Impediments

Defining Impediments An impediment is any obstacle that prevents an agile team from making progress on their sprint goals and delivering working software. Impediments can take many forms including: Missing or inadequate resources (e.g. people, infrastructure, information) Organizational constraints such as policies or processes External dependencies from other teams or vendors Technical challenges and bugs…

The illusion of control in agile software development The agile methodology emphasizes iterative development, continual testing, and adaptive planning. This promotes a sense of control and predictability in outcomes. However, software development inevitably involves many stochastic elements that reduce control. Uncertainties arise in user needs, technical dependencies, testing results, and task estimation. Developers still exhibit…

Hard Truths About Sprint Success The software development team celebrated an unexpected sprint success. The development velocity increased 30% over the last sprint. New feature requests flooded in from enthusiastic customers. Morale skyrocketed as developers met aggressive goals. However, the dynamics that enabled short-term sprint success conceal systemic flaws that foreshadow future failures. This article…

Overcoming Blockers in Kanban The Kanban process relies on the smooth flow of work through the Kanban board. However, teams often encounter issues that block progress and create bottlenecks. Common blockers in Kanban include: Lack of priorities – Without clear priorities, teams struggle to sequence work and ensure smooth flow. Unclear requirements – Vague, incomplete…

The Bottleneck Between Ideas and Execution The path from initial concept to final delivery of a project can be long and winding. Many obstacles arise that threaten to derail progress if not properly managed. A key bottleneck emerges in the handoff between product strategy and development – the gap between ideas and execution. Crossing this…