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Our Scrum Scenario:

We have two Sprint Planning Meetings (Part 1 and Part 2).

  • Part 1: What should be done during the Sprint?
  • Part 2: How should these things be done?

I guess there are some differences in how this is handled. This is according to Boris Gloger's German book. In practice these things can be done on the same day or even during the same meeting.

Team Size:

  • Developer: 3
  • All of them have their strengths either in Backend or Frontend development
  • We would like to get all familiar with all the technologies used in the project. We do not like to have private kingdoms but have a constant discussion about how things can be done.

At which point in time should Tasks be assigned? Within the Scrum Process: Sprint Planning 1, 2, [...] Review Meeting, Retrospective Meeting, etc.?

Who is responsible for the assigning tasks? The Product Owner, the Scrum Master, the developers?

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  • possible duplicate of Who should define, assign, implement, and follow the tasks in Scrum?
    – user53019
    Commented Jul 7, 2015 at 14:05
  • The question is more about the "When" than the "Who". I do not think it is a duplicate question, even if the answers can be overlapping.
    – Matthias
    Commented Jul 7, 2015 at 14:12
  • @Matthias, I think it's worth editing your question. It was viewed as too broad, but I think it is salvageable.
    – David
    Commented Jul 13, 2015 at 22:55

2 Answers 2

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At the beginning of your sprint you should have a sprint planning meeting. This is where your team decides which user stories to deliver that sprint. At the end of the meeting you should have a reasonable and prioritized sprint backlog.

Your developers should then pick tasks from the top of the backlog. When they finish their current task they return to the backlog and pick then next available task. Again from the top.

Nobody needs to be assigned anything.

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  • So basically tasks are done one after the other based on the sprint backlog priority. There is no planning who will do what during the Sprint Planning 1 or 2?
    – Matthias
    Commented Jul 6, 2015 at 14:09
  • that is correct. This works well if you're aiming to have a team of generalists. If you don't have a team of generalists then this goes out the window.
    – MetaFight
    Commented Jul 6, 2015 at 14:30
  • If you don't have a team of generalists, you still don't assign tasks (scrum is based on developers pulling work to them), but you can account for the different disciplines in the planning session and make sure there is in principle enough work for everyone to pull.
    – Bart van Ingen Schenau
    Commented Jul 6, 2015 at 18:42
  • That is correct. My previous comment was a bit misleading there. All I meant was that, with a team a non-generalists, it's not always possible to simply pull the next task off the top of the backlog.
    – MetaFight
    Commented Jul 6, 2015 at 19:03
  • 2
    This "most efficient order" you mention should be a product of the planning session. The sprint backlog ordering will take this into account. I wasn't suggesting the sprint backlog ordering match the product backlog ordering.
    – MetaFight
    Commented Jul 9, 2015 at 9:37
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At which point to the tasks get assigned?

Product backlog items are added to the sprint backlog by sprint team members during the sprint planning meeting, in order of priority (which is determined by the Product Owner)

What does that actually mean for the sprint 1 and 2 planning? (i.e. the what to do and how to do it topics of sprint planning)

The above applies to the first topic, "what to do".

Does that mean that we can start without task assignment and every developer starts on one end and then assigns a new tasks to himself when he finished the first one?

After the sprint backlog has been decided on, yes ...sprint team members complete an item and then pick another one from the top of the sprint backlog. (note: not out of the product backlog)

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  • Sprint Planning 1 (What is done) Sprint Planning 2 (How it is done) So each sprint can consist out of two planning meeting parts.
    – Matthias
    Commented Jul 9, 2015 at 10:15
  • Ok, I see what you meant. As I understand it, as of a couple years ago, what used to be formalised as two separate halves of a meeting are now simply two primary topics to be covered in one meeting. I will modify the answer to suit.
    – David
    Commented Jul 9, 2015 at 10:31

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