snaggen

Snaggen is a term used in software development and project management to describe a structured method for locating, categorizing, and resolving snags—minor, typically recurring issues that impede progress—within a development workflow. The concept emphasizes early detection, triage, and remediation, with an aim to minimize disruption across teams.

Etymology: The word snag is common in English for a snag or obstacle; the suffix -gen is borrowed to indicate generation or production. The compound snaggen emerged in agile and quality assurance communities in the 2010s to describe practices for generating a catalog of snags from testing data and feedback.

Methodology: Snaggen combines issue tracking with test automation and data collection. Teams collect snags from continuous integration tests, user feedback, and exploratory testing, assign severity, categorize root causes, and generate remediation tasks. Some implementations auto-create tickets, assign owners, link to test cases, and propose provisional fixes or verification steps. The approach aims to reduce repetitive interruptions by targeting underlying friction points and validating fixes through follow-up tests.

Scope and variants: In software development snaggen covers user interface snags, API integration issues, performance bottlenecks, and build-system friction. In hardware or product domains, it may refer to mechanical snags discovered during prototyping. Practitioners view snaggen as a continuous improvement loop that informs backlog refinement and sprint planning.

See also: Bug tracking, issue tracking, defect management, continuous integration, test automation, root cause analysis.