1.11.2022
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Sprint goal: Why do we never achieve our sprint goals?

Many development teams chronically fail to achieve their sprint goals. A clearly defined sprint goal helps the Scrum team to work in a focused and effective way while promoting coordination between team members. Typical symptoms, but also cures for this common disease in product development are not so obvious. We will show you how your team and you can achieve your sprint goals measurably better in the future.

Product Delivery

Many development teams chronically fail to achieve their sprint goals. A clearly defined sprint goal helps the Scrum team to work in a focused and effective way while promoting coordination between team members. Typical symptoms, but also cures for this common disease in product development are not so obvious. We will show you how your team and you can achieve your sprint goals measurably better in the future.

Symptoms of not reaching sprint goals

Typically, there are teams that have only started many things that were supposed to be completed at the end of the sprint. The stage of individual projects or tasks therefore does not match the agreed goal of the entire sprint. The sprint backlog plays an important role here, as it is not just a simple list, but a plan that allows the development team to react flexibly to unexpected events and set priorities based on the sprint goal.

Other teams are trapped in a loop in which they only achieve 80% of the overall sprint goal - not 100%. Both situations are unsatisfactory for everyone involved in the long term. If one of these two negative patterns occurs more frequently, it triggers frustration in the entire team and weakens the morale of all team members.

Commitment is the crux

Let's think about the second symptom again. You may think that achieving only 80% is not a problem in the long term. At least at first glance, you can rely on this quota. The problem here is not the constant or the workload that is achieved at 80%, but the mindset of the team. This is influenced in the long term by the unachieved targets.

In Scrum, the development team defines a goal that all team members have agreed on. This goal is set during sprint planning and plays a central role in promoting focus and coordination within the team. If your team only achieves 80% of this goal on a consistent basis, this creates a further shrinking commitment each time.

People then tend to plan too much for the next time they set a new goal. After all, it's not so bad if a goal is not achieved. Isn't it?

In fact, it is not a bad thing if sometimes a goal is not achieved 100%. However, if things are consistently not completed, the commitment and the entire mentality of the team is weakened.

Reasons for unachable sprint goals in Scrum teams

1. tasks and stories are cut too large

If everyone in the team has to work on a single story in order to just about achieve the goal, then the story is much too big. A rule of thumb to solve this problem is to make each story only big enough for individual developers to complete within a sprint. The Scrum Guide emphasizes the importance of defining tasks and stories in such a way that they can be completed within a sprint.

2. permanently too high workload in the sprints

If you as a product manager:in your development team push too many tasks into a sprint, then it is no wonder that the goals are not achieved in the end. The development team should have influence on the volume of to-dos and tasks for the sprint. Scrum training plays an important role in improving the team's understanding and ability to manage the workload effectively. It should assess whether the sprint goal you have set is achievable. This also increases the team's commitment in the long term.

Solution approaches

Reduce tasks in the sprint backlog and follow up if necessary

If the sprint goal is not achieved in the long term, you should reduce the volume of tasks. Ideally, do this until your team achieves the goals several times in a row. Even if your developers reach the goal earlier than planned, tasks can still be added according to the motto "underpromise, overdeliver". It is important to achieve the sprint goal to ensure that all team members align their decisions with it and that progress can be measured in the Daily Scrum.

- Find KPI

Whether it's T-shirt sizes, story points or other methods: Find a method for you and your team that allows you to better estimate velocity. Sprint goals help determine the focus and direction during a sprint and are therefore crucial for setting KPIs. Finding an order of magnitude makes everything more quantifiable. You can better apply the rules of thumb and also reduce tasks more easily if the team does not meet the sprint goals.

Setting a number as a symbolic sprint goal gives the team security. Once this number has settled, you can more easily estimate how much the development team can achieve in a sprint.

Of course, the developers in your team are not machines and it is always possible that the number for a sprint will not be reached. But on a constant level, a set number or number of points to be achieved can be a great benefit for the entire team.

And now?

All well and good, but what do you do now as a product manager if your team frequently fails to meet the sprint goals? It is important to understand the meaning of the goal in order to clearly define the next steps and achieve the goal.

  • Try out one of our solutions!
  • Talk to your team and listen to them!

To address the root of your specific problems, you need to talk to your team. You may find more reasons why you are chronically failing to meet your sprint goals.

"The team usually doesn't fight against you."

Quote from Sebastian, one of our coaches

That means:

Don't be afraid to talk to the team. If anyone can tell you why certain things aren't working, it's your team. If you really listen and work together to find a solution, then a solution will usually be found!

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