Merge pull request #42 from cabinetoffice/DH-64

DH-64: Firebreak week

Author: kayrog

source/docs/guidance/software/co-digital-firebreak-week.html.md.erb

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+---
+title: CO Digital Firebreak week
+last_reviewed_on: 2025-09-30
+review_in: 6 months
+---
+
+# <%= current_page.data.title %>
+
+## What is a Firebreak in Software development cycle
+
+A firebreak in Agile is a deliberately scheduled, time‑boxed pause in feature work for development teams that creates space for stabilising the system, improving quality and innovation. 
+
+Examples of activities for a breakbreak: 
+
+* high‑impact technical debt reduction, refactoring, testing, and small  
+* well scoped innovations related to the products Cabinet Office missions  
+* Security improvements  
+* cross teams and functions activities to enhance collaborations
+
+In Cabinet Office Digital, the cadence of Firebreak is once a quarter and the duration is 1 week. The delivery managers of the Agile teams should coordinate with each other to align. 
+
+Firebreak activities can be an individual activity or a team activity. 
+
+## Firebreak pitch: 
+
+The Firebreak Pitch is a dedicated session where individuals or teams present proposed activities for the firebreak week and recruit the right colleagues. You should prepare a concise two‑minute pitch outlining the objective, approach, expected outcomes, milestones, dependencies, and the support you are requesting, and present your plan and secure commitments for the Firebreak week.
+
+**Tips for a strong pitch**
+
+* Be clear on the objective and the value your activity will deliver during the firebreak  
+* Specify roles needed, expected effort, and time constraints  
+* Highlight dependencies and potential risks, along with mitigation  
+* Include concrete outcomes or proofs of concept you aim to produce  
+* End with a concrete call to action and how commitments will be tracked
+
+Individuals and teams should seek informal consent from the team leads and line managers to work on the proposals during the firebreak week. 
+
+## Firebreak week:
+
+During the firebreak week, you may work on your own project or join a different team from your usual agile squad. Here are some tips to make your firebreak week efficient:
+
+* **Kickoff and planning**: agree ways of working in our new team and desired outcomes for your projects  
+* **Daily rituals**: meet your team daily and report on progress, what you are going to work on and daily wash up.   
+* **Remote working**: make your team remote friendly. For example, set up google chat for your team, drop in meeting channels.   
+* **Work towards the show and tell:** ensure your team works towards the Firebreak  show-and-tell. 
+
+## Firebreak Show and Tell: 
+
+Firebreak Show and Tell is a concise session for individuals and teams to showcase the outcomes from the firebreak, share learnings, and secure alignment on next steps with stakeholders.
+
+For a maximum 15-minute show-and-tell, use this structure:
+
+* **Acknowledgements:** key collaborators and contributors  
+* **What and why**: state the objective, the problem addressed, and the value delivered  
+* **Key achievements**: list items completed or results achieved, with brief context  
+* **Demo**: present a live demonstration or a concise recorded demo if applicable.  
+* **Recommended next steps**: outline backlog items, owners, and timelines.
+
+## Support and operational work during firebreak week
+
+During the firebreak week, teams are only required to do mission‑critical support and operational work, with non‑essential tasks deferred until after the firebreak. 
+
+The Agile Quad should agree a minimum support rota to ensure coverage of the platform, tools and product operations, maintaining continuity and reducing risk while enabling a smooth return to normal delivery.

source/partials/_nav-software.html.erb

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 <ul>
   <li><a href="./docs/guidance/software/programming-languages.html">Programming Languages</a></li>
+  <li><a href="./docs/guidance/software/co-digital-firebreak-week.html">CO Digital Firebreak Week</a></li>
   <li><a href="./docs/guidance/software/source-code.html">Source Code</a></li>
   <li><a href="./docs/guidance/software/tracking-dependencies.html">Manage Software Dependencies</a></li>
   <li><a href="./docs/guidance/software/branching-strategies-policies-standards.html">Branching Strategies, Policies and Standards</a></li>