I don’t believe in sprints

Post by TuringTest » Wed, Oct 05, 2022, 1:27 PM UTC

hebrox wrote: post #155

rob74 wrote: post #112

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And because you have sprints, you create lots and lots of small tasks, then focus on them, and then team members forget the "big picture" of how everything should fit together in the end (if they were ever aware of it). And when all of those small tasks are done, you notice that the sum of all those parts is not what you set out to build initially, and you need more time to shape it into something that resembles what…

I understand the feeling, but isn't everything eventually broken down into small tasks?

Post by peteradio » Wed, Oct 05, 2022, 1:28 PM UTC

the_af wrote: post #184

rob74 wrote: post #112

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And because you have sprints, you create lots and lots of small tasks, then focus on them, and then team members forget the "big picture" of how everything should fit together in the end (if they were ever aware of it). And when all of those small tasks are done, you notice that the sum of all those parts is not what you set out to build initially, and you need more time to shape it into something that resembles what…

What would be the alternative without sprints? What specifically about not using sprints would help the team if they lack good planners and people capable of seeing the big picture? Isn't such a team screwed regardless of how they allot work?

Post by marcus_holmes » Wed, Oct 05, 2022, 1:30 PM UTC

d23 wrote: post #123

marcus_holmes wrote: post #21

Agree mostly. Jira is a nightmare. Sprints are pointless. But the backlog is useful. I find it amazing how what seems like a great idea when I think of it looks utterly pointless when I see it still on the backlog 3 months later. It's a useful tool to deal with our tendency to fall in love with our ideas.

I don’t think backlogs are bad. The notion they’ll ever be fully groomed or in control is the pernicious fiction that makes people do weeks of useless busy work to get themselves back to the same place: a massive unwieldy backlog.

Post by hurril » Wed, Oct 05, 2022, 1:31 PM UTC

rob74 wrote: post #112

hurril wrote: post #6

This is nothing but a bad strawman from start to finish. Sprints are not made to help organize things, they're a tool to get more predictable deliveries. Their very short nature forces participants to construct tasks that are easier to estimate and therefore complete on time with a higher probability. This certainly adds overhead to an idealised scenario where people take the shortest reasonble route often enough and…

And because you have sprints, you create lots and lots of small tasks, then focus on them, and then team members forget the "big picture" of how everything should fit together in the end (if they were ever aware of it). And when all of those small tasks are done, you notice that the sum of all those parts is not what you set out to build initially, and you need more time to shape it into something that resembles what…

Post by brightball » Wed, Oct 05, 2022, 1:32 PM UTC

gbro3n wrote: post #11

Kanban is the best middle ground IMO. I agree sprints are a distraction. The planning and ceremonies alone sap time. Sprints are really just a form of pressure. In my experience the stories estimating is not accurate enough to set up a predictable sprint, and the inevitable deviation from the plan just creates additional work to audit and adjust, along with a sense of failure around what has often been a productive 2…