
Drunk Agile
Episode 74 - Timeboxes, Risk, And Complexity
Sep 8, 2023
The hosts discuss the complexities and risks of timeboxing in Agile environments, exploring its impact on predictability, Scrum teams, and decision-making. They debate the effectiveness of different sprint lengths and emphasize the importance of understanding variation in managing complexity and reducing risk in Agile.
12:48
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Quick takeaways
- Time boxes increase complexity and risk by imposing artificial deadlines and interrupting the natural flow of work.
- Arbitrary cadences imposed by time boxes can hinder productivity, increase risk, and ignore the natural cycle time distribution of tasks.
Deep dives
Time boxes increase complexity and risk
The podcast challenges the common belief that time boxes help manage complexity and de-risk projects. Instead, the podcast argues that time boxes actually increase complexity and risk. By imposing artificial deadlines, time boxes interrupt the natural flow of work, leading to incomplete tasks and disrupted focus. Additionally, time boxes may not guarantee predictability or deliverability, as teams often struggle to meet the sprint goals within the designated time frame. Rather than reducing complexity, time boxes only shrink the scale of complexity without addressing its inherent issues.
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