As a seasoned expert in Agile methodologies, I have had the opportunity to work with numerous teams and organizations implementing Scrum, one of the most popular Agile frameworks. Scrum is a simple but powerful framework that helps teams to deliver complex products in an iterative and incremental fashion. One of the key elements of Scrum is the Sprint, which is a time-boxed period during which a team works to complete a set of work items, known as Product Backlog Items (PBIs).

In the traditional sense, the term "commitment" was often associated with the Sprint in Scrum. Teams would commit to a certain scope of work that they would complete during the Sprint. However, this approach had its drawbacks. It could lead to a culture of pressure and blame, where the team felt obligated to complete a set amount of work regardless of the circumstances, which could be detrimental to the quality of the product and the well-being of the team.

Red Text for Emphasis: The ownership of the sprint commitments, or more accurately, the forecast, lies with the entire Scrum team, not just one individual or a subset of the team.

### The Scrum Team and Sprint Commitments
The Scrum team is cross-functional, meaning it includes all the skills necessary to complete the work within a Sprint. This team is composed of three main roles: the Product Owner, the Scrum Master, and the Development Team.


1. Product Owner: Responsible for the Product Backlog, which is the prioritized list of all the work to be done on the product. The Product Owner ensures that the items selected for the Sprint are clear and well-defined.


2. Scrum Master: Acts as a servant-leader and a coach for the team. The Scrum Master ensures that Scrum is understood and enacted correctly, and helps the team to work through any impediments that may arise.


3. Development Team: Comprised of professionals who do the work of delivering a potentially releasable Increment of "Done" product at the end of each Sprint. This includes designers, developers, testers, and any other role necessary to develop the product.

### The Evolution to Sprint Forecasting
The shift from "commitment" to "forecast" was a significant change in the mindset of how Scrum teams approach their work. This change was championed by Ken Schwaber and Jeff Sutherland, the creators of Scrum, to align more closely with the principles of Agile, which emphasize flexibility, collaboration, and continuous improvement.

In this new paradigm, the Scrum team does not commit to a specific amount of work but rather creates a forecast of what they anticipate being able to achieve during the Sprint, based on their past performance and the work at hand. This forecast is not a promise but an informed prediction that the team can use to guide their work.

### The Process of Sprint Forecasting
Here's how the process typically unfolds:


1. Sprint Planning Meeting: The Scrum team comes together to decide what work will be done during the upcoming Sprint. The Product Owner presents the prioritized backlog items, and the team discusses the feasibility and the work required for each item.


2. Creating the Sprint Backlog: After the planning meeting, the Development Team works to break down the selected backlog items into tasks and estimate the effort required to complete them.


3. Forecasting: The team then creates a forecast based on their capacity (how much work they can realistically do within the Sprint) and the work required to complete the tasks. This is not a commitment but an honest assessment of what the team believes it can achieve.


4. Adaptation: As the Sprint progresses, the team reassesses their forecast at the Daily Scrum (also known as the Daily Stand-up). They discuss what they have completed, what they will commit to for the next 24 hours, and any impediments they are facing.


5. Review and Retrospective: At the end of the Sprint, the team holds a Sprint Review to inspect the work done and adapt their plans if necessary. They also conduct a Sprint Retrospective to reflect on the process and identify improvements for the next Sprint.

### Conclusion
The ownership of the sprint forecast is a collective responsibility of the entire Scrum team. It is a collaborative effort that requires transparency, trust, and a shared understanding of the work to be done. By focusing on forecasting rather than committing to a fixed scope, Scrum teams can be more responsive to change, maintain a sustainable pace, and deliver high-quality products.

read more >>

Although this was the prevailing mentality for ten years, in 2011, Schwaber and Jeff Sutherland (both originators of Scrum) replaced the traditional Sprint "commitment" with the concept of a "forecast": Commit to scope with a sprint is gone. Instead, development teams now create a forecast.Jul 19, 2013read more >>