"Sprint Goals Don't Work For Us"
The Sprint Goal Is Not the Problem
"Sprint Goals don't work for us."
I hear this often.
When I ask a few questions it is rarely the Sprint Goals that don't work.
Being unable to set Sprint Goals provides a useful signal about their context or way of working.
The inability to set Sprint Goals is usually caused by something else, which they are either unaware of, or unwilling or incapable of fixing. Being unable to set Sprint Goals is usually a sign of other, much more pervasive problems.
Let's dig in to examine some of the most common ones.
1. Unable to decide and they are working on too many things at the same time.
2. Working on too many unrelated improvements, not as a team.
3. A component team left at the mercy and whims of other teams.
4. Poor stakeholder management, making too many different things important or frequently changing priorities.
5. The team does not work as a team. Everyone wants their own little unrelated piece to work on.
In short, if you can't set a Sprint Goal then it's not the Sprint Goal you should be worried about.
It's the obstacle for setting Sprint Goals you should be concerned about.
It's not: "Sprint Goals don't work for us", it usually is "We are working in a way or context that makes it impossible for us to focus on something."
Someone said the quiet part out loud! Indeed - fix the underlying problem, don't blame the signal...
I agree, given that the teams work is actually more like 'developing a product'. If it's more like 'providing a service' it's a different matter, primarily because of the different nature of uncertainty attached to that. And sadly that crucial distinction got lost in the rush away from projects towards (so-called) products.