What is an Estimation Points Systems? For some Teams, Planning and Estimating User Stories is an Exercise they do not take pleasure in, particularly at the start of a Project. Even where the Product Owner has explained the Project to the Team by describing the Epics and what they are anticipated to provide, there is a lot of unpredictability about just how much Effort is associated with getting each User Story to “Done”. Specifically when a Team is new to Agile, or new to each other, there is a great deal of apprehension regarding what the Team is committing themselves and whether they will meet the Stakeholders’ expectations. These fears are groundless, and with the right approach to Story Estimation, it can be a basic, and even fun process.

Estimation Points Systems: Taking the Pain out of Story Estimation

The crucial word to keep in mind is “Estimate”. An Estimate is a guess; while it is possible to be remarkably accurate when Estimating, the Estimate could be too optimistic or too pessimistic. However, if the Product Backlog has around 300 User Stories in it, the Estimates will likely balance out.

Unlike Traditional Projects, where activities are Estimated using time as a basis, such as hours of Effort, in Agile we Assess the Complexity of a User Story. Obviously a complex User Story will take more time than an easy Story. However the focus is on how many User Stories we can finish in the present Sprint, not the time it will take. We do know how long it will take for all the Stories in a Sprint to be completed due to the fact that the Sprint has a fixed time-frame. So, rather than utilizing time, we use a points system, allocating a number of points to a Story to describe its Complexity.

Estimation Points Systems: Picking a Points System

We wish to Estimate quickly and with confidence, so it is essential not to overthink the range of Story Points to be utilized. Here are a couple of options:-.

• Numerical series, i.e. 1,2,3,4,5, … 13.

This series is used with “Planning Poker”. You will discover that you do not require 13.
options, stay with 5 or 6, say 1,3,6,9,11,13. Or perhaps 1,2,3,4,5, within the “Fist of Five” Estimation strategy.

• Fibonacci sequence, is where the next number in the sequence is the sum of the previous two numbers, or 1,2,3,5,8, and so on. Fibonacci is likewise utilized in Planning Poker.
• T-shirt size, XS, S, M, L and XL.

The goal of just having a few choices is to make the decision-making quick. We do not suggest a Value of zero, it suggests that a Story adds no Value to the Project, so why has it been included? It likewise affects our Velocity calculations.

The next thing to think about is the choice of a base user story and to estimate that story.

Estimation Points Systems: Using a Base Story as the Starting Point.

We have to start someplace, and one option is to select a fairly uncomplicated Story from the Product Backlog and Estimate the number of points it ought to score. You do not want a Story that is too easy, we are looking for a Story that ought to score somewhere in the medium range of Complexity. The reason for this is that we are then going to use it as a basis of comparison for the rest of the User Stories. These stories will either be the same Complexity, easier or more difficult; you can not do this with a Story that ratings 1.

You can make the choice of a base User Story simpler if you have some finished Stories. These completed stories can be taken either from the current Project or from a previous Project that many of the Team are familiar with. Some Teams have pre-defined base Stories that cover the range of points to be scored. These are used as “templates” for point Estimation.

One Down, Many to Go.

It is a good idea to utilize a wall or white boards with sticky notes to map out the User Story Points. Start with the Stories scoring 1 on the left and the highest scoring Stories on the. The base Story and its rating is now utilized in Affinity Estimation, which is a rapid technique. If you were to take each Story and Assess it, the Team would probably still be Estimating right through the night.

In affinity Estimation, you select a Story and decide whether it is simpler or harder than the base Story, which takes just a few minutes to choose. You can Refine the Estimation by Triangulation – where you compare the Complexity of the Story being Estimated against 2 or more Stories in the same range. It must take just a few hours to Work to go through all the User Stories. Resist the temptation to utilize Software to Record the decisions until you have finished. Working with sticky notes and pen or pencil is more creative and utilizes right-brain thinking.

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Some Techniques.

We have already mentioned Planning Poker and Fist of Five. The objective of these methods is to get every member of the Scrum Development Team (except the Scrum Product Owner and Agile Scrum Master) to vote Story Points for a Story. Where there is no clear agreement, the Story is discussed and voted on again up until there is an unanimous or majority decision. Planning Poker uses a set of cards with the number range you picked, and each Team member holds up a card for their vote.

Fist of Five is even easier – the Team member displays one to 5 fingers to give their viewpoint on the Complexity of the User Story. These techniques (there are plenty of options, however the Principles are the same) ensure that everyone in the Team has a say and an opinion. This helps in Team-building and helping inexperienced members learn how to Estimate.

The Role of the Product Owner.

As mentioned before, the Team members do the Estimations. When they have finished, the Scrum Product Owner can analyze the scores and ask questions as to why a specific Story was given its score; after all, they have the specialist knowledge from a Business point of view and might see Complexity that the Scrum Development Team might have missed. This Review time is a good time to look at Stories that have extremely high scores – perhaps they need to be broken down into two or more simpler Stories. Note that this review is done during the Sprint Planning Meeting, the deliverables once developed are demonstrated during the Sprint Review Meeting.

The Role Of the Scrum Master.

The Scrum Master Facilitates the Meeting, organizing where it ought to take place and providing any tools required (e.g. Estimation cards). They also discuss the methods to be used, such as Planning poker. They are always the timekeeper, and will assist in moving things forward when the Team starts getting bogged down in detail.

Completing off.

The goal of Estimating points is to offer a standard for picking the Stories to be included in the next Sprint. The total number of Story Points chosen is a Value known as the Velocity, that is the speed with which the Team Works for a Sprint. For the very first few Sprints, this number will be quite variable. The Team are still getting to grips with the Project at this stage. As the Sprints progress, the Team will stabilize their Velocity (although preferably it ought to improve for each Sprint). This makes it simple to Estimate how many Stories to include in the Sprint Backlog – the overall number of User Story Points needs to not go beyond the Velocity achieved to date.

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This may seem an alien way of Project Estimation to a Traditional Project Manager, however it can be extremely accurate. It likewise has a benefit over Traditional Projects due to the fact that the whole Team was included and have an intrinsic understanding of the Work to be Done and its Complexity, even if they do not understand the content of the User Stories.