Scrum Masters have a long list of responsibilities — from keeping meetings on track to ensuring the team continuously improves. But after running 100+ real-world sprints, I realized something:
👉 Most of the chaos can be handled if you keep things simple and consistent.
That’s where checklists come in. Instead of relying on memory (or 20 different templates), I boiled it all down to 3 essential checklists that make the difference between a smooth sprint and one that spirals out of control.
Here they are 👇
1. Sprint Planning Checklist 📝
Sprint Planning is where your sprint success (or failure) begins. Without structure, it’s easy for discussions to run long or lose focus.
Key items to check off:
- Is the Product Backlog refined and prioritized?
- Are dependencies identified before committing?
- Does the team fully understand the Sprint Goal?
- Are estimates aligned (Story Points, T-shirt sizes, etc.)?
- Are capacity and availability taken into account?
When these are ticked off, you avoid the dreaded 3-hour planning sessions that lead nowhere.
2. Daily Scrum Checklist ⏱️
Stand-ups can become status updates instead of true collaboration. A quick checklist ensures they stay valuable.
Ask yourself:
- Is everyone answering the 3 key questions (yesterday, today, blockers)?
- Are discussions about blockers taken offline (not during the meeting)?
- Is the meeting consistently under 15 minutes?
- Does everyone leave knowing the next steps for the day?
Keep this tight, and you save hours of wasted team energy every week.
3. Retrospective Checklist 🔄
The Retro is where continuous improvement happens — but only if it’s structured.
Checklist for success:
- Is there a clear structure or format (Start-Stop-Continue, 4Ls, etc.)?
- Are last Sprint’s action items reviewed first?
- Are new improvement items captured with owners?
- Is there time reserved to reflect on the Retro itself?
With this, you avoid the “therapy session” trap and leave every Retro with concrete improvements.
Wrapping Up 🎯
You don’t need 20 different templates to survive as a Scrum Master. These 3 checklists — Planning, Daily, and Retro — cover most of the things you have to do. Stick to them, keep them visible, and refine them as your team grows(until you have to split).
💡 I put together a Zenhub Agile Toolkit with ready-to-use checklists (PDF format), templates, and guides based on my 100+ sprints of experience. If you’d like to save time and avoid reinventing the wheel, you can check it out here:
👉 Zenhub Agile Toolkit for Scrum Masters
What about you — do you use checklists in your Scrum ceremonies? Or do you run them without? I’d love to hear your take in the comments!
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