Sprint Zero

ELI5 — The Vibe Check

Sprint zero is the sprint before the real sprints begin. It's where you set up the repo, configure CI/CD, argue about the tech stack, create Jira boards, have meetings about meetings, and write documentation nobody will ever read. By the end, you've shipped exactly zero features but you feel very productive. The project has officially begun, kind of.

Real Talk

Sprint zero is an initial project phase (typically 1-2 weeks) before regular agile sprints begin, focused on project infrastructure, tooling setup, architectural decisions, and team onboarding. Activities include setting up repositories, CI/CD pipelines, development environments, coding standards, and initial backlog refinement. While not delivering user-facing features, it establishes the foundation for productive sprints.

When You'll Hear This

"We spent sprint zero setting up the monorepo and CI pipeline." / "Sprint zero is supposed to be one sprint, not three — stop gold-plating the dev environment."