Sprint Goal

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The Sprint Goal is an objective set for the Sprint that can be met through the implementation of Product Backlog items. It provides guidance to the Development Team on why it is building the Increment and brings coherence to their work. The Sprint Goal is decided during Sprint Planning and gives the Team a way to collaborate towards a shared goal instead of perceiving the work to be done as a collection of separate Product Backlog items. Having a clear Sprint Goal gives direction and offers room for flexibility and creativity.

Guide: Understanding the Sprint Goal

The Sprint Goal is a short, succinct statement that provides a view of what the Scrum Team wants to accomplish during the sprint.

Importance: The Sprint Goal provides a shared objective, and sets the team's focus on a particular problem, feature or functionality. It directs the team towards achieving a common goal, rather than just completing isolated user stories or tasks.

How It Works: In the Sprint Planning meeting, once the product backlog items for the next Sprint are selected, the Scrum Team crafts the Sprint Goal. It should align with the overall product vision. During the Sprint, all the actions and decisions of the team should be guided by this goal.

Exam Tips:
1. Understand the overall intent: The Sprint goal serves the purpose of aligning the team onto a common objective. It’s not about clicking off tasks but achieving an overarching goal.
2. Consider examples: For instance, a goal could be 'Improve the user registration process' rather than 'Develop User Registration Page'.
3. Consider Sprint Goal during changes: Before accepting any changes during the Sprint, the impact on the Sprint Goal is considered.
4. Use S.M.A.R.T: The Sprint Goals should be Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Timely.
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PSM I - Sprint Goal Example Questions

Test your knowledge of Sprint Goal

Question 1

In a daily Scrum meeting, the team deviated from the Sprint goal and started to work on different aspects that are not relevant to the Sprint Goal. How should the Scrum Master handle this situation?

Correct Answer: Raise the issue in the meeting and remind the team about the Sprint Goal.

The Scrum Master's role includes coaching the team to stay focused on the Sprint Goal and ensuring that Scrum practices are followed. While guiding the team back to the Sprint Goal during the Daily Scrum is crucial, the other options distract from this focus. Suggesting a pause for goal refinement or advising to continue as is overlooks the immediate need to correct the course. Initiating a Sprint Retrospective mid-Sprint to address this issue goes beyond the purpose of the Daily Scrum and the Scrum principle of time-boxing. Hence, the correct approach is to address the deviation promptly within the scope of the Daily Scrum.

Question 2

As a Scrum Master, your team has set a very vague Sprint Goal, which is hard to measure and understand. What is your recommendation to rectify this situation?

Correct Answer: Encourage the team to revise the Sprint Goal to make it specific, achievable, and relevant.

The correct answer focuses on improving the Sprint Goal's clarity and relevance, which is a key responsibility of the Scrum Master in facilitating the team's understanding and commitment. Instructing the Product Owner to set separate objectives bypasses the collaborative nature of Scrum. Suggesting a broad and flexible Sprint Goal disregards the purpose of having a clear direction and measurable progress, which is essential for transparency and adaptation. Benchmarking against unrelated past projects could mislead the team's focus and does not directly contribute to making the current Sprint Goal more effective.

Question 3

Developers are having a hard time aligning their work with the current sprint goal and are often conflicting. As a Scrum Master, what would you suggest?

Correct Answer: Encourage the team to collaboratively revisit and align on the sprint goal during the daily scrum.

The correct answer reinforces the importance of team collaboration and alignment on the sprint goal, which is pivotal in Scrum. It's the Scrum Master's role to facilitate this alignment if the team is struggling. The wrong answers, while plausible in some contexts, detract from this core responsibility. Assigning specific tasks by the Product Owner undermines the self-organizing principle of Scrum teams. Increasing the frequency of retrospectives might help address conflicts but doesn't directly ensure alignment on the sprint goal during the sprint. Rotating the Scrum Master role could provide learning opportunities but might not solve the immediate issue of alignment.

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Other Scrum Artifacts concepts

Definition of DoneProduct BacklogProduct GoalProduct OwnerScrum BoardSprint BacklogSprint BurndownSprint RetrospectiveSprint Review
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