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How to Manage Technical Spikes in Agile Development?
How to manage technical spikes in agile development?
Manage technical spikes by creating time-boxed research tasks with clear questions to answer, documenting findings in NoteVault or task comments, and converting outcomes to actionable development tasks. Use spike: labels, set maximum duration (1-5 days), and require a decision document as the definition of done.
Spike task template
## Spike: Evaluate GraphQL vs REST for new API
Time-box: 3 days max
Due: 2025-01-30
Questions to answer:
1. Can GraphQL handle our query patterns?
2. What's the learning curve for the team?
3. How does caching work?
4. What's the performance difference?
Evaluation criteria:
- Team familiarity
- Performance requirements
- Client needs (mobile, web)
- Tooling ecosystem
Definition of Done:
- [ ] Questions answered
- [ ] Findings documented
- [ ] Recommendation made
- [ ] Follow-up tasks created
Spike labels
| Label | Purpose |
|---|---|
| spike:research | Investigation task |
| spike:poc | Proof of concept |
| spike:evaluation | Comparing options |
| spike:1-day | 1 day time-box |
| spike:3-day | 3 day time-box |
| spike:5-day | 5 day time-box |
Spike types and time-boxes
| Spike Type | Duration | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| Quick investigation | 1 day | Simple question |
| Technology evaluation | 3 days | Compare options |
| Proof of concept | 3-5 days | Build prototype |
| Architecture spike | 5 days | Design decision |
| Performance spike | 2-3 days | Measure approach |
Spike workflow:
- Identify uncertainty - What do we need to learn?
- Define questions - Specific, answerable questions
- Set time-box - Maximum investigation time
- Create spike task - Use template
- Investigate - Research, prototype, test
- Document findings - NoteVault or task comments
- Make recommendation - Based on evidence
- Create follow-up - Development tasks from spike
- Close spike - Time-box ends, document state
Spike documentation template
# Spike: [Title] - Findings
## Summary
Brief recommendation in 1-2 sentences.
## Questions & Answers
### Q1: Can GraphQL handle our query patterns?
**Answer**: Yes, with caveats. [Evidence and details]
### Q2: What's the learning curve?
**Answer**: 2-3 sprints for proficiency. [Evidence]
## Recommendation
Recommend GraphQL for new API because...
## Estimated effort
- Initial setup: 1 sprint
- Team training: 1 sprint
- Migration: 3 sprints
## Risks
- Learning curve may slow initial velocity
- Caching more complex than REST
## Follow-up Tasks
- [ ] Create GraphQL schema design task
- [ ] Create training session task
- [ ] Update architecture docs
Common spike mistakes
| Mistake | Prevention |
|---|---|
| No time-box | Always set maximum duration |
| Undefined questions | Write specific questions |
| No documentation | Require findings doc |
| Endless spike | Hard stop at time-box |
| No follow-up | Create tasks from findings |