Sprint reviews are not just routine meetings; they are opportunities to show the value your team delivered, highlight progress toward goals, and identify what needs improvement.

Unfortunately, many new project managers make a common mistake during sprint reviews:

1. They list tasks instead of highlighting results.
2. They give excuses instead of showing impact.
3. They make updates sound like personal reports, not team achievements.

This guide will show you how to give clear, impactful, and structured updates that matter to your stakeholders and make you stand out as a PM.

why valuable updates matter

1. Decision-Making: Your update should help stakeholders decide what’s next.
2. Team Visibility: It highlights your team’s wins and builds trust.
3. Professionalism: It positions you as organized and result-driven.

what not to do

1. Randomly listing tasks:
   1. “We worked on the homepage, and I assigned the API task to John, but I wasn’t available, so it’s pending…”

This is unstructured, unclear, and excuses-focused. It doesn’t answer the key question: “What did we achieve?”

how to structure a valuable update

1. Step 1: Start with the Sprint Goal. Example:
   1. “Our sprint goal was to complete onboarding screens and integrate the login API for user authentication.”
2. Step 2: Highlight Key Achievements (High-Priority Items). Example:
   1. “We successfully designed all onboarding screens and converted three of them into responsive code. The backend team completed the login and signup APIs and started email verification.”
3. Step 3: Mention Work in Progress & Medium-Priority Tasks. Example:
   1. “The remaining onboarding screens are 60% converted, and email verification testing will start next week.”
4. Step 4: Address Blockers (Briefly) & Next Steps. Example:
   1. “We faced a delay on the payment API due to third-party issues, which we’ll resolve early next sprint. For next week, our focus is completing all onboarding conversions and consuming APIs.”
5. PRO TIP: Keep It Impactful, Not Personal.
   1. Instead of: ❌ “I wasn’t available, so the developer didn’t complete the task.”
   2. Say: ✅ “The login API task is pending because we need clarification on credentials from the backend team. This will be resolved before the next sprint.”

sample update template

1. Sprint Goal: [State the goal clearly]
2. What We Achieved: [Summarize high-priority results first]
3. Work in Progress: [Briefly mention ongoing tasks]
4. Blockers: [State issues factually, not as excuses]
5. Next Steps: [What’s the plan moving forward?]

key takeaways

1. Start with the goal, not the tasks.
2. Focus on results, not excuses.
3. Keep it structured and concise.
4. Speak as a leader: show clarity and confidence.

Was this helpful? Drop a comment below and share how you currently give sprint updates — what’s working, what’s challenging?