Skip to main content

Who defines the Sprint Goal

Last post 02:38 pm October 30, 2018 by Panagiotis Timotheatos
7 replies
01:43 pm October 19, 2018

I have some doubts regarding this tópic. If we see the  Scrum Guide It says: "During the Sprint planning the Scrum Team  also crafts a Sprint Goal"

But I thought that the Product Owner was the one that set the Sprint Goal.

So, can you help me yo clarify Who defines the Sprint Goal? PO or Scrum Team?

Thank you in advance


02:56 pm October 19, 2018

Go with what the Scrum Guide says... The Scrum Team. 

The Sprint Goal is a collaborative effort by the entire team. Since the PO cannot dictate what the team will work on during a sprint, how can the PO decide what the Sprint Goal is? The PO gives guidance on what the stakeholders want and what will provide the most value and through collaboration with the dev team and SM, they work together to draft the Sprint Goal.


05:24 pm October 19, 2018

Thank you for your quick answer. It makes sense what you say :). 


08:56 am October 23, 2018

The PO cannot dictate,but he is the one who prioritizes PBIs for the next iteration by working closely with the stakeholders. So, once the PO sets the tone for the upcoming sprint by providing selection criteria, the development team starts picking up the PBIs which it thinks it can complete in the next iteration. Then the scrum team together formulates the sprint goal.


10:27 am October 23, 2018

The PO cannot dictate, but he is the one who prioritizes PBIs for the next iteration

One minor nite.  It is a myth in Scrum is that the Product Backlog is prioritized.  It is actually ordered.


08:32 pm October 26, 2018

It is a myth in Scrum is that the Product Backlog is prioritized.  It is actually ordered.

 

 Would you be so kind to clarify it? In my mind product backlog may be prioritized and ordered.


09:25 pm October 26, 2018

Hi Alfredo - Priority is just one way to order the Product Backlog, but it is not always the best or the most practical.  Often you have to factor in risks, dependencies, learnings the Scrum Team should acquire, costs, cost of delay, etc. 

Here are sone articles you can read which may help out:

https://www.scrum.org/resources/ordered-not-prioritized

https://www.barryovereem.com/myth-5-in-scrum-the-product-backlog-is-prioritized/

All the best,

 

Chris


12:06 am October 30, 2018

Chris that's a great point!

 

Thanks for sharing,

Panagiotis


By posting on our forums you are agreeing to our Terms of Use.

Please note that the first and last name from your Scrum.org member profile will be displayed next to any topic or comment you post on the forums. For privacy concerns, we cannot allow you to post email addresses. All user-submitted content on our Forums may be subject to deletion if it is found to be in violation of our Terms of Use. Scrum.org does not endorse user-submitted content or the content of links to any third-party websites.

Terms of Use

Scrum.org may, at its discretion, remove any post that it deems unsuitable for these forums. Unsuitable post content includes, but is not limited to, Scrum.org Professional-level assessment questions and answers, profanity, insults, racism or sexually explicit content. Using our forum as a platform for the marketing and solicitation of products or services is also prohibited. Forum members who post content deemed unsuitable by Scrum.org may have their access revoked at any time, without warning. Scrum.org may, but is not obliged to, monitor submissions.