6 Pitfall to Watch out for while Managing Agile Project

Here are few pitfalls to manage during Agile software development. I highlight 6 critical pitfalls that can lead many projects to failure. They are by no means specific to any one project, this means no matter what software project you’re managing these six pitfalls are always present. Knowing them is the first step to not derail your project and looking back at past projects, both the successful and the not-so-successful, you can identify one or more that were present. Let’s do a deep dive into identifying and managing these pitfalls.

1# Zero Documentation

There is a statement in the Agile Manifesto that reads “….agile focus on working software over comprehensive documentation”. This single statement had many firms focused solely on developing software and neglecting important documentation. However, documentation is crucial in helping the team align with the requirements of the solution.

Suggested article: 5 Hacks for Agile Projects’ Documentation

2# Specialist Syndrome

The term Specialist Syndrome is given when a member of the Dev team is the sole expert in a given skill, for example, front-end or back-end developer. This introduces the risk of a bottleneck in the project. One approach to negating this pitfall is to ensure that a culture of knowledge sharing is fostered among the teams.

3# Context Switching

Context switching is when an individual is shared among multiple projects. This introduces inefficiencies due to the need to refocus when transitioning from one task into another. To eliminate context switching its ideal to have individuals work on one project at a time and a maximum of two.

4# Burying Risk

Risks are not always clear at the initial stages of a project. Further, it is the tendency of the team to downplay potential risks. Therefore without effective probing, we run the risk of having risks buried beneath the day to day activities.

5# Uncertainty in Estimation

In agile we tend to estimate the level of effort of the User stories within our backlog. Estimates are normally a random guess which leads to padding or underestimation, affecting the sprint velocity. One way to avert this pitfall is to make relative estimates based on past experiences.

6# Technical Debt

Technical debt is a concept in programming that reflects extra development work that arises when code that is easy to implement in the short run is used instead of applying the best overall solution (Technopedia). It is normally caused by incorrect estimates, a lack of knowledge on best practices, or rushed deadlines. Technical debt can be averted by observing the corrective measures for all of the other pitfalls mentioned in this article.