Working in Sprints
Sprints at Tangible are generally reserved for larger projects (50h+)
We sometimes break down large projects into sprints. Sprints are a series of iterations that break down big, complex projects into bite-sized pieces.
Sprints make projects more manageable, allowing our team to ship high-quality work faster and more frequently and giving us more flexibility to adapt to changes along the way. In our workflow, a single sprint lasts two weeks.
A sprint is a measure of time, not a fixed outcome. We set goals with the client and we can discuss estimates, but we don't want to discourage them from changing their plans as needed.
Why use sprints?
If we simply deal with requests as they come in according to our availability, we can't put aside the time and resources required to push a large project forward.
With a sprint, we agree to reserve a dedicated team member (or several) for a full 50 hours of focused work on one project. We finalize the plan for each 2-week chunk of the project as we go, which allows us to get started quickly without needing to spend weeks negotiating an exhaustive list of features.
Working this way gives you tight control over the budget since the client is committing to two weeks at a time and can re-evaluate from there. If their needs and priorities change from one sprint to the next, we've never locked in more than 2 weeks worth of tasks and can adjust what we work on in the next sprint to meet those new goals.
What's in a sprint?
Individual team members' focused work can be reserved for part-time (0.5) or full-time (1) for the duration of an upcoming 2-week sprint.
Focused work at Tangible means an average of 5 hours per day.
For some kinds of tasks with a high cognitive load, like those involving strategic problem-solving, there's a drop-off in productivity after about 4 hours. Other tasks have a lower cognitive load, like data-entry, and can be done effectively for 8 hours or more.
As a company, we encourage our team to work happily and productively, which leads to a work day that averages about 6 hours.
We reserve about 20% of our team members' time for internal and admin tasks, bringing us to our average of 5 hours. Depending on the kind of work, it may very well be more than that. Our goal is simply maintain the highest level of productivity per person possible.
Keep in mind that since we're reserving this time exclusively for the client in advance and are refusing any other work during that time, if you don't provide us with the feedback, access and assets needed to do our job, the time booked as well as any credit used to pay for it will be forfeit.
There are studies and experiments backing up our model! Learn about how Microsoft Japan implemented a 4-day work week and saw a 40% increase in productivity. Also, an experiment posted by Harvard Business Review makes the case for 6-hour workdays.
Reserving A Sprint
We require at least 2 weeks advance notice to schedule a sprint.
We can't guarantee availability, but we're more likely to be available if they schedule further in advance.
If they can't give us two weeks' advance notice and the team members required can clear their schedules in time, at our discretion we may charge our rush rate, which is 150% of our normal rate in order to accept the last minute booking.
Clients can reserve our time by contacting us with the details they have about what they need. We'll ask for clarification where needed, let them know how many of our team members should be reserved for how many sprints, and confirm our availability.
Once we've set a date and chosen team members, we'll optionally send an invoice to top-up their credit if needed. We'll ask for their confirmation, in writing, about the sprints and resources to book.
We'll confirm the reservation once their credit with us meets or exceeds the amount needed to cover the sprint(s).