Sprint Goal Setting

Sprint goals give purpose beyond completing stories. Good sprint goals focus the team and guide trade-off decisions. Bad sprint goals are ignored or too vague to help. This guide covers effective sprint goal setting.

Sprint Goal Qualities

Setting Goals

Creating Effective Goals

SPRINT GOAL SETTING
═══════════════════

GOOD SPRINT GOALS:
─────────────────────────────────────
Outcome-focused:
├── "Users can self-register"
├── "API supports bulk operations"
├── "Dashboard loads in < 2 seconds"
├── "Mobile checkout is functional"
├── "Integration with Stripe complete"
└── Outcomes, not activities

BAD SPRINT GOALS:
─────────────────────────────────────
Too vague:
├── "Make progress on feature X"
├── "Work on backend stuff"
└── Not specific enough

Too output-focused:
├── "Complete 5 stories"
├── "Clear 40 story points"
└── Just counting work

Not achievable:
├── "Finish the whole project"
├── "Zero bugs"
└── Unrealistic

GOAL FORMULA:
─────────────────────────────────────
[User/stakeholder] can [capability]
[System] enables [outcome]
[Metric] improves by [amount]

Examples:
├── "Customers can pay with Apple Pay"
├── "System handles 10K concurrent users"
├── "Mobile conversion improves by 15%"
└── Clear format

Goal in Practice

Using the Goal

SPRINT GOAL IN ACTION
═════════════════════

IN PLANNING:
─────────────────────────────────────
├── PO proposes goal
├── Team discusses feasibility
├── Stories selected to support goal
├── Commitment to goal
├── Goal guides story selection
└── Goal first, stories second

IN STANDUPS:
─────────────────────────────────────
"How does your work today
 contribute to our sprint goal?"

├── Keep goal visible
├── Reference in discussions
├── Reorient when drifting
└── Daily connection

WHEN THINGS GO WRONG:
─────────────────────────────────────
Goal helps prioritize:
├── Unexpected work appears
├── Estimate was wrong
├── Something is blocked
├── Ask: "What serves the goal?"
├── Drop non-essential
├── Protect the goal
└── Trade-off guide

IN DEMO:
─────────────────────────────────────
"This sprint our goal was [goal].
We achieved/partially achieved it by..."

├── Frame demo around goal
├── Show goal achievement
├── Connect work to outcome
└── Story for stakeholders

Common Patterns

Goal Types

SPRINT GOAL PATTERNS
════════════════════

FEATURE DELIVERY:
─────────────────────────────────────
├── "Launch subscription billing"
├── "Complete user onboarding flow"
├── "Enable SSO for enterprise"
├── Deliver new capability
└── Feature-focused

QUALITY IMPROVEMENT:
─────────────────────────────────────
├── "Reduce p95 latency to 200ms"
├── "Zero critical security issues"
├── "Test coverage to 80%"
├── Improve existing quality
└── Quality-focused

LEARNING/RESEARCH:
─────────────────────────────────────
├── "Validate AI integration approach"
├── "Determine payment provider"
├── "Prototype mobile experience"
├── De-risk with knowledge
└── Spike-focused

TECH ENABLEMENT:
─────────────────────────────────────
├── "Migrate to new database"
├── "Enable CI/CD for mobile"
├── "Complete API versioning"
├── Technical foundation
└── Infrastructure-focused

MIXED SPRINTS:
─────────────────────────────────────
When work is varied:
├── Pick the most valuable focus
├── Or: "Improve system reliability"
├── Umbrella goal is okay
├── Don't force artificial unity
└── Pragmatic goals

GitScrum Integration

Goal Tracking

GITSCRUM FOR SPRINT GOALS
═════════════════════════

SPRINT SETUP:
─────────────────────────────────────
├── Sprint has goal field
├── Visible on sprint board
├── Reminder of focus
├── Always present
└── Prominent display

STORIES LINK TO GOAL:
─────────────────────────────────────
├── Mark stories as goal-related
├── See goal progress
├── Non-goal work visible too
├── Priority clear
└── Connected tracking

SPRINT DEMO:
─────────────────────────────────────
├── Goal in sprint summary
├── Status: achieved/partial/missed
├── Notes on what happened
├── Historical record
└── Accountability

RETROSPECTIVE:
─────────────────────────────────────
├── Did we achieve the goal?
├── If not, why?
├── If yes, what helped?
├── Improve for next time
└── Learning loop

Best Practices

For Sprint Goals

1. Outcome-focused — What users get
2. One clear goal — Focus
3. Visible always — Board, standups
4. Use for decisions — Trade-off guide
5. Discuss in retro — Learn from result

Anti-Patterns

SPRINT GOAL MISTAKES:
✗ No goal at all
✗ Goal ignored after planning
✗ Too many goals
✗ Goal is just story count
✗ Unrealistic goals
✗ Vague goals
✗ Never discuss in retro
✗ Change goal mid-sprint

Related Solutions

• Sprint planning strategies
• Measuring sprint health
• Sprint capacity planning