Lecture Notes: Managing Spillover in Agile and Scrum Teams

Introduction to Spillover

• Spillover Definition: Occurs when planned work (e.g., product backlog item or story) is left unfinished at the end of an iteration and carried over into the next iteration.
• Reasons for Spillover:
  • Overly ambitious sprint goals.
  • Too much unplanned work.
  • Underestimating the effort required.

Impact of Spillover

• Benefits of Occasional Spillover:
  • Normal and desirable to aim high and occasionally come up short.
• Problems with Habitual Spillover:
  • Reduces predictability.
  • Diminishes creativity.
  • Harms morale and threatens project timelines.

Commitment vs. Guarantee

• Sprint Goal: A commitment (promise to try) not a guarantee (an absolute assurance).
• Handling Guarantees: If needed (e.g., for fixed scope by a certain date), teams should cut back on other work and set less ambitious goals.
• Team Autonomy: Teams should not be forced into guarantees, but should commit to reasonable goals.

Effects of Habitual Spillover

• Decreases Predictability:
  • Trust is built through predictability, reducing second-guessing and micromanaging.
  • Predictable teams deliver goals 60-80% of the time.
• Harm to Morale:
  • Small wins (successfully finishing an iteration) boost creativity and enjoyment.
  • Close to done does not equate to a small win.

Causes of Overcommitment

• External Pressure:
  • From leadership, stakeholders, unrealistic expectations.
  • Often well-intentioned but misguided.
• Internal Pressure:
  • From team members' own optimism and high expectations.
• Unhealthy Environment: Both external and internal pressures create a non-ideal situation for the team and organization.

Strategies to Address Spillover

• Data Sharing:

  • Track percentage of unfinished backlog items and review in retrospectives.
  • Conduct exercises to uncover root causes (e.g., "Five Whys").

• Questioning in Planning:

  • Ask questions to assess risks: What could go wrong? What's necessary to succeed?
  • Consider unforeseen scenarios like critical bugs or integration issues.

• Undercommitting Strategy:

  • Encourage teams to dramatically reduce commitments in next sprint for guaranteed success.
  • Allow the experience of adding work rather than spilling work over.

Conclusion

• Balancing Act:
  • Teams need to perform their best while allowing for reliable organizational planning.
  • Importance of understanding team capacity and the distinction between commitment and a guarantee.
• Breaking Habits: Drastic actions may be necessary to achieve lasting results.