Execute (kickoff and sprints)

The project goes through several sprints iterations which will follow the common structure.

How to plan sprints

Each sprint should start with the following.

1. Discuss and set a goal
2. Review and Assign user story
3. Estimate the fitting effort
4. Assign issues to a specific milestone

Sprints meetings

The following meetings take place during the sprints.

• Sprint planning: kicking off the sprint(s).
• Daily stand-up: general daily status meeting (details are discussed outside of this meeting).
• Sprint review: showcase the work of the team through a demo and celebrate accomplishments
• Post mortem: understand what worked well and what did not.

How to properly kick-off (Sprint 0)

The kick-off sprint will prepare the upcoming developments.

• Everybody should attend
• Present the personas and user story
• Define the product backlog which will list most if not all of the tasks for the upcoming issues
• Define clearly the goals
• Schedule the milestones
• Outline the roles
  • Product backlog: the main owner of the product
  • Scrum master: handling scrums and keep things on track
  • Development team: outline skills of each

Dos and don’ts

Definitely do

• Keep the sprints duration consistent
• Always focus on the current sprint planning
• Outline low hanging fruits for each sprint
• Plan with some leeway (add unplanned time and corporate overhead)
• Allow team members to make decisions

Do not

• Plan all sprints ahead
• Add additional taks in an ongoing sprint
• Do not schedule a milestone to finish on a Thursday or Friday (avoid weekend support)
• Do not skip daily stand-up meetings
• Make estimates or commitments on team’s behalf