Everyone grabs stories from the top of the backlog without checking coursework labs or what "finished" means.
The canteen manager has not sent the menu CSV, yet nobody raises the delay or adjusts the plan.
Half-built screens sit on separate laptops. Zero features pass testing on a phone.
Ask: What two checks were missing before they started coding?
Story firstProduct Backlog pairs with Product Goal, giving long-term direction. Sprint Backlog pairs with Sprint Goal, giving a single objective for this Sprint. Increment pairs with Definition of Done, setting the shared quality check every finished item must pass.
Sprint Planning answers three topics in sequence. Topic 1 (Why): the whole Scrum Team agrees why this Sprint is valuable, producing the Sprint Goal. Topic 2 (What): Developers and the Product Owner select a realistic Forecast using priority, capacity, dependencies and Definition of Done. Topic 3 (How): Developers alone decompose the selected work into an actionable Sprint Backlog.
Plan A books all 10 available person-days with 13 points of features; a Day 3 menu CSV delay and QR bug push testing out, leaving zero items meeting Definition of Done. Plan B commits 8 core points across 7.5 days, reserves 1.5 days buffer for dependency and QR risk, and keeps 1.0 day for Definition of Done checks and merge, achieving the Sprint Goal.
The single objective that explains why this Sprint matters to campus users.
The Product Backlog Items pulled into the Sprint Forecast with the Product Owner.
Concrete tasks under one day each, owned and updated daily by Developers.
Wrong topology: Developers report status to the Scrum Master or Product Owner as a boss. Right topology: Developers connect with one another and inspect progress toward the Sprint Goal. Every 24 hours, the 15-minute Daily Scrum inspects and adapts the Sprint Backlog. Any Impediment surfaced in the meeting is resolved afterwards outside the 15-minute timebox.
| Order | Backlog item | Pts | Risk or dependency |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Choose pick-up time slot | 5 | Core value Uses static slot data |
| 02 | View today's canteen menu | 3 | External dependency Canteen CSV due Day 2 |
| 03 | Generate QR pick-up receipt | 3 | Unfamiliar tech First time using QR library |
| 04 | Save favourite meal | 2 | Nice to have Not needed for first order |
5 classmates over a 5-day simulation Sprint, after subtracting lab sessions and the Product Owner's user interviews.
How many points should the team pull into Sprint 1, and which item stays out?
How do we state value for students without writing a shopping list of stories?
If the canteen CSV still has not arrived by Day 4, how do Developers protect the goal?
Discuss your answers to the three questions first. Reveal the reference reasoning only after students propose a selection and Day 4 response.
“Complete Stories 1, 2, 3 and 4 by Friday.”
All 13 points loaded into 10 available person-days.
“Yesterday I styled buttons. Today I will keep coding. No blockers. Is that okay, Scrum Master?”
Three commitments anchor the artefacts: Product Goal, Sprint Goal and Definition of Done.
Sprint Planning agrees why and what together, while Developers size a realistic forecast and own how.
The Daily Scrum inspects progress toward the Sprint Goal in 15 minutes and adapts today's plan.