Not All Surprises Are True Unknowns
Many product development surprises stem from poor backlog management, not true unknowns. Regular refinement and reflection help teams anticipate and …
TL;DR; You cannot know everything upfront in software development, so focus on continuous discovery and adapt as you learn. Scrum supports this by encouraging just enough planning and design to move forward, then delivering and learning from real use. Prioritise delivery and feedback over excessive upfront design to create more value.

One of the biggest fallacies in software is the belief that you can know everything upfront. That’s why some teams try to carve out “Design Sprints” to feel more in control.
But real product development doesn’t work like that. Discovery is continuous. Ideas evolve. Assumptions break. Value emerges through use.
That’s why Scrum embraces uncertainty. Refinement is your chance to explore future work just enough to be ready, without wasting time planning things that might never happen.
Build just enough design to support delivery. Then deliver. Get telemetry. Learn. Repeat.
If you’re spending more time designing than delivering, you’re likely optimising the wrong part of the system.
Each classification [Concepts, Categories, & Tags] was assigned using AI-powered semantic analysis and scored across relevance, depth, and alignment. Final decisions? Still human. Always traceable. Hover to see how it applies.
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Brandes Investment Partners L.P.

Illumina

DFDS

Akaditi

Higher Education Statistics Agency
CR2

Big Data for Humans

Milliman

Philips

Qualco

Alignment Healthcare

Trayport
Boxit Document Solutions

Deliotte

Workday

Capita Secure Information Solutions Ltd

Hubtel Ghana

Sage

Nottingham County Council

Department of Work and Pensions (UK)

New Hampshire Supreme Court

Washington Department of Transport

Royal Air Force

Ghana Police Service

Milliman

Sage

MacDonald Humfrey (Automation) Ltd.

Slaughter and May

Alignment Healthcare

SuperControl