What practice helps teams improve their performance over time?

The practice that helps teams improve their performance over time is Sprint Retrospectives. During a Sprint Retrospective, the Scrum Team reflects on the work completed in the previous Sprint, evaluates what went well, what could be improved, and identifies actionable ways to enhance their processes and outcomes. This dedicated time for reflection fosters a culture of continuous improvement, allowing the team to adapt their practices, enhance collaboration, and incrementally increase their effectiveness in delivering value.

While Daily Stand-ups are essential for synchronization and ensuring team members are aligned on their work, they focus more on immediate tasks rather than long-term improvement. Sprint Planning is critical for defining what work will be done in the upcoming Sprint, ensuring that the team has a shared understanding of the goals and scope but does not specifically address improving past performance. Product Backlog refinement is important for ensuring that the backlog items are well-understood and prioritized, yet it does not offer the team a structured opportunity to reflect and learn from past experiences systematically.

In contrast, the Sprint Retrospective provides the framework for evaluating past performance and embedding learning into future Sprints, thus driving ongoing enhancements in how the team operates.