Scrum Sprint Kickoff: What will be done in this Sprint?

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]The first important ceremony in the Scrum process is the Sprint kickoff (planning) meeting. This is the meeting where the sprint objectives are explained . In our company this is the primary meeting where the product owner presents the business case. The product owner (PO) is the only one who has contact with the client. In our scenario, he performs a proxy role and fully represents the client. He is also the one who has the most comprehensive domain knowledge. This enables him to take proper responsibility for the backlog.

The core focus of the meeting is to present the stories to the rest of the team. Clarity is very important. We aim to establish a maximum level of transparency with the understanding that each story is a promise for a conversation. The communication channels are established and maintained between the PO and the DEV team throughout the sprint. In our organisation (and I believe in most) the product owner has a lot on his plate. To make sure that communication is maintained throughout the sprint, the DEV team has regular contact sessions with the PO.

The product owner enters the kickoff meeting with a pre-defined goal in mind. After a few sprints, he usually has a reasonable goal lined up. It is, however, the prerogative of the DEV team to present a ‘counter offer’. The PO takes the time to present backlog items to be completed during the current sprint. Enough stories are presented to ensure that there are additional backlog items available should the estimated work be completed before the allocated time elapses.

To summarise the actions performed during this part of the sprint meeting:

1. The PO presents the product backlog items
2. The team makes sure that they understand each of the stories. Transparency is maximised

The roles are summarised as follows:

1. The PO presents the stories as compiled during discussions with the client. He also presents the acceptance criteria which becomes the input for the writing of tests.
2. The DEV team clarifies the stories to ensure maximum transparency. Together the PO and the DEV team aims to get all stories ‘DONE’ (ready to be worked on)
3. The Scrum Master guides the process and ensures that the ‘What’ and the ‘How’ does not get confused. He helps the team to let the stories speak for themselves.

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