Skip to content

Agile Development: Use Short Feedback Cycles to Update the Plan

Summary

Learn how agile development connects delivery and feedback, defines cycle goals, reviews real outcomes, and updates plans with clear reasons for change.

Published

Use Feedback to Update the Next Development Step

Agile development uses short cycles of delivery and feedback to adapt the next step. A short schedule alone does not create that feedback loop.

The team still needs a plan, completion criteria, and clear roles. Agree what to deliver and learn so changes can be evaluated.

Give the Cycle a Goal and Completion Criteria

For a member page, a goal could be helping new users find a required document. Include an assessment of the journey from finding to obtaining it.

Scrum defines a Sprint Goal. (The Scrum Guide 2020) If adopting Scrum, understand its formal roles and events rather than equating it with any short task cycle.

Review User Outcomes and Delivery Effort

Page views alone cannot establish whether users found the document. Review actual use and enquiries, recording where people encountered difficulty.

Assess maintenance and intake work as well. A useful feature may need a different operating model if delivery cannot be sustained.

Share the Reason for the Next Change

Compare new requests against the goal and their impact. Adding everything immediately can obscure what the current cycle is testing.

Share the next scope, deferred work, and rationale. Keep the service website consistent with what is actually available.

SpreadSite is a no-code website builder that lets you create, publish, and update a website from Google Sheets using ready-made templates.

To publish a website keeping users informed about your service’s available features, give SpreadSite a try!

Build a website with SpreadSite →

Frequently asked questions

Q: Does agile remove the need for planning?

A: No. Define goals, duration, and completion criteria, then update the plan from evidence.

Q: Are agile and Scrum the same?

A: Scrum is one framework used for agile development and has a defined structure.

Q: Should change requests be added immediately?

A: Assess their impact and effort before choosing the current or a later cycle.

Q: How long should a cycle be?

A: Consider delivery and feedback needs, plus any rules of the framework you adopt.

Sources

Build a website with Google Sheets using SpreadSite