How to Run a Staff-Augmented Sprint

Run a lean sprint with SMBS nearshore engineers: define roles, plan together, communicate, iterate seamlessly.

How to Run a Staff-Augmented Sprint
Running a staff-augmented sprint doesn’t have to be complicated. Here’s a quick, no-fluff guide to help your in-house team and SMBS engineers work together smoothly:

1. Clarify Who Does What

• Core Team (In-House): Product Owner, Scrum Master, lead devs, QA lead—these folks own the backlog, make final calls, and drive decisions.

• Augmented Team (SMBS Engineers): Focus on delivering assigned user stories, following your Definition of Done, and raising blockers early.

Pro Tip: Jot down a simple “who’s responsible for what” table (RACI-style) in Google Docs so nobody’s guessing mid-sprint.

2. Plan Together, Quickly

• Unified Sprint Planning: One 60–90 minute video call where you walk through each story, clarify acceptance criteria, and estimate as one team.

• Same Estimation Method: Agree on story points (e.g., Fibonacci). Once everyone shares a baseline, velocity forecasting works.

• Lock in “Definition of Done”: Unit tests, code reviews, docs—spell it out in a shared Slack channel or Confluence page so everyone’s on the same page.

3. Kick Off Right

• Share a One-Pager: Include sprint goals, priorities, timeline, and known risks. A quick Gantt-style visual or Trello snapshot works wonders.
• Set Communication Cadence:
  • Daily Stand-ups (15 minutes): “What did I do yesterday? Plan for today? Blockers?”
  • Dedicated Slack Channel: Use threads so updates don’t get lost.
  • Mid-Sprint Check-In: A quick screen-share to demo progress and catch misalignments early.
• Prep Environments: Make sure SMBS engineers have access to Git, dev/staging servers, VPN/2FA credentials, and a short “run-tests-locally” cheat sheet.