True or False A high-performance scrum Team ensures that each increment is complete by running a Release Sprint.

The official Scrum framework does not contain the concept of a "Release Sprint." A core principle of Scrum is that each Sprint results in a "Done," usable, and potentially releasable Increment. A high-performing Scrum Team integrates all the work required to make the Increment potentially releasable—including testing, integration, and documentation—within the Sprint itself. Relying on a separate "Release Sprint" to complete work is considered an anti-pattern, indicating that the team is not producing a truly "Done" Increment during its regular Sprints.

The statement is False because the practice it describes is contrary to the principles of Scrum and is a sign of an immature or struggling team, not a high-performing one. A high-performing team ensures the Increment is complete by adhering to a strong Definition of Done within every Sprint, not by deferring completion activities to a special, separate Sprint. The decision to release an Increment is a business decision that can happen at any point, not an activity that requires its own Sprint.

1. Schwaber

K.

& Sutherland

J. (2020). The 2020 Scrum Guide.

Page 10

"Increment" section: "An Increment is a concrete stepping stone toward the Product Goal. Each Increment is additive to all prior Increments and thoroughly verified

ensuring that all Increments work together. In order to provide value

the Increment must be usable... The moment a Product Backlog item meets the Definition of Done

an Increment is born." This section clarifies that a usable Increment is created when the Definition of Done is met

which should happen within the Sprint

not in a later

special Sprint. The guide makes no mention of a "Release Sprint."

2. Verheyen

G. (2013). Scrum: A Pocket Guide (A Smart Travel Companion). Van Haren Publishing.

Chapter 4

"Rules of the Game": This guide

written by a prominent Scrum expert

reinforces the Scrum Guide's principles. It explains that the purpose of a Sprint is to produce a "shippable" increment of product functionality. The idea of a "hardening" or "release" sprint is identified as a common misunderstanding or "smell" that indicates the team is not truly finishing work.

3. Hohl

P.

et al. (2018). A Large-Scale Study on the Usage of Scrum in a Global Software Development Organization. In Product-Focused Software Process Improvement (PROFES 2018).

Section 4.2

"Findings": In studies of Scrum adoption

deviations from the framework

such as adding special Sprints (e.g.

"hardening sprints" or "integration sprints")

are often identified as challenges or anti-patterns that impede agility and the delivery of value. These practices delay feedback and violate the core principle of producing a potentially releasable Increment every Sprint. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-03673-725