Working in Weekly Sprints Works for Us After 7 Years of Trying
Link to the whole conversation in comments.
So why it works for us now? It allows us to portion the big ideas into smaller chunks, set measurable goals, and then assess how each of the sprints contributed to the bigger goal.
It makes us accountable both in terms of tasks for given weeks and for the actual results the sprint delivers.
It's also easier for us to focus on things that matter and don't get distracted throughout the week. Many opportunities occur every day, but if we set our sprint, stick to it and the opportunity is really great, we just put it into the next one.
We work in weekly sprints. Each Sunday we talk about the past sprint and set a new one. The discussion is abstract, we chat about business in general and then get to the specific task setting. That's why it's Sunday - you can already work on Monday. With a clear head.
We are a remote team so we do syncs when we feel like they're needed. Sometimes more, sometimes less.
We tried many other ways in the past. We also tried sprints before, but it never worked. Why?
The most important lesson we learned is that we always overestimated what can be done in one week so the sprints prolonged themselves to the next week. And then it doesn't make any sense.
We are still learning to set clear and measurable goals for each week that bring us closer and closer to our big dream.