Sprint Backlog within Agile Projects with Scrum
The Sprint Backlog is a prioritized list of Requirements that are required to complete the Sprint Goal. The Product Owner is responsible for prioritizing the Product Backlog, while the Scrum Team is responsible for determining the number of Requirements that are added to each Sprint. The Sprint Backlog is created during the Sprint Planning Session and should be visible to the Scrum Team throughout the Sprint. This visibility is achieved through a Task-board that is placed in the Development Environment.
Sprint Backlog Contents
In addition to the Sprint Backlog containing a prioritized list of requirements, it should also include effort estimates for each user story or task. The Effort Estimates are provided by the Scrum Team for each of the Tasks required to be completed during the Sprint. Breaking down the requirements then enables the user stories and tasks to be defined. Additionally, the status of each of each of these items can be tracked on a burndown chart for the sprint.
Sprint Burndown Chart
Viewing the Sprint Progress can be achieved through the Sprint Burndown Chart, where work completed can be compared with work remaining. The burndown chart typically includes one plot for scheduled effort and another plot for actual effort. The scheduled effort typically reduces proportionally during the entire sprint and should be followed closely by the work completed.
Common Mistakes
There are several common mistakes that are encountered by the development team when working on the sprint backlog. Some of the most common issues include:
* Tasks not reflecting the stakeholder requirements.
* The product owner accepting incomplete work.
* Assigning multiple concurrent tasks to individual developers.
Each developer should only work on a single task until it has been completed. The development team should also coordinate which tasks are prioritized within the sprint. It is not up to the product owner to assign tasks to each of the team members.
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