I have taken over a digital channel where the squads and business areas did not prioritize bugs, as they were focused on delivering their business metrics. However, by creating a team that investigates root causes, has the autonomy to prevent new bugs from entering, and is encouraged to create test scenarios, the bugs curve becomes inversely proportional, leading the team to see the results. Having zero bugs is impossible, but believing in quality and granting autonomy keeps everyone motivated.

It’s more crucial to manage the situation proactively before the Team goes exhausted. 1. Prioritize Effectively: The first step is to prioritize critical bugs and deprioritize minor ones. By focusing on the most impactful issues, it helps the Team tackle what matters most, allowing them to manage their workload more efficiently and avoid fatigue. 2. Provide Context and Purpose: Ensure the team understands why the bugs they're addressing are critical. Share how fixing these issues will directly impact end-users, resolve pain points, and provide tangible value. This sense of purpose will keep them motivated and energized.

You can focus on three specific areas People, Process and Performance. From People perspective have regular calls and encourage their good work and provide them the Business Criticality. Allow your core team to focus on their performance and provide clear goals. From the process perspective identify the non-critical activities for this epic and move them to the next release. Also ask the client to meet the team. This is a very critical step as the client coming personally and meeting the team will provide a clear idea for your team to perform beyond expectation. Maintain the Quality gates for better results. Performance perspective reward the team with the cash/Thanks Card/Personal Client appreciation. Reward the topperformers every week.

After an intense bug-fixing cycle, it’s crucial to restore team energy and maintain efficiency. As a leader, engage actively by working alongside the team and introduce variety through task rotation or team-building activities like quick games or informal coffee breaks. Recognize individual and team contributions to boost morale. Once stability is restored, conduct a root cause analysis to identify recurring issues, such as tight timelines, inadequate code reviews, or lack of test coverage. Strengthen development practices with rigorous code reviews, improved test automation, and refined CI/CD pipelines to prevent future bugs and ensure high code quality.

1. Implement a test-driven development approach, professionally managed and organized. 2. Provide loads of beer and a free gym membership. 3. Respect the team's off-work hours. Better to lose clients than to lose employees. Do that, and your team's productivity will skyrocket.