Whose doing your Sprint demos

Ok, this has to be the shortest blog post ever. But just maybe it's something useful you can try. So this is more of a tip than a blog post.

Typically during the Sprint demos the devlopers do the dog and pony shows. They coded it and so they generally like to do the demos.

What we tried out at my last gig, was for the QA folks to do the demos. What's good about this is that it really shows the chickens and pigs that the loop has been closed.

As we all know, it's acceptance tested stories that really count. Code complete is meaningless. When QA is put on the spot to do the demo's they really ensure that the feature is understood and is working well. It also makes them feel important and part of the process.

Try it, even rotate the responsibility after each Sprint.

It worked in our context and may well work for you.

Let me know

Jack

Comments

[Mike Cottmeyer]

I discovered this approach accidentally a few years ago. It's actually my favorite way now to conduct a demo... for all the reasons you mention.

[Don Gray]

I took it one step further. Since the product owner accepts the story, one team I worked with let the product owner demo the story. Made it easy for him to accept the story, or not.

[Jack Milunsky]

Awesome, idea. Thanks for sharing.

[Jack Milunsky]

Thanks for pitching in Mike. Much appreciated.

Jack

[Software Testing]

Thanks for sharing such a great idea.

[Thomas Sabo Onlineshop]

I discovered this approach accidentally a few years ago. It's actually my favorite way now to conduct a demo... for all the reasons you mention.

[Pavel]

We used to ask the PO to demo the stories. If possible i think this is the best approach as this ensures that the PO keeps his knowledge up-to-date and does not just sit there as in a movie theater:)

[Heidi]

I'm with Don - let the product owner do the demo. They are the customer - and they generally really like this role.

[Jack Milunsky]

I agree, I think that takes it one step further. Although I would want to change it up just so the developers also get a turn to feel good about what they do. I think that's also important.

Jack

[Steve Gamble]

We rotate around the team - developers, testers, product owner. The product owner generally does the last demo for a release to show how things tie altogether.

Rotating around the team has the following benefits:
- everyone gets a chance to present accomplishments to the entire company (including sales, marketing, and exec)
- everyone learns to use the product as a customer would to solve a problem

[ecommerce developers]

Since the product owner accepts the story, one team I worked with let the product owner demo the story..Thanks for sharing.

[Vinyl Sticker Printing]

I'm with Don - let the vendor do the demonstration. They are the client - and they usually really like this function.