Delivery sprints
Our delivery teams work in sprints.
Sprints are repeating fixed length events of a month or less. The pattern of sprints is the 'sprint cadence'.
There is no gap between sprints; a new sprint starts immediately after the previous one.
For more details, read the Taking Farmers to Market sprint schedule in SharePoint.
On this page:
# Teams agree on a sprint pattern
Most of our delivery teams work in sprints of 2 weeks (Tuesday to Wednesday).
Different cadences have pros and cons:
- Long sprints can give the team more focused time, but may end with an invalid sprint goal.
- Short sprints can help the team learn faster and reduce cost, but may reduce time to reflect.
# Sprints include repeating events
Everything needed to achieve the sprint goal happens during each sprint:
- sprint planning
- daily standups
- sprint review
- sprint retrospective (retro).
# Teams follow rules to protect the sprint
The team commit to make no changes to the sprint that will endanger the sprint goal or the quality of the service.
The team agrees to:
- communicate progress and likelihood of achieving the sprint goal
- refine the product backlog as needed
- work with the product owner to adjust the scope as the team learns more.
# Consistent patterns of work add value
When a team follows the same cadence it builds their consistency and focus on adding user value.
A fixed sprint cadence with an agreed goal means teams have protection from external influences during the sprint.
This balances efficiency, for the team to deliver value, with regular adaptation to changing priorities.
Sprints also help the team get better at predicting what they can do. This happens through the team's cycles of testing, reviewing and adapting the way they progress to agreed goals.