What is interruption-driven work?

What is interruption-driven work?

• A. Work items that were forgotten about when the team rushed planning and now have to be done.
• B. Work that is defined by someone continuously interrupting you with emails and texts.
• C. Work that is difficult to predict in advance but needs a team in place to handle it when it comes up.
• D. Work that is less important or valuable than what is currently in progress.

Answer: (C)

Interruption-driven work is work that cannot be fully predicted in advance and requires a team ready to handle it when it appears. This typically includes incidents like a production outage, a high-priority defect reported by a customer, or any urgent issue that demands immediate attention beyond the current plan. Because the timing and nature of these interruptions are uncertain, a cross-functional team is kept prepared to swarm on the issue, diagnose, fix, and restore service quickly, often with reserved capacity or on-call practices. The emphasis is on readiness and rapid coordination rather than following a fixed, fully forecasted schedule. It’s not about tasks forgotten during rushed planning, nor about being overwhelmed by constant emails, nor about work that’s less important; the hallmark is unpredictable, emergent work that calls for a coordinated team response when it arises.

Interruption-driven work is work that cannot be fully predicted in advance and requires a team ready to handle it when it appears. This typically includes incidents like a production outage, a high-priority defect reported by a customer, or any urgent issue that demands immediate attention beyond the current plan. Because the timing and nature of these interruptions are uncertain, a cross-functional team is kept prepared to swarm on the issue, diagnose, fix, and restore service quickly, often with reserved capacity or on-call practices. The emphasis is on readiness and rapid coordination rather than following a fixed, fully forecasted schedule. It’s not about tasks forgotten during rushed planning, nor about being overwhelmed by constant emails, nor about work that’s less important; the hallmark is unpredictable, emergent work that calls for a coordinated team response when it arises.