Review and Retrospect Phase
The fourth step in the Scrum workflow where the team showcases the completed increment to stakeholders for feedback and then holds a retrospective to capture insights and agree on concrete improvements for future sprints.
Key Points
- Combines a product review (demo and feedback) with a team retrospective (process improvement).
- Confirms what was completed, gathers stakeholder input, and updates the Product Backlog as needed.
- Identifies what went well, what did not, and defines a small set of actionable improvement items.
- Timeboxed, collaborative, and focused on transparency, inspection, and adaptation.
Example
At the end of Sprint 5, the team demonstrates the new reporting dashboard to marketing and sales. Stakeholders request a filter enhancement, which is added to the Product Backlog. In the retrospective, the team notes that test data setup slowed them down and agrees to automate data seeding next sprint to improve cycle time.
PMP Example Question
Which activity best represents the primary outcome of the Review and Retrospect Phase?
- Breaking epics into user stories for the next release.
- Demonstrating the increment, gathering feedback, and defining improvement actions.
- Finalizing the project charter and securing funding approval.
- Performing detailed critical path analysis for the entire program.
Correct Answer: B — Demonstrating the increment, gathering feedback, and defining improvement actions
Explanation: This phase centers on inspecting the delivered work with stakeholders and adapting both the product backlog and team process through concrete improvement actions.
