The Dry Run is a rehearsal of the boardProduct BoardTwo or more stakeholders who see the team's weekly demo and coach it — the human in the loop, with no single lead. presentation, held the day before the Board Meeting. It is the one ritual the method marks optional — not every team needs it.
Purpose
Rehearse the board presentation in full so the team catches the broken build, the missing data, and the rambling narrative before it is in front of the Product Board. It is a QA pass over the week’s delivery as a whole, and often the first time the team presents its work to itself.
Cadence
About 60 minutes, roughly one working day before the Board Meeting. On the day it runs, the Dry Run replaces the Daily Check-inDaily Check-inA 15-minute daily ritual where the team surfaces reality and unknowns rather than reporting status. and Collab Time — it is the day’s ritual, not an extra one.
Attendees
The Team. The team presents to itself, exactly as it will present to the Product Board.
Format
Literally rehearse the presentation. Walk through the demo end to end as if the Product Board were in the room: the same slides, the same live demo, the same narrative. Treat it as a quality pass — does the work hold up, does the data prove what the team says it proves, does the story make sense?
Outputs
- A rehearsed, sharper presentation ready for the Product Board.
- Internal disagreements surfaced and resolved before they reach the board, rather than in front of it.
- A QA check on the week’s delivery as a whole.
Common pitfalls
- Turning a focused rehearsal into a second full working meeting.
- Forcing every team to run it. Teams that demo confidently can skip the Dry Run; teams that keep getting surprised on demo day should keep it. Not all teams use it, and that is by design.