let me first state that I don't want to be extremist and say that estimations are never useful. I've been in a few places where they were not useful and it worked out fine.
regarding your points: yes, maybe there's an implicit estimation under-the-hood. but:
it's without with all the psychological issues (arguments, anxiety, pressure, frustration) and waste that I mentioned in my article
it doesn't lead to nasty shortcuts just to fulfill dates (i.e. to "please Scrum")
it doesn't lead to team judgement/comparison/pressure based on velocity
it's not used to make promises and manage expectations
also, beware that the division/slicing that I mentioned happens when kicking-off the story (or close to it); not in a separate dedicated phase (that in some cases feels a bit waterfallish).
regarding prioritization, other factors come into play, but yes, size can also be implicitly there (to recognize low hanging fruits for example), although again, not as a first-citizen but as a secondary subject.
let me first state that I don't want to be extremist and say that estimations are never useful. I've been in a few places where they were not useful and it worked out fine.
regarding your points: yes, maybe there's an implicit estimation under-the-hood. but:
also, beware that the division/slicing that I mentioned happens when kicking-off the story (or close to it); not in a separate dedicated phase (that in some cases feels a bit waterfallish).
regarding prioritization, other factors come into play, but yes, size can also be implicitly there (to recognize low hanging fruits for example), although again, not as a first-citizen but as a secondary subject.
That's all fair. There's certainly an element of toxicity around estimates in many (all?) orgs. You summarize them well.