If this is happening to your team, you may want to ask yourself: “Is it possible we are not getting actionable feedback because we are not asking the right questions?”
Some teams will demo their work and quickly say, “Are there any comments or questions?” then they pause for a second and move on. This approach often does not allow for the time it takes people to formulate their feedback or think through their responses. Furthermore, it does not drive towards productive feedback because it encourages the person responding to limit their response to “Yes” or “No. The” Yes” or “No” answer does not elaborate on what will provide value to the customer. Using open-ended questions may elicit more productive feedback from your stakeholders.
Here are some open-ended questions to draw out excellent Sprint Review feedback from your stakeholders.
- What can we add or change to the existing feature we demonstrated that would awe the customer?
- What changes would you like us to make that would impress the customer?
- How much value do you think the customer will get from this feature?
- What didn’t we include in this feature that we should have?
- What is the next step in improving this feature?
- What did we miss about this feature that may bring value to the customer?
By asking these open-ended questions, you can ensure that you get quality feedback from stakeholders in a Sprint Review that will inform actionable steps that your team can take to improve the quality of your delivery and the value represented in the backlog.
For more insights, check out our Product Management Accelerator, Scrum foundational and advanced Product Owner education, and SAFe Product Owner, Product Management, and Lean Portfolio Management education.