Agile
Story
Estimation

About me

Alejandro Vidal Rodriguez
Director of Engineering @TribalScale

Agenda

  • How does it work?

  • Defining the one.

  • Poker estimation and fibonacci series.

  • Points & hours.

  • Size of good stories.

  • Velocity vs acceleration.

  • The focus should be on acceleration not on velocity.

We are a

construction company

How to estimate

  • Explain the story
  • Everybody ask fast questions
  • Throw your cards
  • Discussions between the low - high
  • Rethrow cards
  • Discussion - alternative proposal
  • Definition of DONE

Defining 1

The fibonacci scale

We are very bad estimating

  • Sensory threshold.
  • Points do not relate to hours.
  • Tasks should be comparable.

Important key points

  • Everybody participates
  • No task should be bigger that what can be accomplished in a sprint.
  • Velocity is calculated from the last X sprints and it changes over time.
  • The focus should be on acceleration not on velocity.

Goal

  • Understand how much work can get done
  • Never under estimate or over estimate
  • Have a burndown to see how are we doing.
  • Help prioritize task for business.

Time to practice!

https://www.pivotaltracker.com/n/projects/2319900

Avoid

  • Averaging to 3
  • If a story is not clear it should not be estimated.
  • Give options to your PO.
  • Over estimating.
  • Estimate as if you would do it.
  • Estimate only development.
  • Estimate uncertainty.
  • Velocity volatility.
  • Coming unprepared to the estimation meeting.

Well done!