Release Sprint

By Miranda Dulin

Published in Glossary

January 22, 2024

1 min read

Definition of Release Sprint

A Release Sprint is an anti-pattern where a Sprint is dedicated to releasing previously built but unreleased value.

Back of a vocabulary card for the term Release Sprint

Example Sentence

In the release sprint, we focus on bug fixes and integration testing.

Agile practitioners should be familiar with the term “release sprint” because it represents a concept, albeit controversial and often considered an anti-pattern, where a separate sprint is dedicated to activities that prepare the product for release. These activities may include final bug fixes, polishing features, completing documentation, and other release-related tasks that were not addressed during regular sprints due to various reasons, such as inadequate Definition of Done or unexpected complexities.

Understanding the term “release sprint” is important for Agile practitioners to recognize the implications of deviating from the ideal Agile principle of delivering potentially shippable increments at the end of every sprint. It prompts a critical examination of their Agile processes and encourages teams to strive for improvements that would make the need for a release sprint obsolete, such as enhancing their continuous integration and deployment practices.

Moreover, the term serves as a reminder of the importance of maintaining a sustainable pace and not accumulating technical debt, which can lead to the necessity of a release sprint. Agile teams should be vigilant about these practices to ensure they align with the goal of delivering value to customers frequently and with high quality.

Release Sprint in Scrum

A release sprint is not a core Scrum practice and is not mentioned in the Scrum Guide, but it is adopted by some teams to handle final release tasks, raising questions about its impact on Agile principles. This concept sparks debate about its fit within the agile mindset.