Intermediary sprints

The main goal for a Release sprint is to have a product release in the end, but when we are not yet ready to release then we also have an option to initiate an Interim sprint that will not end in the product release but will instead produce one or more building blocks necessary for the eventual product release.

Interim sprints are used when the team has unknowns ahead and needs to perform analysis, research, learning in order to be able to know how to plan a future Release sprint in details.

Even if the work ahead for the product release is well known but there is too much of it for the team to finish everything in a single max-length 4-week sprint, then having one or more connected Interim sprints is the solution.

Keep in mind that the main expectation for any kind of sprint is to have finite and measurable deliverables in the end which applies to Interim sprints as well. For the Interim sprint the deliverable will not be a product released to production but something smaller - some examples are:

• When looking for the best way to find out how to develop something then do the hands-on approach: develop a prototype or attempt to build a proof of concept
• It is still OK if this Interim sprint deliverable might not be used in the final product in production as long as we learned from the exercise and can now plan enough time to do it right
• It is also OK if the proof of concept turns out to be impossible to build, i.e. due to technical limitations or external constraints that we have now clearly identified and have removed all unknowns from our path
• When fixing a complex issue or optimizing performance we need to plan out enough time to attempt several or all potential fixes or experiments that will lead to resolution or improvements
• It is OK to have limited incremental success here without committing to specific outcome or specific numbers in the end as long as we have systematic progress and can keep stakeholders updated what worked / didn't work
• When researching and need to figure out how comps are doing things, or to learn more about a subject that is new but without possibility to build a tangible prototype even if it is thrown away in the end: it is OK to just do a detailed summary on the subject or ideally a plan on how we'll approach the next Intermediary or Release sprint

How much time can be allocated to an Intermediary sprint?

• Max-length applies to all types of sprints and it can never be longer than 4-weeks
• If multiple Intermediary sprints are needed then it is OK to connect them one after another but with explicitly approved plan on how many such sprints will exist before the next Release sprint
• Sprint planning time for an Intermediary sprint cannot be longer than 1 day
• Remember that if you have unknowns that are to be clarified during the Intermediary sprint then the sprint plan can be somewhat looser, i.e. Team member 1 Day 1, Team member 2 Day 2, etc. but this is an edge case applicable to time-boxed research only - everything else