ANSWER

Timeboxing sits at the core of most agile development methodologies helping the teams stay focused on achieving concrete results within prescribed time or planning cycles.  You are most likely already familiar with standard agile timeboxes such as a sprint or a program increment.

Timeboxing is the practice of setting a fixed period of time during which very specific objectives are planned to be achieved.  The essence of timeboxing is to focus on achieving specific objectives and not simply focusing on a set of tasks.  Without this practice, teams can fall into the Parkinson’s Law trap aka the curious expansion of work to fill all the allotted time span.

The Dynamic Systems Development Method (DSDM) structured timebox is comprised of three main steps boxed between the kick-off and the close-out of the timebox:

• Kick-off

• Investigation

• Refinement

• Consolidation

• Close-out

In agile project management, the benefits of timeboxing are quickly apparent:

• Focus on delivering value

• Predictability and transparency

• Team accountability

• Continuous improvement

• Prioritization of objectives

• Adaptability and flexibility

• Collaboration and teamwork

• Enhanced productivity and efficiency