Presentation from Agile Base Camp conference (Kiev, April 2011) about estimation techniques in Agile teams.

1. Agile Estimation Techniques Mikalai Alimenkou http://xpinjection.com 16.04.2011

2. Background Java Technical Lead/Scrum Master at Zoral Labs 6+ years in software development 4+ years of working by Agile methodologies Expert in Agile engineering practices Founder and coachat XP Injection (http://xpinjection.com)

3. Calculated approximation of a result which is usable even if input data may be incomplete or uncertain The art of guessing what the amount of time will be for a certain activity Guessing the complexity and duration of a task/feature

4. By definition estimates are inaccurate

5. Do we need estimates in Agile?

6. Time waste

7. No time for good decisions

8. Fear to miss estimate

9. But estimates are useful

10. Better business decisions

11. Select scope for release or iteration

12. Healthy discussion

13. Get team commitment

14. Build trust Increase responsibility

15. Spread realistic complexity vision

16. Parkinson’s Law Work expands to fill the time available for doing it

17. Let’s do it Agile way!

18. Think differently…

19. We are really good at comparison

22. Planning Poker

23. Why it works?

24. Be careful of anchoring!

25. Team Estimation Game

26. Why Team Estimation Game?

27. Optimize it!

28. Don’t try to estimate everything

29. No 100% agreement? Reduce risks!

30. Classification instead of estimation

31. Use other scale

32. Divide work on equal parts

33. How to estimate better? Learn from your failures Practice, practice, practice! Estimate with other teams Compare your estimates

34. Apply on personal level Working time management Personal time management

35. How to avoid estimation?

36. Highly motivated and responsible team

37. Team is interested in product success

38. Product roadmap is scope based

39. is based on continuous improvement

40. Any questions?