Answering: “What conditions are most likely occurring if you feel you need a “Quality Assurance and Release Readiness Sprint”?”

If you feel you need a special quality and release Sprint, it means the Definition of Done is not being met, is too weak, or the team cannot yet produce a usable Increment each Sprint. Scrum does not include hardening Sprints, so they are never a valid way of following Scrum.

Exam Question

What conditions are most likely occurring if you feel you need a “Quality Assurance and Release Readiness Sprint”? (choose the best three answers)

• A. The Definition of Done is not being met every Sprint.
• B. The Definition of Done is weak or incomplete, allowing technical debt to accumulate.
• C. The Developers find it nearly impossible to create a valuable, useful product Increment in a Sprint.
• D. You are following Scrum and the concept of a Hardening Sprint.
• E. Scrum has been modified in an acceptable manner to introduce “Quality Assurance and Release Readiness Sprints”.

Correct Answer

A, B and C.

Why This Is the Correct Answer

Every Sprint in Scrum is meant to produce a usable Increment that meets the Definition of Done. The Scrum Guide says “if a Product Backlog item does not meet the Definition of Done, it cannot be released or even presented at the Sprint Review.” A separate Sprint for testing and release readiness only appears when that standard is skipped, when the standard is too thin and lets technical debt pile up, or when the team lacks the skills or tooling to get to done within one Sprint. Each of these is a problem to inspect and fix, for example by strengthening the Definition of Done or improving automation, not something to institutionalize with a special Sprint.

Why the Other Options Are Wrong

D. You are following Scrum and the concept of a Hardening Sprint. Scrum has no Hardening Sprint. Needing one is a sign that Scrum is not being followed.

E. Scrum has been modified acceptably to add these Sprints. Adding Sprints that produce no usable Increment changes how Scrum works, so it is not an acceptable modification. The result is no longer Scrum.

Exam Tip

Any option that treats “hardening”, “stabilization” or “release” Sprints as normal Scrum is a distractor. Look for answers that describe the underlying Definition of Done problem.

Key Takeaways

• Every Sprint should produce a done, usable Increment.
• A weak or ignored Definition of Done creates the need for hardening.
• Hardening Sprints are a symptom, not a Scrum practice.