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.

Some people think a good indication that a piece of work is done is if it's been tested. But by whom, and how? Testing alone doesn’t specifically determine whether you are done—especially when we probably don’t mean the same thing when we all talk about testing. Here are two ways to know when your work is truly done.

Testing is all about gathering information, and the most direct way to gather information is by asking questions. The more questions we ask (tests we perform), the more answers we receive (information we gain). But some questions are harder than others and require more human involvement. Let automation handle the easy!