The Challenge of Estimating New Tasks Project managers often face the challenge of estimating unfamiliar tasks that have never been done before in a project. Without previous experience or benchmarks, creating accurate estimates can be very difficult. Some examples of unfamiliar tasks include: – Developing a new software feature using an unfamiliar technology – Creating…
Understanding Technical Debt 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. It is a design or technical infrastructure issue that is expedient in the short term but sets up a technical context that can make…
Technical debt refers to the implied cost of additional work caused by choosing an easy software solution now instead of using a better approach that would take longer. As teams take shortcuts to deliver features quickly, technical debt accumulates in the code base. Left unchecked, this growing burden increasingly slows velocity by making changes more…
In Scrum, all work related to a project must be accounted for and tracked transparently. This includes product backlog items, bugs, technical tasks,assignments, progress reporting, and closures. Comprehensive tracking ensures visibility into the true state of a project and what work remains. Defining Work Items in Scrum Scrum teams track progress by breaking down work…
Quantifying Research Work in Agile Frameworks Research work is often an overlooked effort in Agile frameworks. As an intangible activity, quantifying nebulous research tasks can be challenging. However, making research work transparent is critical for planning and tracking. Techniques like linking research to features, adding metadata to tickets, and analyzing velocity can elucidate the research…
Streamlining the Research Process with Exploration Limits Research projects often struggle to balance open-ended discovery with timely delivery of results. Unconstrained exploration risks going down tangential paths, while overly rigid schedules can hamper serendipitous findings. This article examines how judicious “timeboxing” of research activities can optimize the iteration between generating insights and conveying value. Pinpointing…
Improving Status Update Efficiency Through Asynchronous Communication The transmission of status updates between systems and services often relies on synchronous communication protocols. However, this can lead to inefficient resource usage and stall message throughput. By shifting to asynchronous update mechanisms, systems can optimize status delivery for lower latency and higher overall update efficiency. The Problem…
