Really there are three main reasons to estimate as a team. The first is to uncover where you’re not in alignment with one another on the effort required (I.e. Bill thinks it’s a 5 and Jill thinks it’s a 1 … likely you don’t understand the work the same). Second is so the team can say “that 5 is too big and we should likely split the work smaller”, this helps the whole team move towards small, similar sized work so you can stop counting the points and get to the story count in a meaningful way (remember that estimates support velocity, so velocity can support the use of points), when the team shifts to counting stories, you can use forecasting and measure throughput instead, monte-carlo predictive modelling is more precise. Last, having an estimate can sometime help the PO prioritize the work.
I often remind folks that the value in doing estimate work (as a team) is in the discussion and the understanding of the work, not the numbers that make up the result. Good collaborative discussion is real work and can save a ton of waste.
A few great comments already!
Really there are three main reasons to estimate as a team. The first is to uncover where you’re not in alignment with one another on the effort required (I.e. Bill thinks it’s a 5 and Jill thinks it’s a 1 … likely you don’t understand the work the same). Second is so the team can say “that 5 is too big and we should likely split the work smaller”, this helps the whole team move towards small, similar sized work so you can stop counting the points and get to the story count in a meaningful way (remember that estimates support velocity, so velocity can support the use of points), when the team shifts to counting stories, you can use forecasting and measure throughput instead, monte-carlo predictive modelling is more precise. Last, having an estimate can sometime help the PO prioritize the work.
I often remind folks that the value in doing estimate work (as a team) is in the discussion and the understanding of the work, not the numbers that make up the result. Good collaborative discussion is real work and can save a ton of waste.
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