Spike (software development)

In the context of software development, a "spike" refers to a time-boxed period of research, experimentation, or prototyping that a team undertakes to explore a particular technical challenge or uncertainty. The purpose of a spike is to reduce risk and gain knowledge that informs decision-making for future development tasks. Spikes are often used in agile methodologies, particularly in Scrum and Kanban, to address questions or uncertainties about a feature, technology, or approach before committing to full development.