Being Agile: Eleven Breakthrough Techniques to Keep You from “Waterfalling Backward”

Short Iterations⁹

9. We use the terms iterations and sprints interchangeably.

Finally, in keeping with the idea of small batches, agile recommends short iterations.¹⁰ We encourage teams to adopt 2-week iterations to begin with—for multiple reasons. For the purposes of this chapter, short iterations support the tenets of queuing theory. However, short iterations are helpful in breaking old waterfall habits. For example, it’s harder to do a wateration in 2 weeks than it is in 4 or 6 weeks. With longer iterations it’s just too easy for teams to maintain waterfall thinking—separate, distinct phases for each discipline within an iteration. And such waterations mean that working software is not achieved until the end of the iteration, which, as you ...