The Agile Daily Standup - AgileDad The Phantom Sprint — Invisible Work That Steals Velocity
Oct 28, 2025
Invisible work can derail your sprint without anyone noticing! Discover tactics to detect phantom dependencies, including using a visible dependency board to enhance team focus. Learn how to allocate capacity for both planned and unplanned tasks, while preventing recurring interruptions with pre-planning checkpoints. Explore the hidden factory concept and the importance of documenting fixes to avoid repeated issues. Plus, a risk register can help identify potential blockers early. Set realistic, outcome-based expectations to protect team velocity!
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Last-Second Vendor Surprises
- Lee Henson describes sprints that look healthy until a vendor or stakeholder asks for data at the last second.
- These phantom dependencies often arrive late and steal the team's finish line and velocity.
Use A Dependency Board And Buffer
- Create a visible dependency board with owners and ETAs to track external asks.
- Allocate a portion of story points for predictable ticketed work and a buffer for unknowns so the team can continue forward.
Run A Pre-Planning Checkpoint
- Run a weekly pre-planning checkpoint to read out recurring interrupts with ops and support.
- Ask what causes interruptions and what will prevent them from recurring before committing to the sprint.