In Scrum, one of the key ceremonies or meetings is the Sprint Demo. The Sprint Demo is intended to be the culmination of the team’s hard work during the sprint and an opportunity to demonstrate new functionality, fixed bugs, or even new architecture.
It is also when the Product Owner or Product Manager reviews and either accepts or rejects the work. This determines if the new code will be shipped or not.
Many teams find that holding a formal Sprint Demo on a regular cadence feels anti-agile and rigid. However, they should see it as an opportunity for the team and other stakeholders to collectively review progress, ask questions, provide clarification, and ensure there is a shared understanding of the goals and objectives.
Consistent and transparent review also highlights issues before they become major problems, likely proving to be a solid return on investment.
The format of a Sprint Demo can be adjusted for a team’s specific needs. The meeting is generally held at the end of the sprint, or on some other regular cadence that works best for the team (e.g. monthly).
The Product Owner or Scrum Master facilitates the meeting. Each team member has the opportunity to present their work through a live demo, a code review or flow diagram (for architectural changes), or any other method that demonstrates the functionality and completeness of their work.
The Product Owner and other team members ask questions and the Product Owner will formally accept or reject the work.