Fixing Your Scrum

Today’s Forecast: Frustrated Stakeholders

Here’s a scenario we’ve witnessed more than once: During a sprint review, a stakeholder asks when a feature of special interest will be done. The product owner has worked with the development team to be prepared to answer these kinds of questions, and he gives the following answer:

“Based on what we currently know about the product backlog, the present ordering of product backlog items, and the Scrum team’s capacity, that feature will be done six sprints from now.”

Eight sprints later, the feature isn’t finished. The technical work turned out to be more difficult than the team expected, and new high-priority product backlog items emerged that delayed work on the feature the stakeholder asked about. Regardless, ...