Ceremonies

Agile ceremonies are regular meetings that keep teams aligned, focused, and continuously improving. Each ceremony has a specific purpose and should be time-boxed.

Overview of Ceremonies

Sprint Planning

Purpose

Determine what can be delivered in the upcoming sprint and how the work will be achieved.

Participants

• Product Owner (required)
• Scrum Master (required)
• Development Team (required)

Inputs

• Refined product backlog
• Team velocity (historical)
• Capacity for the sprint
• Definition of Done

Process

Part 1: What (1-2 hours)

1. Product Owner presents top backlog items
2. Team asks clarifying questions
3. Team selects items they can commit to
4. Sprint goal is defined

Part 2: How (1-2 hours)

1. Team breaks items into tasks
2. Tasks are estimated (hours)
3. Dependencies identified
4. Work is distributed

Outputs

• Sprint backlog (committed items)
• Sprint goal
• Task breakdown

Best Practices

• Come prepared (review backlog beforehand)
• Don't over-commit (respect velocity)
• Define clear sprint goal
• Identify dependencies early

Daily Standup

Purpose

Synchronize the team, surface blockers, and maintain focus on the sprint goal.

Format

Each team member answers:

1. What did I complete yesterday?
2. What will I work on today?
3. What blockers do I have?

Guidelines

Async Standups

For distributed teams, async standups can work:

• Post updates in Slack/Teams
• Use consistent format
• Set a deadline for posting
• Follow up on blockers synchronously

Standup Template

**Yesterday**: Completed code review for auth module
**Today**: Implement password reset API endpoint
**Blockers**: Waiting on design specs for error states

Sprint Review

Purpose

Demonstrate completed work and gather feedback from stakeholders.

Participants

• Development Team (presents)
• Product Owner (facilitates)
• Stakeholders (provides feedback)

Agenda

What to Demo

• Do: Show working software
• Do: Demo to acceptance criteria
• Don't: Show incomplete work
• Don't: Demo technical implementation details (unless stakeholders want it)

Capturing Feedback

• Record all feedback
• Don't commit to changes immediately
• Add items to backlog for prioritization
• Thank stakeholders for input

Retrospective

Purpose

Reflect on the sprint and identify improvements for the next one.

Principles

• Safe space: No blame, focus on improvement
• All voices heard: Everyone participates
• Action-oriented: Result in concrete actions

Classic Format: Start, Stop, Continue

Alternative Formats

Sailboat

• Wind (what propels us forward)
• Anchor (what holds us back)
• Rocks (risks ahead)
• Island (our goal)

4Ls

• Liked
• Learned
• Lacked
• Longed for

Mad, Sad, Glad

• What made you mad?
• What made you sad?
• What made you glad?

Retro Facilitation Tips

1. Set the stage (5 min)

   • Review team agreements
   • State the purpose

2. Gather data (15 min)

   • Individual reflection
   • Silent brainstorming
   • Group similar items

3. Generate insights (15 min)

   • Discuss themes
   • Identify root causes
   • Vote on priorities

4. Decide actions (15 min)

   • Select 1-3 improvements
   • Assign owners
   • Define success criteria

5. Close (5 min)

   • Recap action items
   • Thank participants

Action Item Tracking

| Action | Owner | Due | Status |
|--------|-------|-----|--------|
| Create PR template | @dev1 | Sprint 5 | In Progress |
| Set up code coverage | @dev2 | Sprint 5 | Done |
| Document deployment | @devops | Sprint 6 | Pending |

Backlog Refinement

Purpose

Ensure upcoming work is ready for sprint planning.

Activities

• Review and clarify stories
• Add acceptance criteria
• Estimate effort
• Split large items
• Identify dependencies

Participants

• Product Owner (leads)
• Development Team (contributes)
• Subject Matter Experts (as needed)

Time-Boxing

• 1-2 hours per week
• 5-10 minutes per item
• Focus on next 2-3 sprints of work

Ceremony Calendar

Example 2-Week Sprint

Virtual Ceremony Tips

Tools

• Video conferencing (Zoom, Teams)
• Digital whiteboard (Miro, Mural)
• Shared documents (Google Docs)
• Backlog tools (Jira, Azure DevOps)

Best Practices

• Cameras on when possible
• Use collaborative tools
• Assign a facilitator
• Take breaks in long meetings
• Record for absent team members

Anti-Patterns to Avoid

Sprint Planning

• Planning without a goal
• Over-committing consistently
• Skipping task breakdown

Standups

• Going over 15 minutes
• Status reporting to manager
• Problem-solving in standup

Reviews

• No stakeholder attendance
• Showing incomplete work
• No feedback capture

Retrospectives

• Same issues every sprint
• No action items
• Blame-focused discussion

Related Resources

• Team Agreements
• Backlog Management
• Microsoft Playbook: Ceremonies

Compliance

This section fulfills ISO 13485 requirements for internal communication (5.5.3), design review (7.3.4), and internal audit through retrospectives (8.2.2), and ISO 27001 requirements for documented operating procedures (A.5.37) and information security in project management (A.5.8).

View full compliance matrix