Purpose

Quick alignment on progress, blockers, and next steps.

Facilitator Tips

• Keep it time-boxed
• Rotate facilitation to build ownership
• Use a visual board to anchor discussion

Anti-Patterns

• Turning it into a status meeting
• Solving problems live
• Skipping blockers

Coaching Prompts

• “What’s one thing slowing us down this week?”
• “Are we surfacing blockers early enough?”

Purpose

Define sprint goals and commit to a realistic backlog.

Facilitator Tips

• Start with a clear sprint goal
• Use velocity & capacity to guide scope
• Invite questions & challenge assumptions

Anti-Patterns

• Overcommitting without capacity checks
• Vague or missing sprint goals
• Planning without team input

Coaching Prompts

• “What’s our confidence level in this plan?”
• “How does this sprint goal connect to our roadmap?”

Purpose

Ensure user stories are well-understood, sized, and prioritized.

Facilitator Tips

• Time-box sessions (max 1hr per sprint week)
• Include the Product Owner and SMEs
• Break epics into smaller, testable stories
• Confirm each meets the Definition of Ready

Anti-Patterns

• Letting backlog grow unchecked
• Refining without the Product Owner
• Discussing implementation details prematurely
• Skipping acceptance criteria reviews

Coaching Prompts

• “What’s missing to make this story shippable?”
• “Can we split this into smaller, independent pieces?”
• “Are acceptance criteria clear and testable?”
• “How does this align with our sprint goal?”

Purpose

Identify what went well, what didn’t, and how to improve.

Facilitator Tips

• Create psychological safety
• Rotate formats (Start/Stop/Continue, 4Ls, Sailboat)
• Focus on a few high-impact actions
• Ensure every voice is heard

Anti-Patterns

• Blame-focused discussions
• No follow-through on action items
• Repeating the same format
• Dominating voices

Coaching Prompts

• “What one change could deliver the biggest improvement?”
• “Are we closing the loop on last sprint’s items?”
• “How can we make these insights visible?”
• “Which obstacles keep resurfacing?”

Purpose

Demonstrate completed work and collect feedback.

Facilitator Tips

• Let the team present
• Align demos to the sprint goal
• Time-box feedback
• Capture feedback as backlog items

Anti-Patterns

• One-way status updates
• Skipping stakeholders
• No clear next steps
• Reviewing only with PO

Coaching Prompts

• “What feedback surprised you?”
• “Which demo best illustrates our goal?”
• “How should we adjust our backlog?”
• “Are we capturing insights effectively?”