What is a Sprint Goal?

The Sprint Goal is the single objective for the Sprint. It is created during Sprint Planning through collaboration between the Product Owner and Developers. The Sprint Goal: (1) Provides focus and flexibility — it's the WHY of the Sprint. Developers can adjust their technical approach within the Sprint to meet it; (2) Is a commitment — the Scrum Team commits to the Sprint Goal, not to completing every Sprint Backlog item; (3) Enables scope negotiation — if something unexpected arises, the team can renegotiate Sprint Backlog scope with the PO as long as the Sprint Goal is not endangered; (4) Cancellation trigger — the Sprint can be cancelled only if the Sprint Goal becomes obsolete; (5) Example: "Enable users to complete checkout with PayPal integration" — specific enough to guide decisions but flexible enough to allow implementation choices. A good Sprint Goal is achievable, valuable, and cohesive — not just "complete these 8 tickets."