Sprints are like driving on roads. You slow down on unfamiliar roads: you're cautious, more attentive, and observational. You speed through familiar ones: it's routine, you're comfortable, you subconsciously know what and when to anticipate each turn, stop, stretch, and condition.
To choose your velocity, assess your familiarity of the road ahead. Evaluating your knowledge and resources of the subject or task will help determine going slow or fast.
Here are some forks in the road to help you make the appropriate decisions.
Have sufficient logic to justify the UI solution?
No, go slow.
Implement extensive research processes to gain sufficient info leading to a confident design.
Yes, go fast.
Minimal to no research needed. Utilize expertise, intuition, or refactor previous research intel to the sprint requirement.
Have UI solutions that can be leveraged?
No, go slow.
Fulfill the design process for IA, UI, and prototype testing based on your research findings.
Yes, go fast.
Refactor/adapt existing UI solutions to the new requirement. Requires usability testing.
Have code that can be reused?
No, go slow.
Produce detailed specs with visual properties, assets, and interaction rules. Provide alternatives to implications and ensure you QA the implementation.
Yes, go fast.
Utilize existing software components to build the new requirement.
Have adequate beta testing results?
No, go slow.
Plan/moderate extensive beta testing session with real users and build comprehensive report.
Yes, go fast.
Previous testing on refactored implementation may suffice.
Have bugs been fixed after testing?
No, go slow.
Create JIRA tickets, prioritize, assign, and provide alternative solutions to UI issues.
Yes, go fast.
Fixes may have occurred in the refactored implementation already. If more fixing is required, then they can be assigned in the next sprint.
Summary
Velocity will determine sprint output type: UI solution or research learning
Velocity will determine how many tasks you can take up per sprint
Communicate your velocity to your team to set expectations on the sprint output
Team trusts your velocity, ensure it is backed by quality
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