Sprint Phase Reference
Sprint boundary ceremonies: start and end sequences.
Overview
Sprint sequences ensure proper planning at the start and thorough closure at the end of each sprint.
Sprint Start (~60 minutes)
SPRINT START SEQUENCE
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START
│
▼
┌───────────────────────┐
│ sync --all │ ─── Full reality alignment
└───────────┬───────────┘
│
▼
┌───────────────────────┐
│ groom --all │ ─── Comprehensive grooming
└───────────┬───────────┘
│
▼
┌───────────────────────┐
│ plan sprint-goals │ ─── Define sprint objectives
└───────────┬───────────┘
│
▼
┌───────────────────────┐
│ status --detailed │ ─── Establish baseline
└───────────┬───────────┘
│
▼
OUTPUT
"Sprint Plan Ready"
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━Step 1: Full Sync
Command: sync --all
Purpose: Complete alignment between documentation and reality.
Actions:
- Review all in-progress work
- Identify any undocumented completions
- Clear out stale status entries
- Ensure backlog reflects truth
Duration: ~15 minutes
Step 2: Comprehensive Grooming
Command: groom --all
Purpose: Prepare all tasks for the sprint.
Actions:
- Review entire backlog
- Refine vague tasks into actionable items
- Add acceptance criteria
- Estimate complexity
- Identify dependencies
- Move tasks to ready status
Duration: ~25 minutes
Step 3: Sprint Planning
Command: plan sprint-goals
Purpose: Define what the sprint will accomplish.
Actions:
- Set sprint objective
- Select tasks for sprint
- Identify architecture needs
- Note dependencies and risks
- Create sprint plan document
Duration: ~15 minutes
Step 4: Baseline Status
Command: status --detailed
Purpose: Establish metrics baseline for sprint.
Actions:
- Document starting velocity
- Note current tech debt
- Record test coverage
- Capture documentation state
Duration: ~5 minutes
Sprint Start Output
After sprint start, you should have:
- Clean, aligned backlog
- Groomed, ready tasks
- Clear sprint objective
- Baseline metrics for comparison
- Sprint plan document
Sprint End (~90 minutes)
SPRINT END SEQUENCE
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START
│
▼
┌───────────────────────┐
│ sync --sprint │ ─── Final sprint sync
└───────────┬───────────┘
│
▼
┌───────────────────────┐
│ retrospective │ ─── Capture learnings
└───────────┬───────────┘
│
▼
┌───────────────────────┐
│ audit --scope sprint │ ─── Quality review
└───────────┬───────────┘
│
▼
┌───────────────────────┐
│ status --metrics │ ─── Sprint metrics
│ --detailed │
└───────────┬───────────┘
│
▼
┌───────────────────────┐
│ maintenance --deep │ ─── Context network cleanup
└───────────┬───────────┘
│
▼
OUTPUT
"Sprint Closed"
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━Step 1: Final Sync
Command: sync --sprint
Purpose: Ensure all sprint work is documented.
Actions:
- Verify all completed tasks are marked done
- Identify any work that spilled over
- Update carryover items
- Clean up in-progress that finished
Duration: ~10 minutes
Step 2: Retrospective
Command: retrospective
Purpose: Capture sprint learnings.
Actions:
- Review accomplishments
- Document decisions made
- Capture discoveries
- Identify process improvements
- Update context network with insights
- Create retrospective record
Duration: ~25 minutes
Step 3: Quality Audit
Command: audit --scope sprint
Purpose: Review sprint's code quality.
Actions:
- Review all code added during sprint
- Identify quality issues
- Document technical debt added
- Note patterns (good and bad)
- Generate audit report
Duration: ~20 minutes
Step 4: Sprint Metrics
Command: status --metrics --detailed
Purpose: Capture sprint performance.
Actions:
- Calculate velocity (tasks/points completed)
- Compare to baseline
- Document coverage changes
- Note debt trends
- Record accomplishments
Duration: ~10 minutes
Step 5: Deep Maintenance
Command: maintenance --deep
Purpose: Between-sprint cleanup.
Actions:
- Audit context network structure
- Fix broken links
- Update stale content
- Archive completed work
- Improve navigation
- Clean up temporary files
Duration: ~25 minutes
Sprint End Output
After sprint end, you should have:
- All sprint work documented
- Learnings captured in retrospective
- Quality assessment on record
- Sprint metrics documented
- Clean context network for next sprint
Quick Reference Commands
# Sprint start sequence
/agile-workflow --phase sprint-start
# Sprint end sequence
/agile-workflow --phase sprint-end
# Individual commands
sync --all
groom --all
plan sprint-goals
status --detailed
sync --sprint
retrospective
audit --scope sprint
status --metrics --detailed
maintenance --deepCadence Recommendations
| Sequence | When | Duration | Critical? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sprint Start | First day of sprint | 60 min | Yes |
| Sprint End | Last day of sprint | 90 min | Yes |
Both ceremonies are critical for maintaining:
- Clean handoffs between sprints
- Captured institutional knowledge
- Accurate velocity tracking
- Healthy context network
Sprint Rhythm
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ SPRINT (2 weeks) │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ │
│ Sprint Start (Day 1) │
│ │ │
│ ▼ │
│ ┌───────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │
│ │ Week 1 │ │
│ │ ├── Daily Morning Standup │ │
│ │ ├── Task Cycles (implementation) │ │
│ │ └── Daily Evening Wrap-up │ │
│ └───────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ │
│ │ │
│ ▼ │
│ ┌───────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │
│ │ Week 2 │ │
│ │ ├── Daily Morning Standup │ │
│ │ ├── Task Cycles (implementation) │ │
│ │ └── Daily Evening Wrap-up │ │
│ └───────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ │
│ │ │
│ ▼ │
│ Sprint End (Last Day) │
│ │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘Integration Notes
Sprint ceremonies nest around daily and task cycles:
- Sprint Start prepares the backlog for daily work
- Daily sequences maintain rhythm within the sprint
- Task cycles are the actual implementation work
- Sprint End closes out and prepares for next iteration