introduction to agile estimating and planning

Agile Estimating & PlanningKane MarCertified Scrum Coach and Trainer.

http://KaneMar.comhttp://Scrumology.com.au

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Agenda

About me.

Traditional Estimating vs Agile Estimating

Relative Estimates

Context is Important

Deriving Project Duration

About Me.

Tradition Estimating vs Agile Estimating

KLoC

FunctionPoints

Ideal Days

StoryPoints

Relative Estimates

Agile estimates are estimates made on a relative scale

Here’s an example: Smarties in a glass

Relative Estimates

Points are abstract representations of size, which includes complexity, effort etc.

Scales currently used:

Fibonacci Scale: 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13 ...

Linear Scales: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10

T-shirt sizes: XS, S, M, L, XL

Relatives Estimates

Points do not have units

Points are not related (easily) to hours or days

What use are relative estimates if we don’t have a time or duration associated with them?

How can we use an abstract concept to derive durations and timeframes?

Exercise: Relative Estimates

We use an abstract concept to enable transactions for goods and services every single day.

We define the value of a dollar (“fiat money”) by how much “stuff” we can buy with it

Exercise: Relative Estimates

1 litre of milk:

Exercise: Relative Estimates

A loaf of bread:

Exercise: Relative Estimates

A dozen eggs:

Exercise: Relative Estimates

A desert:

Exercise: Relative Estimates

This is a Runeberg Tart. It’s named after the Finnish national poet Johan Ludvig Runeberg (1804 - 1877) who, according to the legend, enjoyed the tart with punch

Context is important

Context is important when estimating with relative sizing

The relevance of a Point is very, very local

Comparing points between teams has very little meaning (although it is possible with additional effort)

Relative Estimates

Estimating with Points is fast

Points can be easy to explain and communicated

They allow us to deal with ambiguity

The whole team is involved with estimation

Project duration from Points

Iteration 1

Iteration 2

Iteration 3

10 Pts

11 Pts

9 Pts

30 Pts

References

“Agile Estimating and Planning”, Mike Cohn

“User Stories Applied”, Mike Cohn

References

“Agile Software Development with Scrum,” Ken Schwaber and Mike Beedle, 2001

“Agile Project Management with Scrum”, Ken Schwaber

“Scrum and the Enterprise”, Ken Schwaber

“Scrum in 5 minutes”, Softhouse Nordic AB http://www.softhouse.se/Uploades/Scrum_eng_webb.pdf

Credits

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rugby_pioneers/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/66164549@N00/

http://www.flicker.com/photos/vernhart/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/lfl/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rugby_pioneers/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/sierravalleygirl/

Credits

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rugby_pioneers/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rbh/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mattimattila/

http://www.ScrumWorksPro.com/

http://www.ScrumWorksPro.com/

This Presentation

http://KaneMar.com/downloads

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