Sprint Backlog

Beyond a forecast of task, the Sprint Backlog is crafted around a Sprint Goal.

Olivier, isn't it the other way around, i.e. isn't the Sprint Goal crafted from the Product Backlog items that the Development Team forecasts? I'll admit that this always sounded a bit backwards to me, but that is how I read the Scrum Guide -- forecast the items, then craft the goal.

However, as you write that it is forecasting *tasks* (instead of *items*), are you saying your opinion is that the Sprint Backlog is a "complete task list" instead of the team's "plan for the Sprint"?

Thanks!

> isn't the Sprint Goal crafted from the Product Backlog items that
> the Development Team forecasts?

Yes but bear in mind that the subset of PBI's which are forecast do not wholly represent the Sprint Backlog. The technical activities for meeting the Sprint Goal must still be planned. This is the second topic addressed in Sprint Planning, and is conducted only once a Sprint Goal has been formulated.

Ian -- that's helpful -- thank you. However, I am probably hung up on semantics in trying to understand which answer was correct. We often suggest that a Sprint is, itself, a project. For me, I think of a traditional "plan" as being the "who, what, when". However, at the end of the Sprint Planning, you won't necessarily have that for the entire Sprint -- maybe for the first several days, but not for the entire Sprint. So, from that perspective, it isn't a "plan", so that's not a great answer. Of course, one can think of a "plan" as simply being the approach (ie, more high-level, not yet having all the "who" assigned or all the micro tasks yet identified); if so, that could fit.

On the other side, it can't be a complete list of *all* work for the Sprint, either. Yes, a list of needed tasks would be there, but not a *complete* list of all tasks to complete the Sprint, so that's not a good answer, either.

Maybe I just need a better definition of "plan" and "complete list of all work" ...

Think of a plan and a forecast as amounting to the same thing in Scrum, and as being evolved in a just-in-time manner. This implies that the various parts of the plan (or forecsst) may exist at different levels of granularity.

Hence, by the end of Sprint Planning, the first 2-3 days of a Sprint Backlog may represent a detailed forecast of work, while the remaining activities or tasks might potentially be planned only in sketch.

Remember that no matter how vague or detailed a plan of work, the total forecast ought to be quantifiable so that the amount that is thought to remain can be summed.

Ian -- another big thanks to you! Interestingly, I had this exact question on two different exams. Both times, I wrote it down to follow-up because it was one of several that I was unsure about. One one exam, I called it a "plan", on the other, a "list of all tasks". So, I obviously missed it on one of them. In looking at the categories identified in the test results, on one exam, I had two missed 2 total questions (1 in Scrum Framework, 1 in Scrum Theory & Principles); in the other exam, I didn't miss anything in those two categories and the two categories I did miss anything don't appear on the first exam. So, by reasoning, I can tell for sure that I missed it on the first one, and that seems consistent with the discussion we just had here.

That raises another question I've had -- what category would this question be in -- "Scrum Framework", or "Scrum Theory & Principles"? I really wish the exams would show you the question's category as you are presented with it.