Iteration Execution
From plan to done, iteration by iteration
Iteration Execution is the largest slice of the exam. Each iteration starts with Iteration Planning: the team selects stories from the Team Backlog up to its capacity, writes a small number of Iteration Goals that connect to the PI Objectives, and confirms the Definition of Done. The PO brings prioritized, refined stories and answers questions; the team estimates and pulls work.
During the iteration, the team sync (daily stand-up) surfaces flow and blockers; backlog refinement keeps the next iteration ready; built-in quality (test-first, continuous integration, standards) is not optional. At the end, the team runs an Iteration Review to demo the integrated increment to stakeholders and a retrospective to improve. POs accept stories only when they meet acceptance criteria and the DoD - ideally after seeing them.
The Innovation and Planning (IP) iteration is not slack: it holds PI system demo preparation, Inspect & Adapt, backlog refinement for the next PI, and learning or hackathon time.
Rule of thumb
Iteration Goals say “here is our contribution to the PI Objectives this iteration.” If the goal reads like a task list, it's wrong.
Traps
Changing scope mid-iteration (new work goes to the Team Backlog); conflating the Iteration Review (one team's increment) with the System Demo (integrated solution across the ART); accepting stories that are “one day away” forever; running the retrospective as a status meeting; forgetting the PO coaches what while the Scrum Master/Team Coach coaches how.