In order to keep the business risk acceptable, how should a Sprint be structured?

Structuring a Sprint to be as short as possible is key to managing and minimizing business risk. Shorter Sprints enable teams to ensure that they are frequently delivering potentially shippable increments of work. This frequent delivery allows for regular feedback from stakeholders and customers, which can lead to timely adjustments based on current market conditions or user needs.

By reducing the length of Sprints, teams can quickly validate assumptions and reduce the risk of spending too much time and resources on features or work that may not align with business goals or customer expectations. Additionally, iterative cycles promote a stronger response to change, enabling teams to pivot and adapt their priorities more fluidly as they learn from each Sprint.

This structure enhances the Scrum framework's ability to incorporate empirical process control, ensuring that decision-making is informed by the most recent findings, thus maintaining a focus on customer value while keeping risks manageable.