More Related Content More from Phil Calçado (20) Agile Estimation And Planning1. An Introduction to
Agile Estimation and
Release Planning
Phillip Calçado
pcalcado@thoughtworks.com
© ThoughtWorks 2008
2. Agile Estimation
1 - Product Backlog
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3. 2 - Estimate Each Item
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How long is this going to take?
-1 day?
-1 week?
-Forever?
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4. 2 - Estimate Each Item
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Is #1 likely
to take longer
than #2 ?
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5. How much longer?
=
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#1 #1 ?
#2 #1
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#1
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#1
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?
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#1 #1 #1 #1 ?
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6. How much longer?
= ☑
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#1 #1 ?
#2 #1
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#1
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#1
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#1 #1 #1 #1 ?
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8. Let’s create a unit
=2
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#1
then
=6
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#2
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9. 2 - Estimate Each Item
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2 6 4
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2 4 6
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2 4 4
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10. 2 - Estimate Each Item
•Stories will change
•Everyone estimates
•Points aren’t a unit of time
•Being consistent is more
important than being accurate
•Estimates must include
uncertainty
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11. 3 - Prioritise
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2 6 4
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2 4 6
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2 4 4
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12. 3 - Prioritise
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2$$$ 6 $
4$$$
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2 $ 4 $ 6 $$
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2 $ 4 $$ 4 $$
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13. 3 - Prioritise
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2$$$ 6 $$ 4 $
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4$$$ 4 $$ 6 $
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4 $$ 2 $ 2 $
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14. 3 - Prioritise
•It is important to help the
client prioritise
•But the client has the final
word
•Technical dependencies are
relevant
•Priorities will change over time
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15. 4 - Assess Velocity
Points = Effort
Duration = ?
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16. Iteration 1 Iteration 2 Iteration 3 Iteration 4 Iteration 5 Iteration 6
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2 2 2 4 2 2
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2 2 2 4 4 4
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2 4 4 4 6 6
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2 2 6 2 2 6
8 10 14 14 14 18
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17. Iteration 1 Iteration 2 Iteration 3 Iteration 4 Iteration 5 Iteration 6
8 10 14 14 14 18
Velocity
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18. 4 - Assess Velocity
What’s our average
Velocity likely to be?
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19. 4 - Assess Velocity
•Planned Velocity is useful only
until we have real data - just an
educated guess
•“Yesterday’s weather” is more
important than average
•Iterations must create
production-quality increments
•Velocity is specific for a team
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20. 5 - Candidate Schedule
Say planned
Velocity is 6
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21. 5 - Candidate Schedule
Say planned
Velocity is 6
Backlog is
34 points total
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22. 5 - Candidate Schedule
34 / 6 = 6 Iterations
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23. 5 - Candidate Schedule
Iteration 1 Iteration 2 Iteration 3 Iteration 4 Iteration 5 Iteration 6
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2 6 2 2 6 4
$$$ $$ $ $ $ $
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4 4 4
$$$ $$ $$
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24. 5 - Candidate Schedule
•Ramp-up time usually has a
huge impact
•Pay attention to cost/scope/
time constraints
•Aim at delivering early and
often
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25. 6 - Monitor and Adapt
Plans are not
that important.
Planning is.
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26. 6 - Monitor and Adapt
Real World Example
Original Plan Actual Total Scope
60
45
Points
30
15
0
Start 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Iteration
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27. 6 - Monitor and Adapt
•You can’t embrace change and
have a plan written in stone
•Re-estimate whenever
necessary
•Don’t try and force real life to
look like your plan - It’s the
other way around
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28. Concluding
•This is just a framework -
there are multiple variants
•The customer is a partner
during estimation and planning
•Don’t try to change the world,
change your plan
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