Hoppers are incomplete - Pitched

So the estimates weren't quite right, the team shape isn't quite right, or something just came up... and you are now left with a load of blocked tickets. Have you got a nice hopper of well defined work that you can quickly dip into that a) keeps the devs busy and b) contributes to the overall project direction? The alternative is scratching around to find work that will almost certainly not be defined well and may not even be necessary.

I use the term “sandfillers”, and have used a separate backlog of these smaller, generally isolated items. During the initial NPD process this backlog is useful for keeping the smaller items, the ones that are great to do at the end of a sprint. However, as a project goes through its life cycle these sandfillers can act as a great way of keeping other stakeholders involved. Once the product has been released the customer facing teams will make additional demands of the development team's time and need resource. Obviously, planning ahead for this would be wise, but lets face it you'll still be driven by feature releases and the need to broaden your MVP. The sandfillers can act as way of helping finding resource for the customer facing teams requests. Regularly prioritise this dedicated backlog with the customer facing teams. It works as a great way of ensuring they have some resource, whilst keeping them happy and involved in the project!