If you are interested in Agile, no doubt you have heard of Sprints. But what are they? Well in this article I plan to reveal all and explain more.

What is a Sprint in Agile? Sprint is an iteration of time boxed work that is used within the scrum framework of Agile. Typically, these sprints are short, modularised pieces of development/testing which aims to meet the sprint goal.

To truly understand how Sprints fit into the whole Agile methodology, you need to read on. I will explain the different between sprints and scums, how sprints fit into the Agile Scrum framework and more detail about sprints in Agile.

What is the difference between a scrum and a sprint? 

In some cases people may get these confused, but effectively they're very different. A scrum is a meeting, that is typically done on a daily basis and it's an opportunity for the team members to get together to make sure they're still on track for the sprint.

It is an opportunity to work through any challenges they may have had the day before, and to focus their attention on what needs to be done for that particular day.

It's usually a very short 15 to 30 minutes get together, and then you continue with your rest of your day, and the main focus is on the sprint itself.

The Sprint on the other hand. Is an agreed iteration of work to be delivered in a agreed timeframe.

What an Agile sprint cycle? 

A sprint cycle is really just another way to say a Sprint. As discussed earlier, a sprint is a timed boxed piece of work used in the scrum framework.

What is Agile sprint planning? 

Sprint planning is effectively planning the up coming sprint.  It is a collaborative effort which typically involves a scrum master.

For those of you that are familiar with the framework of scrum. The idea is, the scrum master facilitates the planning of upcoming sprints, and agrees, with the project team, all of the backlog items in the product backlog that are going to be used in each sprint.

What actually goes into a sprint? 

As discussed earlier, a sprint it is an agreed selection of backlog items that will be delivered in an agreed time frame. Obviously the very specific tasks that are delivered are subjective to the project that you're working on. 

For example, let's say that you are building a new banking application, then maybe you'll have two weeks to work on just the graphical user interface and that will be the focus of the first two weeks.

The day-to-day scrums will make sure that you're on track to deliver that sprint goal.

How long does a sprint usually last? 

As you can imagine, there is a bit of subjectivity here because it depends on your individual project, or how your company works, but the average is about two weeks.

It can be shorter, it can be a week or it could even be longer. It's not recommended to have really long sprints because the whole beauty of Agile is to have quick sprints, and then get quick feedback and quick iterations.

To cut a long story short, two weeks is the average, but you could be looking anywhere from one to four weeks, but most people go for two weeks.

Related Questions:

What is a sprint backlog? A sprint backlog is effectively a list of tasks that have been identified to be delivered throughout the entire Agile project.

Each sprint consists of the agreed list of work items, for example, the two week sprint, that are taken from the sprint backlog. Effectively, the sprint backlog  could literally be a document which has all of the pieces of work and development that are gonna be done throughout the entire project.

What is a sprint forecast? A sprint forecast is a scrum guide that refers to what will actually be delivered throughout the project itself.

This is largely reliant on the product backlog and the items that are selected for each sprint. It gives you a forecast of where you're going and where you're going to get to with your actual project.

What is a confluence sprint planning template? If you're into the world of Agile, then maybe you've come across confluence before.

Effectively, confluence is a collaboration tool that is used to help teams to collaborate and share their knowledge. The sprint planning template is just a template within this tool which enables Agile teams to work more effectively together, and effectively that's what it is.

The Agile methodology comprises a set of values and principles applied in the processes for developing software just like other software development methodologies such as the Waterfall model. The word “agile” refers to the capability of something to move easily and rapidly. This is a major feature of the Agile methodology.

When used, it takes a shorter timeframe to complete a project when compared to other methodologies. Iterations are used in Agile projects to deliver prearranged features. The following information will improve your understanding on what is the Agile methodology discussed in the ISTQB certification.

Key Phases Involved in Agile Methodology

1. The Concept Phase: During this first step, you and your team analyzes and arranges projects in order of importance. Each concept will require a definition of the business opportunity and how much time it will take to deliver the project.
   
   Once this information is compiled, you will be able to determine the achievability of each project and know which one is worth working on.
   
   
2. The Inception Phase: Here, you will work on the requirements with the stakeholders. You can create a flow chart that explains how the feature you’re developing should work.
   
   You then choose people who work on your team and develop a timeline for each activity showing when specific work needs to be completed for the length of the sprint.
   
   
3. The Iteration Phase: The developers and designers start to work on the initial iteration of the project. Their main goal here is to create a working product at the end of the given timeframe. This is just the first iteration as the product will go through quite a number of adjustments.
   
   
4. The Release Phase: To complete the software iteration, the system is tested for errors or malfunctions. The user and system documentation are finalized for everyone to get a clear picture on how the system works and how they can improve it. After this, the iteration is released into production.
   
   
5. The Production Phase: In this phase, your team works at ensuring the system functions smoothly and trains the users how to work with it.
   
   
6. The Retirement Phase: It is in this final step that you move the system from production, more so when you’re ready to replace it with another release.

So What Exactly is an Agile Sprint?

An Agile sprint refers to the specific duration of time during which certain tasks have to be finished and prepared to be reviewed. Sprints usually last for about 10 working days and comprise the following steps:

• A planning meeting where the team gets together and discusses the mechanisms for the forthcoming work.
• Designing and developing the product keeping the official guidelines in mind.
• Testing the results and documenting them.
• Presenting the product to the client.
• Gathering feedback from the client and integrating it in the next sprint.

What Does the Agile Scrum Refer To?

The Scrum is a subdivision of the Agile methodology. It is the most commonly used set of practices for Agile development. In simpler terms, it is a framework used to manage processes involved in a project. Scrum is mostly used when developing intricate software through the use of iteration practices.

It is preferred due to the fact that it reduces time and increases your team’s productivity. In addition, Scrum makes allows you to easily adjust to changes in product requirements. It helps you to:

• Handle change easily.
• Improve the quality of the finished product.
• Take control of the project timeline.
• Give the best estimates while simultaneously using less time to create them.

Scrum is dependent on a team that is self-organizing, such that the entire team will together make decisions on who will be assigned what task. Also, everyone in the team must have the ability to develop a feature from the concept to execution phase.

There are two major roles in the Scrum model; the Scrum Master who is basically the team leader and the Product Owner/PO who is the customer/user.

So what is Agile Design?

When you think about it carefully, agile design refers to the implementation of Agile development principles to the design process. Due to the fact that every designer on your team is different, it is important for you to choose the best techniques that work for you and get accustomed to them as you move on.

Some of these principles include:

• Involving your clients in every step of the processes: This is the best way for you to ensure that the client gets a clear understanding of what they are working towards as opposed to conventional design processes that work at a creating a perfect final end-product.
• Compile work from your teams regularly: This will help you to detect bugs or issues that may interfere with the overall product and fix them immediately or note them down to be adjusted in the next iteration.
• Always Carry Out Tests: Frequent testing will allow your team to identify and solve problems and this will consequently catalyze your team’s creativity.

What Are the Most Common Tools Used in Agile Design?

In order to be successful, designers and developers need to seamlessly work together.
The following are some of the most common collaboration tools and software used in Agile design:

• Slack: A chat application that keeps your team updated every minute.
• Justinmind: A prototyping tool for both mobile and web applications.
• Asana: Assists your teams to plan their projects and organize daily activities through a platform the enables them to track the status of their jobs.
• Agreedo: Helps your team to plan scrum meetings.
• ProductPlan: Assists with creating roadmaps which help your team to visualize the strategy.

To sum it up, the Agile Methodology has proven to be the best with regards to using less time in the software development process. Did you enjoy this detailed explanation regarding the Agile Methodology? I chose to cover the areas as presented so as to explain the main components involved in this methodology and in the simplest way possible.

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