Lesson 4.2 — Planning and the Daily Scrum

Sprint Planning kicks off the Sprint. The entire Scrum Team participates — Developers, the Product Owner, and the Scrum Master. Together they answer three questions: WHY is this Sprint valuable (defining the Sprint Goal)? WHAT can be done this Sprint (selecting Product Backlog items)? HOW will the chosen work get done (creating a plan, the Sprint Backlog)? The Sprint Goal gives the Sprint a single objective and gives Developers flexibility in how they achieve it. The Daily Scrum is a 15-minute event held every day of the Sprint, and it belongs to the Developers. Its purpose is to inspect progress toward the Sprint Goal and adapt the Sprint plan as needed. The Scrum Guide is explicit: the Daily Scrum is FOR the Developers. The Scrum Master does not run it; the Product Owner and Scrum Master attend only if they are also doing development work. A very common misconception is that the Daily Scrum is a status report to a manager or the Scrum Master. This is wrong. It is the Developers' own planning meeting, held in their own format. The classic three-question format ('What did I do yesterday? What will I do today? Any impediments?') is just one possible structure — the Scrum Guide no longer mandates it. The only requirement is that the event focuses the Developers on progress toward the Sprint Goal.