What if we ‘Don't Remember the Sprint Goal’ in the Daily Scrum?
Emphasizing the importance of Sprint Goal for the Scrum Team
The Daily Scrum is an event internal to the Development Team. The Scrum Master ensures the Daily Scrum is held but not mandated to participate.
Why the Development Team need their Daily Scrum?
“The Development Team uses the Daily Scrum to inspect progress toward the Sprint Goal and to inspect how progress is trending toward completing the work in the Sprint Backlog.” — The Scrum Guide
What does the Development Team benefit from their Daily Scrum?
“The Daily Scrum optimizes the probability that the Development Team will meet the Sprint Goal. Every day, the Development Team should understand how it intends to work together as a self-organizing team to accomplish the Sprint Goal and create the anticipated Increment by the end of the Sprint.” — The Scrum Guide
What should the Development Team remember while coming up with a structure for the Daily Scrum?
“The structure of the meeting is set by the Development Team and can be conducted in different ways if it focuses on progress toward the Sprint Goal. Some Development Teams will use questions, some will be more discussion-based.” — The Scrum Guide
Can Sprint Backlog alone be sufficient in the Daily Scrum?
Even before trying to answer this question in a ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ format, we need to understand what does Scrum Guide has to mention the Sprint Backlog.
“The Sprint Backlog is the set of Product Backlog items selected for the Sprint, plus a plan for delivering the product Increment and realizing the Sprint Goal.” — The Scrum Guide
I can imagine what your expression might be now after reading that definition of the Sprint Backlog around the Sprint Goal in the Scrum Guide.
Are you trying to tell us that we can’t do anything meaningful in the Daily Scrum without the Sprint Goal?
Yes, that’s right. The purpose of a Sprint is to achieve the Sprint Goal by getting Product Backlog items done.
Inspecting progress toward that goal keeps the Development Team centered on what is important and avoids diving too far into details and losing sight of the big picture.
Absence of crafting a Sprint Goal / remembering the Sprint Goal in the Daily Scrum is like drawing on a canvas while wearing a blindfold.
When the Development Team doesn’t inspect the progress they have made and figure out how much they have left to do, they have no idea if they’ll complete the Sprint Goal.
Cascading effect of not remembering the Sprint Goal in the Daily Scrum:
- The Development Team ignore mentioning about Impediments since there is no clue on what is slowing them down
- Start working on too many things at the same time since there is no Sprint Goal to be met instead completion of Product Backlog Items (PBIs) is the Goal.
- The Development Team may derail the conversation in the Daily Scrum with a lot of unrelated topics spreading thin.
- Problem-solving becomes a norm in the Daily Scrum than just identifying the problems and deciding on the further course of action after the Daily Scrum is over.
- Increases silos and avoids healthy conflicts among the Development Team members that may come with daily forecasts around the Sprint Goal.
- Brings an existential question as a team in the Daily Scrum ‘Why we should work together & how you may benefit from knowing about my task?’
- The Development Team may give up creating a plan for the next 24 hours in the Daily Scrum creating more chaos and a reckless attitude towards building the increment.
Wrap Up!
Remember the need and effective usage of the Sprint Goal as a guiding light inside the Daily Scrum. The Daily Scrum is meant to optimize the probability that the Development Team will build the ‘Done’ Product Increment by meeting the Sprint Goal.
Are you still encouraging your Development Team to join the Daily Scrum without the Sprint Goal?
