What is Technical Debt? Technical debt refers to the implied cost of additional work caused by choosing an easy solution now instead of using a better approach that would take longer. In other words, technical debt is a concept in programming that reflects the extra development work that arises when code that is easy to…
The Problem of Repeatedly Finishing Sprints Early Agile software development teams working in sprints often face the issue of repeatedly completing user stories and finishing sprints earlier than planned. This consistent pattern points to systemic problems in the sprint planning and estimation process. When sprints continually finish ahead of schedule, it leads to frustration for…
Identifying Defects The identification of defects is a critical first step in handling them appropriately within a Kanban workflow. Teams should establish clear policies and procedures to detect defects early and consistently throughout the development process. Using Acceptance Criteria to Flag Defects Early Well-defined acceptance criteria provide a mechanism to detect defects at the start…
The Challenge of Accuracy in Story Point Estimation Agile estimation using story points has become a common technique for predicting effort and delivery capability in software development. By assigning a dimensionless story point value to each user story in the backlog, agile teams estimate the overall relative level of effort required to complete each item….
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…
The Need for Reliable Software As software systems grow in size and complexity, ensuring their correctness and reliability becomes increasingly challenging. With interdependent components and emergent behaviors, even simple changes can introduce subtle bugs that lead to system failures. Comprehensive testing is essential, but testing alone is insufficient to guarantee software quality. Manual testing struggles…
Technical debt refers to the implied cost of additional rework caused by choosing an easy software solution now instead of using a better approach that would take longer. In Agile development, technical debt accumulates through defects that are known but not fixed right away. Defects are flaws in the software that cause it to produce…
The Perils of Accrued Technical Debt As software projects grow in scope and complexity over time, development teams often need to make expedient choices to meet pressing deadlines, which can result in lower quality code, incomplete implementations, and technical shortcuts that compromise system architecture. These issues accumulate into “technical debt” – engineering work that needs…
Understanding Resistance to Agile Transitions The introduction of agile practices often meets resistance from teams accustomed to traditional waterfall development methods. This resistance frequently stems from fear of the unknown, loss of control, and concerns about extra work. Before transitioning teams to agile, it is important to proactively identify areas of anxiety and objection in…
Understanding Kanban Fundamentals Kanban is a workflow management method that aims to help teams optimize work output and efficiency through continuous improvement. The core principles of Kanban include: Visualizing workflow: Mapping out every stage of work to identify bottlenecks and waste Limiting work-in-progress: Setting constraints to smooth flow through the process Focusing on flow: Moving…
