He advises those starting a new agile project to begin by using the method outlined in the Inception phase of the DAD methodology. He warns against the naivete of a simple sprint zero. Over the past decade, agile thought leader Scott Ambler developed an augmented set of agile methods in Disciplined Agile Delivery (DAD). But understand why having something potentially shippable is a central tenet of scrum and apply that in an honest way to the project before the project.'įor larger software development teams, the basic principles of scrum may need to be scaled up in some fashion. A team participating in a project before the project will not be able to have anything potentially shippable.

'Remain true to the principles of scrum.

Most development projects do not need a project before they begin.'

'Keep any 'project before the project' as lightweight as possible.

However, Cohn cautions when executing the project before the project: He says, 'I find that many of these things that can be used to argue for the need for a sprint zero are really best thought of as things that happen in what I call the project before the project.' Mike Cohn, well-known scrum leader and founder of Mountain Goat Software, says that one of the problems with a 'sprint zero' is that it most likely won't result in potentially shippable code if the team is still in the process of assembling. If the team is using scrum, arguably today's most popular agile methodology, this early work might be referred to as ' sprint zero.' This stage of the project needs to be completed carefully. Finally, there will be some work to understand the technical framework and prioritized requirements. There will be work to procure any needed hardware, software, and set up environments, and to make sure teams are properly staffed.

First, there are the logistics of determining which agile methodology, process, and tools the team will be using. There's a fair amount of work that must be done in preparation for that first sprint.

Let's take a look at how teams that are new to agile can best prepare for a successful first agile sprint, along with common mistakes and how to avoid them. You've gotten agile training and the team is motivated, but are you really set up for success? As teams make the transition to an agile methodology, they often face challenges and obstacles that keep them from realizing the many benefits that agile development promises.

Sprint scrum