Sprint Goals are designed to provide focus for the Sprint and add value to the Product Goal.
In the 2020 Scrum Guide, Schwaber and Sutherland augmented the idea of the Sprint Goal. Importantly, they highlighted that the Sprint Goal is a commitment to ensure:
The Sprint Goal is the single objective for the Sprint. Although the Sprint Goal is a commitment by the Developers, it provides flexibility in terms of the exact work needed to achieve it. The Sprint Goal also creates coherence and focus, encouraging the Scrum Team to work together rather than on separate initiatives. The Sprint Goal is created during the Sprint Planning event and then added to the Sprint Backlog. As the Developers work during the Sprint, they keep the Sprint Goal in mind. If the work turns out to be different than they expected, they collaborate with the Product Owner to negotiate the scope of the Sprint Backlog within the Sprint without affecting the Sprint Goal.
Schwaber & Sutherland (2020) The Scrum Guide
The Sprint Goal can be considered as a short term mission that can be achieved in service to the Product Goal. The Sprint Goal should describe the idea of “why are we doing this Sprint” and should encapsulate a step towards that desired outcome. There should only be one per Sprint, to give the team focus.
It takes time for teams to learn how to define a Sprint Goal. Many just start off with “deliver x number of items from the Product Backlog, but this neither creates focus nor does it describe why the team is doing this work during the Sprint.
A good Sprint Goal should describe:
No: "Deliver X items from the Product Backlog". Yes: "Deploy X Feature to help Y Users improve their data compliance which stakeholders can then see in their reports"
Our focus is on <Outcome>
We believe it delivers <Impact> to <Customer>
This will be confirmed when <Event happens>
Our focus is on having SAP integrated into the corporate system
We believe it delivers improved features functionality and increasing productivity to Department X
This will be confirmed when the colleagues in Department X are using the improved features and can see the benefits.
Hinshelwood, M. (2020) The Sprint Goal is a commitment for the Sprint Backlog. Online at: https://www.scrum.org/resources/blog/sprint-goal-commitment-sprint-backlog
Pandey, A. (2022) Crafting a good sprint goal. Online at: https://www.scrum.org/resources/blog/crafting-good-sprint-goal
Trapps, S. (2020) Sprint Goal Template. Online at: https://www.scrum.org/resources/blog/sprint-goal-template
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