Agile & TeamworkIntermediate
Spike
PronunciationSPYK
Definition
A time-boxed task dedicated to research, design, or prototyping to answer a technical question before estimating real work.
Where you hear it
In sprint planning meetings, backlog refinement sessions, or when facing an unknown technical challenge.
Examples
We need a two-day spike to figure out which third-party payment gateway fits our security requirements.
Let us create a spike ticket to test if this database migration tool handles our table size.
Common mistake
Treating a spike as an open-ended research project without a clear time limit or a defined output goal.
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