Systems Demo

At a Glance

The Integrated Review Demo, also called Systems Demo, showcases working functionality delivered by multiple teams as an integrated system. This ceremony demonstrates real business value by showing how individual team contributions work together to deliver meaningful capabilities to end users and stakeholders.

• Purpose: Demonstrate integrated functionality and business value delivered across multiple teams

• Audience: Stakeholders, business leaders, Product Management, and development teams

• Expected Outcomes: Validated business value, stakeholder feedback, and aligned expectations for integrated delivery

POWERD Start

• Purpose: Demonstrate integrated business value by showcasing working functionality that spans multiple teams and validates that collective development efforts are delivering meaningful capabilities to end users.

• Outcomes: Stakeholder validation of business value, feedback for future development priorities, demonstration of integration success, increased stakeholder confidence, and clear visibility into program progress.

  • What's In Scope: Working integrated functionality, business value demonstration, end-to-end user scenarios, integration between team deliverables, and stakeholder feedback collection.

  • What's Out of Scope: Individual team sprint demos, technical implementation details, incomplete features, internal system functionality that doesn't directly impact users, and detailed technical architecture discussions.

• WIIFM (What's In It For Me): Stakeholders see tangible business value from development investments, teams get validation that their integrated work delivers real user value, and everyone gains confidence in program direction.

• Engagement: Live demonstration of working functionality with interactive stakeholder feedback sessions and collaborative discussions about business impact and future priorities.

• Roles: Product Management leads business context and facilitates stakeholder feedback, teams demonstrate their integrated contributions, RTE coordinates logistics, and stakeholders provide business validation.

• Documents: Business objectives for demonstrated functionality, end-to-end user scenarios, integration testing results, and feedback collection mechanisms.

What Is It?

The Integrated Review Demo is a ceremony where multiple agile teams demonstrate working functionality as an integrated system, showing stakeholders the business value delivered through their collective efforts.

Unlike individual team sprint demos that focus on specific features, this demo shows how different teams' work connects to deliver complete user scenarios and business capabilities. The focus is entirely on demonstrating real business value through working integrated functionality.

What Are the Benefits of Integrated Review Demo?

Validates that multiple teams' work integrates successfully to deliver business value

Provides stakeholders with tangible evidence of program progress and investment return

Identifies integration issues and usability concerns before final release

Builds stakeholder confidence in the program's ability to deliver meaningful business outcomes

When Should Teams Hold Integrated Review Demo?

Schedule Integrated Review Demo at the end of each Program Increment or every 4-6 weeks, depending on integration complexity and stakeholder availability. Some programs benefit from shorter bi-weekly demos during periods of rapid development.

Time the demo after teams have had opportunity to integrate their work but before major release planning. This allows stakeholder feedback to influence upcoming development priorities while validating recently completed integration work.

Who Should Attend Integrated Review Demo?

Core Attendees:

• Business stakeholders and decision-makers

• Product Management team

• Representatives from each contributing development team

• RTE or Agile Delivery Lead (coordinator)

Optional Attendees:

• End users or customer representatives

• Business analysts and subject matter experts

• Executive sponsors and program leadership

• Support and operations teams for post-release planning

What Inputs Do Teams Need?

Teams need working integrated functionality that demonstrates complete user scenarios, business context explaining the value being demonstrated, test environments that reliably support the demonstration, and clear success criteria for what constitutes valuable business outcomes.

Product Management should prepare business scenarios that showcase the integrated functionality, stakeholder questions that validate business assumptions, and feedback collection methods to capture stakeholder input effectively.

What Do Teams Get Out of It?

Stakeholders receive clear evidence of business value delivery, confidence in program direction, and opportunities to influence future development priorities based on demonstrated functionality.

Teams gain validation that their integrated work delivers real business value, stakeholder feedback to guide future development, and visibility into how their individual contributions support broader business objectives.

Preparing for Success

• Team Preparation: Ensure integrated functionality works reliably in demo environment, prepare clear business scenarios that showcase value, coordinate presentation flow between teams, and test all technical setup before stakeholder arrival.

• Product Management Preparation: Develop compelling business narrative connecting demonstrated functionality to business objectives, prepare stakeholder questions that validate business assumptions, and plan feedback collection methods.

• Logistics Preparation: Secure appropriate demo environment, ensure reliable technical setup including backup plans, coordinate stakeholder schedules, and prepare comfortable space for interactive discussion.

How Do Teams Facilitate Integrated Review Demo?

1. Business Context Setting (5 minutes): Product Management explains the business objectives and user scenarios being demonstrated, connecting functionality to real business value.

2. Integrated Functionality Demo (20 minutes): Teams demonstrate working functionality through realistic business scenarios, showing how their collective work delivers complete user value.

3. End-to-End Scenario Walkthrough (15 minutes): Walk through complete user journey using the integrated functionality, highlighting how different teams' contributions work together seamlessly.

4. Business Value Validation (10 minutes): Stakeholders confirm that demonstrated functionality meets business expectations and delivers anticipated value to end users.

5. Stakeholder Feedback Collection (15 minutes): Gather stakeholder input on demonstrated functionality, business value delivery, and priorities for future development cycles.

6. Integration Success Review (5 minutes): Briefly acknowledge successful integration between teams and any technical achievements that enable business value delivery.

7. Future Direction Discussion (10 minutes): Discuss how stakeholder feedback will influence upcoming development priorities and program direction.

8. Next Steps and Follow-up (5 minutes): Confirm action items from stakeholder feedback, schedule any needed follow-up discussions, and communicate timeline for incorporating feedback.

How Do Teams Make Integrated Review Demo Successful?

Focus relentlessly on business value and end-user scenarios rather than technical features or team-specific accomplishments. Stakeholders care about what the integrated system enables them to accomplish, not about individual technical achievements.

Ensure the demonstration environment works reliably and represents realistic usage scenarios. Nothing undermines stakeholder confidence like technical difficulties during business value demonstration.

Prepare for stakeholder questions by anticipating business concerns and having team members ready to explain how demonstrated functionality addresses real business needs.

What Are Common Mistakes in Integrated Review Demo?

• Demonstrating individual team features instead of integrated business scenarios. Stakeholders need to see complete user value, not disconnected technical capabilities.

• Focusing on technical implementation details rather than business impact. Keep technical discussion minimal unless stakeholders specifically ask for implementation context.

• Using unrealistic demo data or scenarios that don't represent actual business use cases. Stakeholders can quickly identify when demonstrations don't reflect real business conditions.

Prompts for Continuous Improvement

• Are stakeholders leaving with clear understanding of business value delivered through integrated functionality?

• Does the demonstrated functionality address real business needs and user scenarios effectively?

• Are teams successfully integrating their work to deliver complete business capabilities rather than fragmented features?

• Is stakeholder feedback being incorporated effectively into future development priorities and program direction?

• Are integration challenges being identified and addressed before they impact business value delivery?

Start Your Integrated Review Demo

Identify the business scenarios that best demonstrate integrated value across teams, prepare reliable demo environment showcasing realistic user journeys, then schedule stakeholder sessions focused on validating business impact rather than technical features.