Working with Werewolves: Managing Agile Teams Through the Full Moon Cycle
In the high-paced, blood-fueled world of supernatural startups, cross-species collaboration is the norm. Vampires, banshees, ghouls, and yes—werewolves—all come together to build amazing things. But if you’ve ever managed an agile sprint with a werewolf on your team, you know the lunar cycle can wreak havoc on your burndown chart.
I’ve led multiple teams where the front-end wizard turns into a 9-foot fur missile once a month. It’s not easy. But it is possible—with empathy, preparation, and an understanding of what not to schedule during a blood moon.
Understanding the Full Moon Impact
The werewolves I work with are competent, passionate developers—until the full moon hits. Then they go from pulling requests to pulling livestock.
Here’s what typically happens during their cycle:
- Day -2 to Full Moon: Agitation increases. They start growling at Jira tickets.
- Full Moon Night: Total transformation. They are unavailable, unless your meeting is in a forest and involves a lot of howling.
- Day +1: Extreme exhaustion, memory fog, and inexplicable bite marks on keyboards.
This predictable rhythm means one thing: your sprints have to account for lycanthropic leave.
Sprint Planning Around the Beast Within
Set Lunar-Aware Sprint Schedules
Use a lunar calendar. I know it sounds like a joke, but seriously—sync your two-week sprints away from full moons whenever possible. This avoids mid-sprint chaos and reduces the chance of someone literally eating the product owner.
Assign Tasks Strategically
Not all tasks are created equal. Here’s how I distribute work for werewolf teammates:
- Week before full moon: Lighter, individual tasks (they’re irritable)
- Week after full moon: Collaborative work, pair programming, reviews
- During full moon: Absolutely nothing. Trust me.
“The best way to retain top lycan talent is not chaining them to their desks during a full moon.”
— From the Werewolf Inclusion Manual, 4th Edition
Managing the Team Dynamic
Let’s face it—werewolves have a presence. They shed. They’re loud. Sometimes they eat the office furniture. As a manager, it’s your job to keep morale high and the carpets clean.
Normalize Transformation Leave
Create a safe, stigma-free culture. Include lycanthropic leave in your HR system. Nothing kills a team vibe faster than side-eyes when someone applies for “Lunar Health Day.”
Accommodate the Aftermath
- Keep protein-rich snacks around for the post-full moon fatigue.
- Provide noise-cancelling headphones. For everyone.
- Consider a team-building day at a dog park (but always check the moon phase first).
Tools and Tips That Help
Here are some practical tools I recommend when managing a werewolf-inclusive dev team:
Tech Stack Helpers
- LunaSync (calendar integration for moon cycles)
- Howlr (team mood tracking, anonymous venting)
- Jira plugin: “Hide Tasks During Full Moon”
Best Practices
- Track lunar cycles and plan around them.
- Openly communicate with affected team members.
- Offer flexibility—remote work is ideal during transition periods.
- Debrief after every sprint with empathy and humor.
A Sample “Lunar Sprint” Plan
Here’s what a typical werewolf-aware sprint looks like in my teams:
Week 1 (Pre-Moon):
- Monday–Wednesday: Planning, assigning solo tasks
- Thursday–Friday: Reduced meetings, async communication encouraged
Weekend (Full Moon):
- No expectations. No emails. Definitely no Zooms.
Week 2 (Post-Moon):
- Monday: Check-ins, lots of snacks
- Tuesday–Friday: Heavy collaboration, demos, reviews
Note: If two werewolves are on the team and synced? Just cancel the sprint review. Trust me.
Final Thoughts from a Vampire Dev
Look, we all have our… quirks. I can’t be out in daylight. The banshee in QA screams whenever we push to production. The skeleton in ops can’t type without rattling the whole standup.
But that’s the charm of supernatural tech culture.
Managing werewolves isn’t about taming the beast—it’s about respecting the beast’s schedule and planning your kanban board accordingly. With some prep, empathy, and moon-phase awareness, you’ll have a high-performing, howlingly great team.
Just, y’know… maybe skip the team-building camping trip in October.