In Scrum, there are four distinct ceremonies (and five if you include Product Backlog Refinement), these include:
Sprint Planning
Daily Scrum
Sprint Review
Sprint Retrospective
Product Backlog Refinement (*)
1. Sprint Planning:
The purpose of the Sprint Planning meeting is to plan each Sprint. The first step is to identify a Sprint Goal, which is the overarching objective for the Sprint. The second key is to begin defining the scope for the Sprint. The Development team begins pulling the highest priority User Stories, in line with the Sprint Goal. These User Stories are then assigned to the team members; at this point, they begin identifying the tasks required to execute each User Story. Any roadblocks or issues are also identified.
Meeting Length: The Sprint Planning meeting is a maximum of 2 hours in length, multiplied by the number of weeks for the Sprint.
2 Hours x 2 Week Sprint = 4 Hour Meeting (time box)
2. Daily Scrum
The purpose of the daily scrum is to enable team members to give a brief status update. Three questions are answered by each team member:
What did I do yesterday?
What am I doing today?
Are there any blockers?
If any issue requires extensive discussion, it is tabled until after the meeting. The goal is to keep the meeting brief, so as not to waste anyone’s time. The Scrum Master is an optional attendee, in general, he or she will help facilitate this meeting.
Meeting Length: Typically 15 Minutes (however some organizations may run 30 minute meetings)
3. Sprint Review:
The purpose of the Sprint Review is to review the work increment(s) which were completed during the Sprint. This meeting occurs on the last day of the Sprint. In it, the Project Stakeholders are invited to review the work (typically a demo) and to provide constructive feedback.
Meeting Length: The Sprint Review meeting is a maximum of 1-hour in length, multiplied by the number of weeks for the Sprint
1 Hour x 2 Week Sprint = 2 Hour Meeting (time box)
4. Sprint Retrospective:
The purpose of the Sprint Retrospective is to review how effectively and efficiently the team worked during the Sprint. If there were any challenges or impediments, the team will use this time to discuss. The Sprint Retrospective is generally an internal team meeting; invitations to this meeting may be restricted to outsiders. The reason for this is to enable the team to speak freely and find ways to discuss areas of improvement.
Meeting Length: There really is no agreed upon standard. Some organizations use the 1-hour in length, multiplied by the number of weeks for the Sprint as a rule of thumb.
1 Hour x 2 Week Sprint = 2 Hour Meeting (time box)
5. Backlog Refinement
A fifth ceremony which could be included here is Product Backlog Refinement. Product Backlog Refinement is an ongoing, collaborative effort between the Product Owner and the Development Team to add the requisite detail to each Product Backlog Item. If not already, many backlog items are decomposed into User Stories. Details like Acceptance Criteria, Story Points, and supplementary documents are added to each User Story. One of the primary goals of Backlog Refinement is to create fully dressed User Stories which are Sprint Ready. The Product Owner is also afforded the luxury to reprioritize the board based upon changing business conditions; stories can be added or removed as needed. This flexibility enables the Scrum Team to focus on the highest priority stories, rather than a stagnant set of requirements.