Do you make sure Sprint Reviews are "tick and flick"?

It's essential to keep Sprint Reviews as efficient as possible. Unfortunately, Sprint Reviews can be boring because they involve developers slowly demoing each Product Backlog Item (PBI) to the Product Owner. Better communication with the Product Owner can transform this into a swift "tick and flick experience", leading to more efficient reviews.

In short: Show each PBI to the Product Owner at least once during the Sprint, before the Sprint Review.

Get PBIs into a "tick and flick" state

Getting a PBI into a "tick and flick" state involves ensuring that the Product Owner has been shown the PBI, reviewed the changes and provided feedback. It can be a physical demo, or it can be a 'Done Video'.

If the developer has shown the Product Owner the PBI prior to the Sprint Review, then in the Sprint Review, when the PBI is reached the developer can remind the Product Owner it's been reviewed and ask if they are happy to move on.

🙂 Figure: OK example - Showing the Product Owner the PBI for the first time during the Sprint Review

✅ Figure: Good example - Confirming that the PBI has already been reviewed so you can move on

Make a Sprint Review a "tick and flick" experience

Here are some tips that help improve communication with the Product Owner during a Sprint to help get PBIs ready for the Sprint Review:

1. Use @mentions in a PBI - Utilize @ mentions in a PBI to alert the Product Owner and other relevant team members about any updates, questions, or issues related to a PBI. Using @mentions ensures that everyone stays informed, and any concerns are addressed before the Sprint Review
2. Document decisions and discoveries - While working on the PBI make comments about any decisions or discoveries, that way when a Product Owner reviews the PBI they will be able to see the context of everything that happened
3. Close the PBI with context - By adding relevant information to close off the PBI, the Product Owner can quickly get a handle on the status of the PBI
4. Send 'Done' emails with a 'Done Video' - When you finish a PBI, email the Product Owner a short summary and links to the work. Add a short Done Video, so they see the change working before the Sprint Review. AI can now make the Done Video for you
5. Call the Product Owner to run through what you did in the PBI
6. Show the Done Video in the Daily Scrum - If the Product Owner joins the Daily Scrum, play the Done Video there

By incorporating these tips into your team's workflow you can keep the Product Owner informed and subsequently make Sprint Reviews "tick and flick".

Common mistakes on the backlog in Sprint Reviews

Watch this video highlighting common mistakes that show an unhealthy backlog 🤒, and can slow down Sprint Reviews.

Video: Run a smooth Sprint Review | Jeoffrey Fischer | SSW Rules (4 min)

The video covers 3 ways to fix these mistakes:

1. Always estimate your PBIs - Every PBI should have an estimate, so avoid leaving them at zero
2. Assign yourself to PBIs you're working on - When you move a PBI to In Progress, assign yourself so everyone knows who's responsible
3. Close completed PBIs with context - Add a closing comment on what was done, include evidence such as a screenshot, then close the PBI

How can AI help you improve your Sprint Reviews?

Before the Sprint Review - Get AI to make your Done Videos

A Done Video gets a PBI into a "tick and flick" state fast, because the Product Owner sees the change before the meeting. An AI agent can now read the PR, write the script, record the demo and narrate it in your own voice clone. This makes it easy to send a Done Video for more of your PBIs.

Learn how to set up AI-generated Done Videos and screenshots.

After the Sprint Review - Get AI to analyze the recording

Record the Sprint Review, then run AI over the recording. Tools like SSW Tiger turn the recording into insights that the team can act on:

• Overview - How much of the Sprint got done, and how many deployments happened
• Timeline - Who spoke and when
• People and roles - Speaking time for each person, plus good and bad feedback so they can improve
• Insights - The elephants in the room, e.g. user growth is declining but nobody mentions it
• Trends - A comparison with the last Sprint, so you see the problems that repeat and the wins that stick

See how to incorporate recording and AI analysis into your Sprint Review.