How can you be an effective Scrum Master or succeed as a Product Owner? Follow these best practices to make sure your sprint review meetings are productive and valuable:

General best practices

These best practices will make your sprint reviews more effective and engaging:

1. Set clear objectives for each sprint review

It’s always important to set specific meeting goals, like showcasing specific features, gathering feedback on a new function, or making decisions about the product backlog.

Whatever the goal is, there needs to be one, and it needs to be communicated clearly to all meeting participants in advance. That way, everyone comes prepared and knows what to focus the discussion on.

2. Use the right technology

The right technology can make your sprint review meetings more efficient and effective. With Lark Meetings, you can hold these sessions online.

Real-time transcription and translation help multilingual teams easily follow along and contribute to the discussion. Meeting transcripts and videos are also accessible to anyone on the team who might have missed a meeting.

Moreover, Lark Base and Meegle are great for keeping your team on track throughout the product development process. Lark Base’s automation helps you streamline tasks, manage backlog items, and track progress, making sprint reviews more focused and productive.

3. Keep the meeting constructive

Sprint reviews are not the time to point fingers or assign blame. Instead, aim to provide constructive criticism for team members.

Try to encourage open, respectful communication from all parties. Focus on solutions, not who’s responsible for the problem. Also, make sure you stick to the agenda and the allocated time slots so that all relevant topics are covered.

4. Hold regular meetings

Sprint reviews need to happen consistently to maintain momentum and receive the necessary feedback.

When work gets busy, it's easy to let these meetings slip through the cracks, so schedule your meetings at the end of each sprint — or create a recurring schedule. Remember to communicate the schedule in advance to avoid conflict and maximize team attendance.

With Lark Calendar, you can easily communicate meeting dates, schedule recurring meetings, and send reminders so that no one misses out.

Best practices for Scrum Masters

For Scrum Masters, be sure to follow these key practices:

5. Keep the meeting on track

Scrum Masters should also be time masters. Make sure your team doesn’t spend too much time on one part of the review or get sidetracked by disagreements.

Time each item according to the agenda (yes, that means you need to have an agenda) to keep the meeting productive and focused. If conversations veer off topic, politely interject and suggest tabling the discussion for another time or a follow-up meeting.

At the end of the meeting, summarize the key points and decisions to make sure everyone leaves with a clear understanding of the next steps.

6. Schedule the meeting at an ideal time

Be conscious of everyone’s availability, especially if you have a global team working in different time zones. You’ll want to schedule the meeting for when the most important participants can attend.

Sending invites ahead of time will help team members coordinate and prepare for the meeting. Streamline the invitation process with Lark and invite whole groups of people at once.

You can even generate a meeting group from a calendar invite and share the meeting agenda there. That way, everyone has access to the agenda and relevant information in one place.

7. Identify opportunities to improve meetings

A simple way to improve your meetings is to gather feedback from all participants. Ask them about specific aspects, like time management, facilitation, relevance, and overall meeting value.

Adjust your meetings accordingly, and try different approaches. For example, if multiple team members feel the meetings are dragging on too long, try breaking it up into shorter sessions that focus on one key issue at a time.

See what resonates with your participants the most, as this will allow you to tailor your meetings to be as effective and useful as possible.

Best practices for Product Owners

Product Owners have their own set of guidelines to follow:

8. Stay up-to-date on your team’s progress

As a Product Owner, it’s essential that you know your team’s progress and are ready to present it during the meeting. What has been accomplished? What still needs to be done? These are both questions you’ll be asked.

A project management tool like Lark Base can help you easily track progress, manage tasks, and provide detailed updates. You’ll always be prepared for whatever questions come your way.

During your meeting, highlight the added value to customers. Explain why certain updates or features are beneficial instead of just presenting the technical details.

9. Gather feedback and apply it to any product backlogs

Your customers offer the most useful insights — as long as you’re willing to listen.

Unfortunately, many brands are out of touch with the customer experience. In fact, businesses underestimate how frequently bad experiences happen to their customers by 38%.

One of the most important things to do during a sprint review meeting is to actively ask for feedback. This data will guide your product roadmap, ensuring you prioritize the most important features.

Moreover, communicate any changes or updates to the backlog to your team and stakeholders. Transparency helps to keep everyone involved in the process aligned.

10. Set expectations for the next sprint

At the end of each sprint review, give your team a clear picture of what's coming next. Outline your sprint goals and priorities for the upcoming sprint.

It's also helpful to mention any potential roadblocks or challenges that may affect the next sprint. By being transparent and proactive, you'll help your team prepare and stay aligned with their goals.