Running out of work, but nothing is Done

Just stating what I notice: if team members are waiting (on each other) and for the 2-hour sync to happen, why not have a 24/7 sync to happen? In other words, have people working connected, so have them in a (video)conference while working. Everyone is muted, but if you need anything, you can just shout, like if you were sitting together.

We do not have any way to remotely share code or review. Each day, we have a 2 hour time slot to sync up, share code, talk in person, etc.

Why not? Why is this constraint being accepted by the team, and why are they choosing to pull in new work that only adds to technical debt?

Time after time, my team is running out of subtasks to start in a sprint but most of the subtasks don't get completed within the sprint. This is exacerbated when they start bringing in more stories to do more subtasks to create even more things that don't get done. Most sprints have almost no stories completed even though the sizing is small enough that at least some should get done.

Why is the team starting work, especially unplanned work, when planned work is not yet done? Having so much unfinished work is wasteful. One good early step would be to understand why work is being started, but not finished, and addressing those problems.

Now, it's even worse because of variations in workflow due to remote work with COVID -19. We do not have any way to remotely share code or review. Each day, we have a 2 hour time slot to sync up, share code, talk in person, etc.

Why do you only have 2 hours to sync? I understand that people's lives are disrupted, but I'm sure you can find more than a 2-hour window. I'd start considering the fact that the whole team doesn't need to be involved in every sync.

The fact that you don't "have any way to remotely share code or review" is also a problem that can be solved.

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I think if you address the key problems of starting work before work is finished (too much WIP), increase the opportunities for members of the team to sync, and find ways to share and review work remotely, you'll be able to start to see improvements. There may be some new problems to solve along the way, though.

@Xander Ladage

That's a neat idea, and since the last retrospective identified the lack of communication, it might just be a solution.

@Ian Mitchell

We have been hammering to be able to remotely share code/reviews since the beginning of our telework situation. Unfortunately, things are moving very slow while everyone in the very broad company is also teleworking.

They are deciding to pull in more work because the members of the team that run out of things to do (finish their code, put it up for review, wait for responses) and have checked with their teammates to see if they can help in any way, are sitting around not doing sprint work. Why they are not completing the work they are bringing in in a timely matter, I don't know. A couple members of the team are adament that it is a lack of communication, especially when people get stuck on a problem. They tend to spin their wheels trying to come up with a solution on their own instead of reaching out right away. 

I honestly don't know if that is the big problem, or if that is only the readily visible issue. We are taking action this sprint to improve communications, and I guess time will tell if it works. 

@Thomas Owens

We have been told to attempt to telework as much as possible, aiming for 100%. As we are sharing the office space with 3 other teams and have are trying to reduce how many people are in at the same time, we have time slotted each team 2 hours a day. I think it may be time for them to rethink the whole system and find something that works better. Technically, they are a group of people considered critical, so they could be allowed to work in the office all day long. We are just trying to avoid that if possible. 

See my response to Ian Mitchell about the remote syncing and not completing unfinished work. 

Thanks for everyone's input so far!