Sprint Review vs Sprint Retrospective
The Sprint Review inspects the product with stakeholders; the Sprint Retrospective improves how the team works. Learn the difference, who attends, and why you need both.
The Sprint Review and the Sprint Retrospective are two different ceremonies that happen at the end of every Sprint and are often confused. The simplest way to tell them apart: the Sprint Review inspects the product with stakeholders, while the Sprint Retrospective improves the way the team works. You need both, and they are not interchangeable.
If you are new to the full set of Scrum meetings, see the four Scrum ceremonies explained first — this chapter zooms in on the two that close the Sprint.
Sprint Review vs Sprint Retrospective at a glance
| Sprint Review | Sprint Retrospective | |
|---|---|---|
| Focus | The product — what was built | The process — how the team worked |
| Question it answers | ”What should we build next?" | "How can we work better next Sprint?” |
| Faces | Outward, to stakeholders | Inward, to the team |
| Who attends | Scrum Team + stakeholders | Scrum Team only |
| Output | Updated Product Backlog | A short list of team improvements |
| Order | First | Second |
| Timebox (2-week Sprint) | Up to ~2 hours | Up to ~90 minutes |
What the Sprint Review is for
The Sprint Review is a working session where the team demonstrates the work completed during the Sprint and gathers feedback. Stakeholders see what is actually done, ask questions, and react — and that reaction often reshapes the Product Backlog and the direction of the next Sprint. It is a collaboration about the product and what to do next, not a one-way demo or a sign-off meeting.
What the Sprint Retrospective is for
The Sprint Retrospective is the team’s private opportunity to inspect itself — its people, relationships, process, and tools — and to commit to concrete improvements. It happens after the Review so the team can fold in any product feedback, and it deliberately excludes stakeholders so people can speak candidly. The output is not a product decision but a small, owned set of actions the team will try next Sprint. This is the engine of continuous improvement, and it is the subject of the rest of this guide — start with what a sprint retrospective is.
Why you need both
It is tempting to fold the two together to save time, but they pull in different directions. The Review is outward-facing and product-focused; the Retrospective is inward-facing and team-focused. Combine them and the honest, sometimes uncomfortable, process conversation gets squeezed out — nobody wants to raise “our testing is rushed” in front of the customer. Keeping them separate protects the psychological safety the retrospective needs (see building a psychologically safe retrospective).
It is also worth distinguishing the Sprint Retrospective from a longer-cycle review such as a release or project retrospective — for that comparison, see our article on the sprint retrospective versus the release retrospective.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between a Sprint Review and a Sprint Retrospective?
The Sprint Review inspects the product — the team demonstrates what it built and gathers feedback from stakeholders to decide what to do next. The Sprint Retrospective inspects the process — the team reflects on how it worked and agrees on improvements for the next Sprint. The Review is about the “what” and faces outward to stakeholders; the Retrospective is about the “how” and faces inward to the team.
Which comes first, the Sprint Review or the Retrospective?
The Sprint Review comes first, followed by the Sprint Retrospective, and both happen at the end of the Sprint. Reviewing the product with stakeholders first means the team carries that fresh feedback into the retrospective, where it reflects on how it worked and what to change.
Can you combine the Sprint Review and Retrospective into one meeting?
It is best to keep them separate. They have different goals, different attendees, and different tones — the Review is an outward-facing product conversation with stakeholders, while the Retrospective is a candid, team-only conversation about how to improve. Merging them tends to crowd out the honest reflection the retrospective depends on, because people are reluctant to raise process problems in front of stakeholders.
Who attends the Sprint Review and the Sprint Retrospective?
The Sprint Review is attended by the whole Scrum Team plus key stakeholders invited by the Product Owner, because its purpose is to gather feedback on the product. The Sprint Retrospective is attended by the Scrum Team only — the Developers, the Product Owner, and the Scrum Master — so the team can speak openly about how it works.