There is a huge pull to perceived firsts and lasts. People make New Year's resolutions and buy the most expensive January's gym memberships. Lots of unsuccessful diets start on an already-stressful Monday, or on the first of the month (less stressful, but why wait?).
It is not just personal, it's business, too. New projects start on Mondays and deliveries are scheduled for Fridays, which are shown to be the least productive days of the week. Even worse, finishing up a job is often scheduled at the end of the year - Christmas holidays and all.
Mondays and Fridays are the worst days to make decisions under pressure: it takes time to get into the work flow after the weekend, and it is harder to concentrate after 4 days of hard work, than it was, say, on day 2 of the week. The productivity is highest in the middle of the week, Tuesday through Thursday. Mondays and Fridays are the least productive days of the week.
Lots of Scrum implementations start their iteration on a Monday and finish on a Friday. The beginning and end of Scrum iterations are when most meetings and decision-making occurs. The hardest and most error-prone work of the iteration - the work that does not go through a normal test cycle - is routinely scheduled to occur on the least productive days.
Planning and release are arguably the most important parts of the iteration, they set the tone for the success and productivity of the iteration, and the entire project. Would not it make sense to give these meetings a prime spot in the week, when the concentration is highest and the team has had a chance to get into the flow and is not mentally preparing for the weekend?
re-posted from Door64.com - Austin Hi-Tech OnLine
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