Meaning
A short, timeboxed research activity or prototype conducted to gather information and resolve technical uncertainty.
Three examples from work
Sprint grooming
PMWe have too many unknowns regarding the new streaming API.
DevLet's create a two-day spike to evaluate latency and library compatibility.
Stand-up update
DevI'm wrapping up the OAuth spike today and will document the findings.
LeadGreat, share the summary doc in Slack before tomorrow's refinement.
Demo
POWhat did we learn from the database migration spike?
DevIt will require zero downtime if we use dual-write mode.
Always timebox a spike (e.g., 'a one-day spike'). The goal of a spike is knowledge and risk reduction, not shippable production code.