Reaching for a well-crafted Sprint Goal
A recent sprint planning session with my team got me thinking about the importance of a Sprint Goal and how it is often glossed over. When well-crafted a Sprint Goal is very valuable to the team otherwise it is just a checking off the box for "do we have a Sprint Goal", which of course isn't very useful. Let's start by taking a look at what the Scrum Guide says about the Sprint Goal. the phrase Sprint Goal shows up 19 times in the current Scrum Guide. Under The heading of Sprint Planning - Why is this Sprint Valuable? , the Scrum Guide has this to say: The Product Owner proposes how the product could increase its value and utility in the current Sprint. The whole Scrum Team then collaborates to define a Sprint Goal that communicates why the Sprint is valuable to stakeholders. The Sprint Goal must be finalized prior to the end of Sprint Planning. The PO makes sure the team understands what value they should focus on delivering in the current Sprint. The PO brings to