Time box
A fixed duration for a piece of work. When the work does not fit, the scope is cut or re-planned rather than the time extended.
A time box is a fixed period set aside for a piece of work, agreed before the work starts. The period does not move. If the work does not fit inside it, the scope is cut or re-planned, and the team reports what was left out.
Time boxes are common in agile teams, and they matter more in forward-deployed work because the client pays for the period and expects a decision at the end of it.
In practice
I set time boxes for each gate and for the readiness review as a whole. At the start of each box I write down the decision the box must produce, the evidence needed and the scope that is out. Halfway through I check whether the decision is still reachable. If it is not, I say so early, while there is still time to re-scope.
Re-scoping is not failure. A smaller question answered well is more useful to the client than a large question left half answered.
Example
[Composite] A bank gave a fixed box to design an agent for internal policy questions. In week two it was clear that the policy documents were out of date in two of the six regions. The team narrowed the first release to the four regions that were current, delivered on time, and wrote the other two into the backlog with an owner.
Common mistakes
- Extending the box without changing the decision it must produce. The date moves, the question does not.
- Setting a box with no written output. If nobody can say what the box delivers, it is not a box.
- Hiding the cut scope. The client should see what was left out on the day the decision is made.
Related terms
Cite this definition
Time box. Mayur Patil, mayurpatil.ai, updated 2026-11-01. https://mayurpatil.ai/glossary/time-box/