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Glossary
Agile & Scrum

What is Sprint?

A Sprint is a time-boxed iteration within the Scrum framework, usually lasting between one and four weeks. It serves as a focused window where a cross-functional team works to deliver a finished, usable, and potentially releasable product increment.

When to use it

Sprints should be used when a team wants to break down a large project into manageable increments to reduce risk and increase predictability. They are particularly effective for software development teams that need to incorporate regular stakeholder feedback and pivot quickly based on new information.

Example

A SaaS team building an invoicing module might set a two-week sprint to focus on 'PDF Generation' and 'Email Notifications.' They pull these specific tasks from the product backlog into the sprint backlog based on their historical velocity of 30 story points. During the 14-day window, they hold daily standups to sync, and by the end of the sprint, they have a functional demo ready for stakeholder review.

How Planet Roadmap helps with Sprint

Planet Roadmap has a dedicated Sprint view that allows teams to group tasks into time-boxed iterations and track completion progress with an automated burndown chart.

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FAQ

How is a Sprint different from a Kanban cycle?
While Kanban is a continuous flow of work without fixed end dates for a batch of tasks, a Sprint is a rigid duration with a specific commitment of work that the team aims to complete by the deadline.
What happens to tasks that are not finished by the end of the Sprint?
Unfinished tasks are reviewed during the sprint retrospective and moved back to the product backlog, where they are reprioritized for a future iteration rather than automatically rolling over.

Related terms

ScrumProduct BacklogSprint PlanningSprint RetrospectiveDaily StandupVelocityBurndown ChartDefinition of DoneUser StorySprint ReviewSprint Velocity

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