The limits of a tool may lead us to realize that we are not working as effectively as we can, and often, changing a tool is part of the solution. But there are good and bad ways to select a tool and how you use it. In particular there are risks when you focus first on tools before considering the problem.

While completing documentation is often an indication that some progress has been made, until software has been implemented, tested, and approved by a customer, the amount of progress cannot be measured. Here are some common reasons agile teams fail to frequently deliver working software—and how to avoid them.

Continuous backlog grooming means systematically refining your user stories: breaking up larger stories, obtaining detailed requirements, writing the requirements in terms of acceptance criteria and acceptance tests, and sharing and refining these details with the team. Acceptance test-driven development can help.