What should we do if a item in scrum takes longer then expected? i am asking this because i have been noticing items that developers is struggling to complete as it is much tougher then initially thought.
In such situation should we
- remove the item from sprint back to product catalog so that we can
meet the sprint timeline? - move to easier sprint item and leave problematic sprint till the end of timeline
- justify at sprint review why the item cant be completed at current
sprint to stakeholders?
How can we avoid such situation in future? Is it due to lack of upfront planning or we did not make an effort to break down the sprint item into smaller item?
Best Answer
With "item", I suppose you mean "task".
Planning optimism in software is as old as software itself. The good thing about scrum is that you are facing it soon and create visibility of it: this is why the teams velocity is based on past data and not future estimates.
To complete a story, you also have to complete the tasks that turn out much harder than anticipated. No excuse to postpone them. (This is why the Definition Of Done is so important). If that means that the team is failing a story, then too bad, you will have something to talk about on your next retrospective. Velocity will go down (become more realistic) and the team will learn to make better estimates, or leave more safety margin for unforeseen tasks. The product owner will get a more realistic view on his release planning.