Parkinson’s Law and Why Sprints Work

Parkinson's Law: "Work expands to fill the time available for its completion."

We all know this truth:

• In school, if we had 3 weeks for an assignment, it magically took 3 weeks to finish.

• At work, the same thing happens—the longer the deadline, the more time the work seems to need.

🙋‍♂️ How often have you seen a project finish early?

• Rarely, Right? ( you can probably remember every time this happened with any significance)

• Even when teams are ahead at the start, progress often slows to match the deadline.

Why?

• A lack of urgency around dependencies.

• Over-commitment to testing.

• Over-engineering solutions.

This is where sprints shine:
🔸 By breaking work into 1-2 week increments, teams stay focused and avoid waste.
🔸 There’s no time to dismiss dependencies or over-test.
🔸 YAGNI (“You Aren’t Gonna Need It”) keeps over-engineering in check.

✅ The results?

• Faster feedback, more focus, and less waste.

• And let’s face it—it’s much easier to estimate 2 weeks of work than 2 months!

Iterative development isn’t just smart; it’s essential in today’s fast-moving, ever-changing software world.

What’s been your experience with Parkinson’s Law? How do you manage it? 🤔