37.4. Motivations for Timeboxing an Iteration
There are at least four motivations for timeboxing an iteration.
First, Parkinson's law. Parkinson wryly observed that “Work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion” [Parkinson58]. Distant or fuzzy completion dates (for example, six months away), exacerbate this effect. Near the start of a project, it can feel like there is plenty of time to proceed leisurely. But if the end date for the next iteration is only two weeks away, and an executable, tested partial system must be in place on that date, the team has to focus, make decisions, and get moving.
Second, prioritization and decisiveness. Short timeboxed iterations force a development team to make decisions regarding the priority ...
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