One of the central responsibilities of a project manager is to establish the most suitable strategy for project delivery. That means creating a plan for success and predicting potential issues that could affect the project. These strategies can help assess the amount of time and effort for each facet of the project.

When development is outsourced, a documented baseline of expected functionality sets expectations for both the client and developer. Acknowledging that agile practices are flexible, beware the trap of rushing requirements just because you know they are going to change. It's still essential to be as accurate as you can.

Continually having to address unexpected problems interrupts your original sprint activities, causing stress on the team members and fanning the flames for future firefights. But with due diligence, you can lessen the need to constantly put out fires. Here are some steps that can break the cycle of work and rework.