Scrum Events and Artifacts
The five events
The Sprint is the container - fixed length of one month or less, with no gaps between Sprints. All other events exist to support it.
- Sprint Planning - why (Sprint Goal), what (selected backlog items), how (plan). Timeboxed to eight hours for a one-month Sprint.
- Daily Scrum - 15 minutes, for the Developers, to inspect progress toward the Sprint Goal and adapt the plan. It is not a status report to anyone.
- Sprint Review - inspect the Increment with stakeholders and adapt the Product Backlog. It is a working session, not a demo or a gate.
- Sprint Retrospective - inspect how the last Sprint went regarding people, process, tools and Definition of Done; identify improvements.
The three artifacts and their commitments
Product Backlog → Product Goal; Sprint Backlog → Sprint Goal; Increment → Definition of Done. Each artifact has a commitment that gives it focus and transparency. The Sprint Backlog is a plan by and for the Developers and updates during the Sprint.
Traps to watch
- Events are timeboxed, not targets - ending early is fine if the purpose is met.
- The Sprint Review is about the product, the Retrospective about the process; don't swap them.
- The Daily Scrum is not the only time Developers may meet or adapt their plan.
- Timeboxes scale with Sprint length; a shorter Sprint shortens every event proportionally.
Rule of thumb
Ask "which artifact does this event inspect, and which commitment does it serve?" If the answer is unclear, the proposed activity probably belongs inside an existing event.
Worked example
A team wants a separate "bug triage" meeting. Better: handle triage inside refinement of the Product Backlog, and let the Sprint Review adapt the backlog based on stakeholder feedback.