The process of determining the effort required to complete a project or task within an Agile development framework is known as Agile estimation.
Agile Estimation Methods
- Relative Sizing: Comparing tasks to others to determine their size.
- Planning Poker: A consensus-based estimation method where team members use cards to select a value.
- Affinity Mapping: Grouping and estimating items together.
- Story Point: Relative estimation of size and complexity, where a relative size/complexity is assigned to each user story by the team members.
- Ideal Time: Estimating the amount of time a task would take if there were no interruptions or distractions. This estimation is based on the total available time for a team.
- Wideband Delphi: Estimation through anonymous expert judgment
- Bucket System: Estimating items based on predefined sizes.
- First of Five: Quick estimation using hand gestures.
- T-Shirt Sizing: High-level estimation using the small, medium, and large.
- Dot-voting: Team members indicate estimation by placing dots on items.
- Relative Weighting: Estimate items based on their relationship to each other.
- Expert Judgment: Seeking input from experienced team members.
- The goal of Agile estimation is to provide an estimate of the effort required, with the understanding that it may change as more information becomes available.
Agile Estimating and Planning
Agile estimating and planning are approaches to developing software projects that use an Agile framework, such as Scrum or Kanban. It emphasises agile planning, iterative delivery, and cross-functional team collaboration.
The team re-evaluates the project timeline and adjusts their approach as needed in Agile estimating and planning. The goal is to provide value to the customer as quickly as possible while maintaining high quality.
Agile Estimating and Planning Fundamentals
- User Stories: Breaking down project requirements into smaller, manageable parts.
- Story Points: Assigning a relative size/complexity to each user story.
- Sprint Planning: creating a prioritized list of tasks for a short, time-boxed iteration (1-4 weeks).
- Sprint Backlog: The list of tasks agreed upon during sprint planning.
- Daily Stand-ups: Short, daily check-ins to track progress and identify obstacles.
- Sprint Review: Review of completed work and plan for next sprint.
- Sprint Retrospective: Reflection on the sprint to identify areas for improvement.
- Kanban Board: A visual representation of work items and their progress through stages.
- Continuous Integration & Deployment: integrating and testing code changes frequently.
- Adjustments: Constant adaptation of the plan based on added information.
Benefits of Agile Estimating and Planning
- Faster Time to Market: Agile allows teams to deliver smaller increments of working software more frequently.
- Improved Collaboration: Agile brings together cross-functional teams to work closely with customers and stakeholders.
- Increased Transparency: Agile provides a clear and constant view of progress through regular updates and demos.
- Better Adaptability: Agile enables teams to respond quickly to changes in requirements or technology.
- Higher Quality Software: Agile emphasizes continuous improvement through regular retrospectives and testing.
- Better Customer Satisfaction: Agile puts the customer at the centre of the process, with regular feedback and collaboration.
- Increased Motivation and Teamwork: Agile empowers teams to take ownership of their work and promotes a culture of trust and collaboration.
