How can you use spikes to explore new approaches?

Spikes are a type of time-boxed experiment that agile teams use to explore new technologies, architectures, or features. They help to reduce uncertainty, validate assumptions, and identify risks before committing to a large-scale development effort. In this article, you will learn how to use spikes effectively in your agile projects.

1 What is a spike?

A spike is a short-term, focused investigation of a specific problem or opportunity. It is not meant to deliver a working product or feature, but rather to provide valuable information or feedback. A spike can be either technical or functional, depending on the nature of the challenge. For example, a technical spike might involve testing a new tool or framework, while a functional spike might involve prototyping a user interface or workflow.

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Rolly Tripathy

Associate Director @ Deloitte | Agile Coaching | Digital Transformation | Strategic PMO | Data Management | Data Governance
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Spikes are a valuable technique in project management and software development to explore new approaches, investigate unknowns, or gather information before making significant decisions. Spikes are a structured way to explore new approaches, technologies, or solutions. By defining clear objectives, allocating resources, conducting focused research or experimentation, and communicating results, spikes can help teams make informed decisions and reduce risks in the project development process.

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2 When to use a spike?

Using a spike can be beneficial when facing a significant unknown or uncertainty that impacts your planning, estimation, or design decisions. For example, you can use a spike to evaluate the feasibility or viability of a new technology or approach, compare alternatives or options, clarify the scope or requirements of a complex feature, validate a hypothesis or assumption with users or stakeholders, and mitigate a high-risk or high-impact issue or dependency.

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3 How to plan a spike?

A spike should be planned as a user story with a clear goal, acceptance criteria, and time limit. The goal should describe what you want to learn or achieve from the spike, and the acceptance criteria should define how you will measure the outcome or success. The time limit should be realistic and reasonable, typically ranging from a few hours to a few days, depending on the complexity and urgency of the problem. You should also consider the resources, dependencies, and deliverables of the spike, and communicate them to the rest of the team and the product owner.

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Peter Chiu

Risk Product @TikTok | Ex-Dell Engineering NPI PM
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When planning a spike, it is crucial to treat it as a user story with a clear goal, acceptance criteria, and time limit. The goals should describe what you want to learn or achieve from the spike, and the acceptance criteria should define how you will measure the outcome or success. The time limit should be realistic and reasonable, typically ranging from a few hours to a few days, depending on the complexity and urgency of the problem. You should also consider the resources, and dependencies, and communicate them to the rest of the team and the product owner.

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4 How to execute a spike?

A spike should be executed as a focused and disciplined experiment, following the scientific method. You should start by defining your research question, hypothesis, and expected result. Then, you should design and conduct your experiment, using the appropriate tools, methods, and data sources. Next, you should analyze and interpret your findings, and compare them with your hypothesis and expectations. Finally, you should document and share your results, conclusions, and recommendations with the team and the product owner.

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5 How to integrate a spike?

A spike should be integrated as a valuable input for your next planning or design session. You should use the information or feedback from the spike to update your backlog, estimates, priorities, and architecture. You should also use the spike to identify any new user stories, tasks, or tests that need to be added or modified. Moreover, you should use the spike to improve your skills, knowledge, and practices, and to foster a culture of learning and innovation in your team.

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6 How to avoid common pitfalls?

Spikes can be a powerful tool for agile teams, but they can also be misused or abused. To avoid common pitfalls, you should not use spikes as an excuse to avoid planning or estimation, as a substitute for user feedback or validation, to implement hidden features or functionalities, to bypass quality standards or code reviews, or as a habit or routine; rather, they should be used as an exception or opportunity.

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Peter Chiu

Risk Product @TikTok | Ex-Dell Engineering NPI PM
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The idea of using spikes responsibly is like a chef using a sharp knife. It’s not about reckless chopping, but precise, thoughtful cuts. It’s not just about problem-solving, it’s about maintaining the integrity of the agile process. Truly a reminder that with great power comes great responsibility!

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7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?

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Esraa Hammad

Product Manager |senior product owner| Business Analyst 🔆💡 Community Top Voice | Agile | Business Analytics, Project Management
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By Define the Problem: Clearly define the problem or challenge you are facing. Identify what aspects are causing uncertainty or where further exploration is needed. Use Time-Boxed Research: Limit the duration of the spike. Allocate a specific amount of time (for example, one or two days) for research and exploration. Setting a time limit prevents excessive research and keeps the team focused.

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How can you use spikes to explore new approaches?

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1 What is a spike?

2 When to use a spike?

3 How to plan a spike?

4 How to execute a spike?

5 How to integrate a spike?

6 How to avoid common pitfalls?

7 Here’s what else to consider

Agile Methodologies

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How can you use spikes to explore new approaches?

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

1 What is a spike?

2 When to use a spike?

3 How to plan a spike?

4 How to execute a spike?

5 How to integrate a spike?

6 How to avoid common pitfalls?

7 Here’s what else to consider

Agile Methodologies

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