Agile Projects Need Estimates Too
Even though you might hear people say we need to “move fast and breaks things” in Agile, the opposite is actually true. It might look like we’re moving fast, because we’re delivering small, usable increments of value on a regular basis.
We still need to estimate the effort of items on an Agile Project too. We can use the normal estimating approaches such as Analogous Estimating (using a similar item or project), Parametric Estimating (using a Parameter such as dollars per hour), 3 Point estimating (using an average of the Pessimistic, Most Likely and Optimistic estimates).
In Agile we can also use techniques such as Wide-Band Delphi estimating, Planning Poker, and Relative estimating.
Wide Band Delphi Estimating
The team members doing the work estimate the effort on a User Story, anonymously. High and Low estimates discuss their reasons then re-estimate until a consensus is reached.
Planning Poker
Team members estimate anonymously with numbered cards face-down on a table, and reveal their estimates all at once.
Relative Estimating
The smallest User Story has “1” story point, then other User Stories are estimated relative to that size, often in the Fibonacci Number Sequence: 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21.
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