Does your Scrum Team attend meetings - or experience events?
Sounds like semantics, right?
It’s not.
The difference is the difference between ‘talking about work’ and ‘moving work forward.’
The Scrum Guide mentions “meetings” only twice.
“Events,” on the other hand, appear twenty-four times.
That’s not an accident.
“Events are used in Scrum to create regularity and to minimize the need for meetings not defined in Scrum.”
“Daily Scrums improve communication, identify impediments, promote quick decision-making, and consequently eliminate the need for other meetings.”
So you could deduce that Scrum Events are meetings…
Cambridge Dictionary defines:
- Event: “Anything that happens, especially something important or unusual.”
- Meeting: “A planned occasion when people come together to discuss something.”
See the difference?
Meetings ‘discuss’ things.
Events ‘cause’ things to happen.
Scrum Events aren’t placeholders on a calendar - they’re catalysts for action.
They exist to inspect something tangible (the Increment, the Product Backlog, the Sprint Backlog, the system) and adapt based on what’s learned.
If nothing happens, it wasn’t an event. It was just another meeting.
Let’s be honest: many teams turn Scrum Events into mechanical check-ins.
- Sprint Planning: extended wish-listing.
- Daily Scrum: a 15-minute round of status.
- Sprint Review: a product demo, not a conversation.
- Retrospective: therapy session, no change.
That’s not Scrum. That’s theatre.
And it’s why people say “Scrum meetings are a waste.”
A Scrum Event is alive.
It’s interactive, participatory, uncomfortable, and action-oriented.
It invites curiosity, disagreement, and decisions.
It doesn’t ‘talk about’ inspection and adaptation - it ’does’ them.
Try this:
Search Google Images for “meeting.”
Now search for “event.”
Notice the difference? One is a room of glazed faces; the other, a vibrant space full of energy.
Which do you want your Scrum to feel like?
Scrum doesn’t need more meetings. It needs better events.
Facilitate them to be engaging, focused, and outcome-driven.
People should leave an event with clarity, commitment, and maybe even a smile.
Because in Scrum, events aren’t where time goes to die - they’re where learning and progress come alive.
I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below!
I hope you find value in these short articles and if you are looking for more clarifications, feel free to make contact.
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Wishing you an inspiring read and a wonderful journey.
Scrum on!
