In a recent Scrum Basics session, we received the question, “How does something fit into the Sprint? Do you make the Sprint fit the work, or the work fit in the Sprint?” It’s a bit of a tongue twister, but it’s a question we have heard some version of now in multiple classes. 

 

The answer is straightforward: you make the work fit into the Sprint, not the other way around.

 

In the Scrum framework, “the first event is the Sprint; a fixed-length event of one month or less to create consistency. A new Sprint starts immediately after the conclusion of the previous Sprint”, as noted in the Scrum Guide. The time frame that you decide on for your Sprint length (one to four weeks, also per the Scrum Guide) does not change, rather, you have to think about breaking the work itself down into smaller chunks that can fit into the sprint. 

 

What do we mean by that?

 

Say your Sprint is one week. Dr. Sutherland notes that one week is an ideal length of time as it gives you 52 times to improve the work and your team. However, a body of work may not fit within the one-week time frame. 

 

Let’s say you’re planning a webinar. It’s unlikely you can create the content, prepare, practice, and present all within one week, especially while handling everything else your team/organization is juggling.

 

The answer? You break that training down to bite-sized chunks that fit into each individual Sprint. 

• The Epic – The actual training

• • Story/task – set up registration
  • Story/task – V1 of slide deck/materials
    • Noting down your rough ideas and thoughts 
  • Story/task – V2 of slide deck/materials
    • Putting together your rough ideas and thoughts 
  • Story/task – Grammar edit and stylizing of deck/materials
    • Your materials are stylized and reviewed by someone who did not do the work
  • Story/task – V3 of slide deck/materials
    • Cleaning up the suggestions from the reviewer
  • Story/task – Present the training

 

Depending on when you agree to the training, from the date of the training, it is likely you will break up the work over multiple Sprints as you need to complete each bite-sized chunk.  

 

Now, as we said, you will be doing this along with all the other items that need to be done, so your backlog might look like this:

• Story/task – V1 of slide deck/materials
• Story/task – Meeting with stakeholder XWZ
• Story/task – Newsletter 
• Story/task – Report 

 

The key is to break your work into meaningful, doable chunks that fit into the Sprint, so your team isn’t scrambling, staying late, or running on fumes.

 

When you make the work “work” for the Sprint, you’re building a sustainable rhythm,  one that supports your mission, your impact, and your people.

 

Interested in learning more about building your backlog? Check out our free download Backlog Guide and consider purchasing our recorded session; A Nonprofit’s Guide to Estimating a Backlog