Estimating Techniques
A 59 Seconds Agile Training Video
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Estimating Techniques in Scrum
A 59 Seconds Agile Article
This article provides an ‘Introduction into Estimating Techniques’ and looks to discuss the different approaches to estimation and the benefits of each approach.
Problems in Estimating User Stories
A user story is estimated by the development team during the sprint planning meeting. However, due to technical or business reasons, the team may under estimate or over estimate. Under estimated user stories are those that requires more development effort and the development over-runs the time set out in the estimate.
On the other hand, over-estimated user stories are those that require less development effort and the development time under-runs the time set out in the estimate. According to a study on estimates, inaccurate estimates lead to demotivation and stress within the development team, where the defects often result from the developer’s fatigue. It often results in working days being extended to achieve on-time delivery against the estimate, or the need for working at weekends.
Working under pressure, without keeping deadlines de-motivates the team. Developers do not focus on the continuous improvement aspects like continuous refactoring, continuous integration, and continuous feedback. As a result, the team creates technical debt, which will manifest itself in the following user stories.
Developers do not fulfil the Definition of Done and avoid communication with stakeholders. Another problem is missing requirements. Working under pressure, increases the possibility of omitting requirements or boundary conditions.
If there is not enough time for proper discussion then the requirements may not be adequately understood by the development team, resulting in problems during the sprint. Missing requirements may then only be identified first in the production environment by end users.
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Estimating Techniques
A 59 Seconds Agile Video Animation
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User Stories Applied
A 59 Seconds Agile Book Review
User Stories Applied by Mike Cohn is one of our favourite books on Agile User Stories. The book starts with an overview into user stories, and details what a user story is and the different aspects of them. He then discusses how to go about writing a user story, and provides details of the INVEST criteria that can be used to determine if the story is meeting all of its objectives. Next Mike gives an in depth discussion of who user stories are written for and where to begin when gathering the details for them. The book then discusses acceptance testing user stories, including how to go about specifying these criteria and the responsibilities of the development team and customers during this process.
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Estimating Techniques
A 59 Seconds Agile Infographic
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Agile Scrum Master Training Course
Our Favourite Agile Books
We found these books great for finding out more information on Agile Scrum:
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