Sprint 0

Hello,
As far as I know, there is no Sprint 0.

For all purposes, you should start with Sprint 1 when you have a minimal set of product backlog items to work on.
Sprint length should be finalized after discussions with the product owner I reckon, as the risk should be acceptable to him.
Of course, the same should also be discussed with the development team.

There is a first sprint, with a potentially shippable (very small) increment.
You can name it sprint 0 ; sprint 1 ; sprint alpha ; sprint john... But it is a sprint

Hi,

Still I have some confusion on Sprint 0.

While reading some articles in net, a few are saying something on sprint zero similar to backlog refining. Do we need to rely on those information?

As per their explanation, its a sprint or duration to prepare a designable product back log for dev team or detailed estimation. When reading scrum guide or Sbok, there is nothing related to Sprint Zeros other than normal sprints. However any specific task or process we need to do for Spint zero from development team or product owner perspective? Could you please advise?

Thanks,
Arun P

We do not use the term "Sprint 0." You are referring to the time before Sprint 1, used to prepare an initial Product Backlog, build a Development Team, assign Product Owner and Scrum Master roles, build an initial development environment, etc.

It is not Sprint because it does not result in potentially releasable software. It's just the startup period. You should not spend more than a few weeks in this startup period before starting Sprint 1.

Best regards,
Mark Noneman
Professional Scrum Trainer

Posted By Mark Noneman on 24 May 2016 03:38 PM
We do not use the term "Sprint 0." You are referring to the time before Sprint 1, used to prepare an initial Product Backlog, build a Development Team, assign Product Owner and Scrum Master roles, build an initial development environment, etc.

It is not Sprint because it does not result in potentially releasable software. It's just the startup period. You should not spend more than a few weeks in this startup period before starting Sprint 1.

Totally agree with it.
The purpose of a sprint is to deliver a piece of functionality.
If there is not such a thing, this is not a sprint, but just a preparation (before your first sprint) to be ready to implement and deliver your first(s) functionality(ies).

This question has been asked multiple times, I would redirect it to Scrum Guide which says

"The heart of Scrum is a Sprint, a time-box of one month or less during which a “Done”, usable, and potentially releasable product Increment is created"

Though I don't mind starting my Sprint with any number, even negative, I know it looks silly.

When looking at Scrum, there is no definition such as Sprint 0 or Sprint 1. You can name them ofcourse, but if you get a question about this, the answers should be "Scrum does not define a Sprint 0 or Sprint 1".