Sprint goal

What It Means

A Sprint Goal is what a Scrum TeamScrum teamThe small, self-managing group that does the work in Scrum: one Product Owner, one Scrum Master and the Developers, typically 10 or fewer people. See more sets out to achieve in one Sprint. In the 2020 ScrumScrumA lightweight framework, defined in the Scrum Guide, in which a small team delivers work in fixed-length Sprints of one month or less and adjusts after each one. See more Guide's words it's "the single objective for the Sprint." It gives the team a reason to work together rather than on separate side projects, while leaving room in the exact work needed to reach it. Everyone on the team agrees it at Sprint PlanningSprint planningThe Scrum event that starts each Sprint, where the whole Scrum Team agrees why the Sprint is valuable, what can be done in it and how the work will get done. See more, and the Developers commit to it.

How People Say It

• "What's the sprint goal again?"
• "Does this help the sprint goal, or can it wait?"
• "We hit the goal even though two tickets slipped."

The Breakdown

How to set a Sprint Goal

1. At Sprint Planning, the Product OwnerProduct ownerThe one person on a Scrum Team accountable for maximizing the value of the product and for managing the Product Backlog, including the order of its items. See more explains how the product could gain value in this Sprint.
2. The whole Scrum Team talks it through and agrees one objective.
3. Write it as one sentence that says what will be true at the end of the Sprint and why it matters.
4. Pick the backlogProduct backlogIn Scrum, the ordered list of everything needed to improve a product, and the single source of work for the Scrum Team. See more items that serve it, and add the goal to the Sprint BacklogSprint backlogIn Scrum, the Sprint Goal, the Product Backlog items chosen for the Sprint and the Developers' plan for delivering them, kept visible and updated daily. See more.
5. Use it every day: the Daily ScrumDaily scrumThe 15-minute Scrum event where the Developers meet each working day to check progress toward the Sprint Goal and adjust their plan. See more checks progress toward the goal.
6. If the work turns out bigger than expected, trim or swap tasks with the Product Owner and keep the goal intact.

Example goals (Buhata's own)

The weaker versions are task lists. The stronger ones name an outcome, so the team can drop or swap a task and still get there.

Where It Comes From

The Sprint Goal comes from the Scrum Guide by Ken Schwaber and Jeff Sutherland. Its 2020 edition, per Scrum.org's summary, made it the commitment attached to the Sprint Backlog and added "why is this Sprint valuable" as the first question of Sprint Planning.

Good to Know

A Sprint Goal is fixed for the Sprint while the task listTo-do listA written list of the tasks you plan to do, checked or crossed off as each one is finished. See more under it can change. The 2020 Scrum Guide says changes that would put the Sprint Goal at risk are not made during the Sprint, and scope is renegotiated with the Product Owner instead. If the goal itself stops making sense, only the Product Owner can cancel the Sprint.

Related Terms and Categories

• Sprint planning

  The Scrum event that starts each Sprint, where the whole Scrum Team agrees why the Sprint is valuable, what can be done in it and how the work will get done.

• Sprint backlog

  In Scrum, the Sprint Goal, the Product Backlog items chosen for the Sprint and the Developers' plan for delivering them, kept visible and updated daily.

• Product goal

  In Scrum, the long-term objective for a product, a future state the team plans toward, kept in the Product Backlog as its commitment.

• Daily scrum

  The 15-minute Scrum event where the Developers meet each working day to check progress toward the Sprint Goal and adjust their plan.

• Definition of done

  In Scrum, the formal description of the quality a piece of work must reach before it counts as part of the Increment.

Productivity methods and focus