meet DoD, it's not in the increment.