Getting ready to Sprint
In Chapter 1, Introduction to Scrum, in the The value of an iterative and incremental approach section, we examined the concept of developing software in short iterations, where each iteration builds upon the working software provided by its predecessors. We call such an iteration a Sprint. A Sprint is a container event, as all the other Scrum Events take place within the duration and context of a Sprint. The ultimate purpose of the Sprint is to have the Developers produce an Increment. An Increment is a piece of working and potentially shippable software that leverages previous Increments. We'll talk more about what this means in a subsequent section. However, the Sprint also provides space and time for all the other Scrum Events, where the whole Scrum Team comes together to plan, inspect, and adapt. A good way to visualize the Sprint is as a cyclical process, demarcated by other events, as illustrated in the following diagram:
