How Should Scrum Teams Handle Requests for Fixed Release Dates and Features?
Scrum Teams can respond to fixed-date and fixed-scope requests by:
- Explaining Scrum’s Empirical Nature – Emphasize that Scrum relies on inspection, adaptation, and transparency rather than rigid plans.
- Highlighting Early and Frequent Value Delivery – Show how incremental delivery reduces risk and helps deliver usable value sooner.
- Sharing Forecasts and Roadmaps as Estimates – Clarify that timelines and feature sets are not guarantees but informed forecasts based on current knowledge.
These approaches help set realistic expectations while preserving agility.
Metaphor
Agreeing to fixed dates and scope in Scrum is like promising a full season finale before filming the pilot. It skips the learning, testing, and rewrites that make the show worth watching.
Scrum teams thrive by scripting the story as they go—using feedback to shape a better outcome with each episode.
Connections
follows::Foundations of Agile Practice
Works Consulted
In addition to any sources cited above, the following works informed my thinking: (1)
1.
Stakeholders and Customers [Internet]. scrum.org; [cited 2025 Aug 16]. Available from: https://www.scrum.org/learning-series/stakeholders-and-customers/