While different steps require different amounts of time and effort, each step should ideally take about the same amount of time for each item. That’s why the first step often breaks down large items to smaller items of similar size. However, there’s always variation, and sometimes one step might take unusually long for a particular item. If a step for an item seems to be taking a long time, team members should review what’s happening. Perhaps the person assigned to the item is blocked or needs help. Perhaps the item should be broken down further into smaller items. Perhaps more design work is needed. Perhaps the person assigned to the item is expanding the scope of the item inappropriately. Perhaps there are some substantial unresolved bugs. Regardless of the cause, items should always be moving along at a fairly regular pace. Whatever the problem is, the team should address it quickly. I go into more detail about some specific situations later in this section.