Learn About Sandbagging and How to Prevent It

Today, you will uncover how downplaying abilities or expectations impacts trust and product quality, which is the term, well known as sandbagging. It is not a fail-safe system but more often than not, it is used due to mistrust caused by setting aspirations as objectives in Agile teams. Learn to tackle high expectations and fear of failure. We hope this blog helps you foster honest collaboration for successful outcomes.

Sandbagging is a deceptive strategy often tied to sports like chess and golf. Here, the player intentionally plays low-level tournaments to skew the competition. It’s about downplaying one’s abilities deliberately so that the player can surpass anticipated results. 

What is Sandbagging?

Sandbagging in businesses is used for first lowering the expectations of shareholders and then surprising them with exceptional results. But the term also varies in interpretation. It can be about cautious optimism to a deceptive strategy aimed at surpassing expectations.

Examples of Sandbagging

Product Development: Deliberate Downplaying of Product Potential

A company might engage in sandbagging by intentionally downplaying the potential of a new product or innovation during its early stages. This tactic is used to set lower expectations among stakeholders, including investors, customers, and competitors. 

And, when the product exceeds these deliberately lowered expectations upon launch, it creates an impression of remarkable success. 

Shareholders and Financial Projections: Manipulative Forecasting

Within shareholder communications, sandbagging can occur through manipulative financial projections. Companies might deliberately underestimate their future financial performance. This tactic aims to portray surpassing these projections as an exceptional achievement.

But, if shareholders uncover these intentionally conservative estimations, it might lead to distrust and negative perceptions. In most cases, the latter happens. 

Organisational Negotiations: Strategic Underestimation

In organisational negotiations, such as mergers, acquisitions, or contract discussions, sandbagging may take the form of strategic underestimation. For instance, during merger negotiations, one company might deliberately undervalue its assets or capabilities to secure a more favourable deal. 

While this might yield short-term gains, it can result in long-term repercussions. It can lead to damaged relationships between the involved parties and a loss of trust once the truth surfaces.

Sandbagging in Agile

Let’s see how sandbagging can get questionable in Agile-led organisations. Here, the frequency of software releases is high. To match up to the core Agile principles, the deliverables can build into a technical debt of sorts. 

In that regard, software development suffers and will not satisfy customers. For the product owner/manager, this does not help. As the deliverables suffer, there is more miscommunication between the team and the manager, which defy collaboration in Agile settings. Here the goal should be to minimise sandbagging.  

We also want to discuss how sandbagging is not just from the product or Scrum team. It can arise due to high expectations that product managers often put on a team. 

Common Sandbagging Techniques in Agile

Let's give you some examples to help you understand better. 

Under promising and over delivering…

Scenario: A software development team estimates a project to take four weeks but commits to completing it in six.

Purpose: By deliberately setting conservative goals, the team aims to surpass expectations and deliver in five weeks.

Result: While they achieve the project in five weeks, consistently under promising can breed scepticism among stakeholders due to discrepancies between projected and actual timelines.

Holding Back Work to Report Later…

Scenario: An Agile team finishes tasks A, B, and C but only reports the completion of task A at the end of the sprint.

Purpose: Delaying the reporting of completed tasks gives the impression of a slower pace and creates a controlled perception of progress.

Result: Although the team completes work as planned, holding back updates might mislead stakeholders about the actual pace and progress.

Hiding Cost Overruns…

Scenario: An Agile team encounters unexpected expenses during a project but fails to disclose these overruns in the financial reports.

Purpose: Concealing budget discrepancies or resource limitations temporarily masks financial challenges to avoid immediate scrutiny.

Result: While hiding cost overruns may alleviate immediate pressure, it can lead to project disruptions or failure if the underlying financial issues persist unaddressed.

Reasons for Sandbagging in Agile 

• Unrealistic goals can push Agile teams to commit to more than feasible.
• Teams may resort to under promising initially to ensure they can exceed later.
• Excessive pressure leads to fear within teams of not meeting expectations.
• Teams might employ sandbagging techniques to avoid reprimand or failure.
• Unattainable targets strain relationships between stakeholders.

Impact of Sandbagging

• Sandbagging driven by high expectations risks compromising product quality.
• Rushed delivery to meet unrealistic goals can impact long-term viability.

How to Overcome and Address Sandbagging

Promote a Culture of Accountability

Fostering a culture where team members feel accountable for their tasks and commitments is crucial. This involves empowering individuals to take ownership of their work and deadlines.

Example: Encourage team members to commit to realistic goals and timelines during sprint planning sessions. This will promote transparency regarding their capacity and challenges.

Foster Collaboration and Alignment Across Teams

Effective communication and shared understanding help in synchronising efforts and preventing misaligned expectations.

Example: Organising regular cross-team meetings, fostering open communication channels, and creating a shared vision to ensure everyone understands the collective goals and dependencies.

Continuous Evaluation and Adaptation

Agile teams should adapt and recalibrate strategies based on the observed patterns or issues.

Example: Conducting retrospective meetings at the end of sprints to evaluate performance, identify bottlenecks, and implement improvements to prevent future instances of sandbagging.

Transparent Reporting and Communication

Encouraging transparency in reporting progress, challenges, and resource constraints is crucial. 

Example: Creating dashboards or reports that provide clear visibility into project status, risks, and impediments. This will allow stakeholders to make informed decisions based on accurate information.

Key Takeaways on Sandbagging

• Sandbagging yields temporary gains but poses risks, compromising trust, quality, and collaborative efforts in the long term.
• High expectations from product managers can inadvertently drive sandbagging, impacting Agile delivery and team collaboration.
• Fostering accountability, transparent communication, and regular evaluation helps combat sandbagging's adverse effects.
• Sandbagging is not confined to specific roles; it emerges from unrealistic targets, fear of failure, and strained stakeholder relationships.