Scrum events

There is a tricky difference between Attend and Participate. Participation means being active attendee and give input to the meeting. Attend means quite passive observation. You ovserve but do not participate.
Thus:

Sprint Planning - the whole Scrum Team actively participates. The DT may invite domain experts for the 2nd Topic (How?) of the meeting.
Daily Scrum - DT participates. SM, PO may attend.
Sprint Review - ST participates and collaborates.
Sprint Review - ST participates again.

Thanks Illya. It's still not clear to me which events stakeholder need to participate:

1. Is domain expert considered a stakeholder? If so, the participants of Sprint Planning are basically everybody: the whole ST plus stakeholders. Correct?

2. Sprint Review - Scrum Guide specifies: "During the Sprint Review, the Scrum Team and stakeholders collaborate about what was done in the Sprint". So the attendees include both ST and stakeholders. Correct?

3. Sprint Retro - again, do stakeholders participate in this event?

Thanks again,
Bin

Posted By Bin Zhang on 14 Jul 2014 11:54 AM
Hi all,

4. Sprint Retro: 3h for 1-month sprint. Attendants: SM, DV. (Scrum Guide specifies "The Scrum Master participates as a peer team member in the meeting from the accountability over the Scrum process". So I assume SM needs to attend, but not PO. Correct?)

Sprint Retrospective

The Sprint Retrospective is an opportunity for the "Scrum Team" to inspect itself and create a plan for improvements to be enacted during the next Sprint.

Think about who is on the scrum team.

Michael

Based on the comments, my understanding is:

Sprint Planning - ST + stakeholders
Daily Scrum - DT (PO/SM optional)
Sprint Review - ST + stakeholders
Sprint Review - ST

Correct?

Posted By Bin Zhang on 14 Jul 2014 01:24 PM
Based on the comments, my understanding is:

Sprint Planning - ST + stakeholders
Daily Scrum - DT (PO/SM optional)
Sprint Review - ST + stakeholders
Sprint Review - ST

Correct?

This is not 100% correct if you read the guide.
Spending time studying it will really pay dividends in your quest for scrum knowledge.
The exam is very different from the open exam in the fact it will test your thinking.
Don't just run with trying to compile a list of questions to sit the exam with.

Michael

Michael, thanks for the reply. But trust me, I've read the guide 7 or 8 times already. I'd really appreciate if you could let me know where I was wrong. You don't have to give me the answer, but at least point me a direction where I can focus on. Many thanks in advance.

Posted By Bin Zhang on Jul 2014 12:16 PM
Thanks Illya. It's still not clear to me which events stakeholder need to participate:

1. Is domain expert considered a stakeholder? If so, the participants of Sprint Planning are basically everybody: the whole ST plus stakeholders. Correct?

Not necessarily. They many not have any stake in the product/project. They are domain experts who can provide valueable information for the Development Team.

2. Sprint Review - Scrum Guide specifies: "During the Sprint Review, the Scrum Team and stakeholders collaborate about what was done in the Sprint". So the attendees include both ST and stakeholders. Correct?

Yes, that is true. And you'd better have end users on your review.

3. Sprint Retro - again, do stakeholders participate in this event?

No, this is forbidden. Retro is the even during which the ST inspects itself and adjusts accordingly. PO must attend this meeting too.

Posted By Illya Pavlichenko on 14 Jul 2014 02:20 PM

Posted By Bin Zhang on Jul 2014 12:16 PM
Thanks Illya. It's still not clear to me which events stakeholder need to participate:

1. Is domain expert considered a stakeholder? If so, the participants of Sprint Planning are basically everybody: the whole ST plus stakeholders. Correct?

Not necessarily. They many not have any stake in the product/project. They are domain experts who can provide valueable information for the Development Team.

Thanks again Illya!

So for Sprint Planning, only ST is required to attend?

If true, that is what gets me. In my opinion, Sprint Planning and Sprint Review should go hand in hand - in the Sprint Review the whole group (including key stakeholders invited by PO) collaborate about what was done in the Sprint, and the next things that could be done in the next sprint, which leads to the next Sprint Planning.

But why are key stakeholders needed in the Sprint Review, but not Sprint Planning? If they didn't participate the Planning, they wouldn't know what was planned and thus might not have an effective Review. What am I missing?

But why are key stakeholders needed in the Sprint Review, but not Sprint Planning? If they didn't participate the Planning, they wouldn't know what was planned and thus might not have an effective Review. What am I missing?

The stakeholders attend the Sprint Review and PO gathers valueable input from them (feedback). New features may appear in the Product Backlog, order changed etc. The output of the Sprint Review is the updated Product Backlog. It should be transparent and well communicated so that stakeholders could understand what Product Backlog Items come next. The transparency of the Product Backlog is the key.

This said, PO remains the voice of the customer and represents them during Sprint Planning.

Posted By Illya Pavlichenko on 14 Jul 2014 03:05 PM

But why are key stakeholders needed in the Sprint Review, but not Sprint Planning? If they didn't participate the Planning, they wouldn't know what was planned and thus might not have an effective Review. What am I missing?

The stakeholders attend the Sprint Review and PO gathers valueable input from them (feedback). New features may appear in the Product Backlog, order changed etc. The output of the Sprint Review is the updated Product Backlog. It should be transparent and well communicated so that stakeholders could understand what Product Backlog Items come next. The transparency of the Product Backlog is the key.

This said, PO remains the voice of the customer and represents them during Sprint Planning.

That makes sense. Thanks Illya. Really appreciate your help.

> 1. Is domain expert considered a stakeholder? If so, the participants of Sprint
> Planning are basically everybody: the whole ST plus stakeholders. Correct?

Anyone who has input into a system, or who has a dependency upon its output, is a stakeholder. This would include domain experts if they do in fact provide input to the design or development of that system.

As Illya says, if the Development Team think it is appropriate to do so, they can invite domain experts to the second part of Sprint Planning. This is typically done in order to resolve technical uncertainties or dependencies.

> 2. Sprint Review - Scrum Guide specifies: "During the Sprint Review, the
> Scrum Team and stakeholders collaborate about what was done in the Sprint".
> So the attendees include both ST and stakeholders. Correct?

The attendees include the Scrum Team and any product stakeholders that the Product Owner thinks should be invited.

> 3. Sprint Retro - again, do stakeholders participate in this event?

Only the Scrum Team should participate in the Sprint Retrospective. This is because they are the ones who own, and are accountable for, the process that they follow. The Retrospective subjects that process to inspection and adaptation and so it would be inappropriate for any other stakeholders to participate.

Or to put it another way, only the Scrum Team should participate in a Retrospective because they are the only "stakeholders" in the process (as opposed to the wider range of product stakeholders).

I think the Guide is not totally clear about that, but I would differentiate between "must"/"may" and - as said above - sometimes between "participate"/"attend":

Sprint Planning: Def-Team (must attend), PO (must attend), SM (may attend), third parties (may attend by invitation of Def-Team)

In the Guide it says "entire Scrum Team" but for SM it says "The SM ensures that the event takes place and that attendants understand its purpose. The Scrum Master teaches the Scrum Team to keep it within the time-box". As with the Daily Scrum the SM probably doesn't has to attend, if Scrum is understood and team is self-organizing (my point of view).

Daily Scrum: Def-Team (must attend), SM (may attend), PO (may attend but not participate?)

"The Scrum master enstures that the Def-Team has the meeting, but the Def-Team is responsible for conducting the Daily Scrum." and "The Scrum Master enforces the rule that only Dev Team members participate in the Daily Scrum".

Sprint Review: Def-Team (must attend), PO (must attend), Stakeholders (may attend by inv. of PO), SM (may attend)

again the formula "SM ensures and teaches" (in my understanding has not to attend if the group is able to self-organize the meeting after scrum is understood).

Sprint Retrospective: def-team (must), SM (must), PO (must?)

"The Scrum Master participates as a peer team member in the meeting from the accountability over the Scrum process". Makes sense, that this event is the only mandatory for SM to attend and participate.

Not sure about PO, e.g. if the impediments mainly arise from def-problems. So in my understanding PO is more a "may attend and participate, if needed".

I read in some literature, that others (like stakeholders) may attend in other meetings, but must not participate (probably a decision of the SM in accordance to the team).