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Agile Estimating

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Agile estimating and planning is a key component in managing work flows in Agile project management. Agile estimating techniques include the use of story points, versus traditional estimating methods of duration and cost. Teams assign story points relative to work complexity, the amount of work, and risk or uncertainty. Once these story points are compiled in the backlog, they give a more long-term view of product development.

Guide to Agile Estimating

Agile Estimating is a critical aspect of Agile Project Management.

Why is it important?
It plays a vital role in defining the scope and timeline of a project based on the team's velocity and the complexity of user stories. It allows the team to have a shared understanding of the effort required to complete a given user story.

What is Agile Estimating?
Agile Estimating is the process of predicting the amount of work needed to complete a user story, feature or project. This could be done by using various techniques like Planning Poker, T-Shirt Sizes, Dot Voting, etc. The estimates are generally provided in relative units, such as Story Points.

How does it work?
Agile Estimation works by leveraging the collective wisdom of the team. Each team member provides an estimate, and then the team discusses the differences in their estimates. This conversation helps in uncovering unknowns and arriving at a consensus estimate.

Exam Tips: Answering Questions on Agile Estimating
1. Understand the concept well: You should have a good understanding of Agile principles and various Agile estimation techniques 2. Practice: Try to practice with real or hypothetical scenarios. This will help you understand how to apply the concept in different contexts 3. Think from a team's perspective: Always remember, Agile is about the team. So, try to think from a team's perspective while answering the questions.

Always remember, Agile Estimating is not about being accurate; it's about being consistent and fostering constructive communication within the team.

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CAPM - Agile Project Management Example Questions

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Question 1

Your team uses Planning Poker for estimating user stories. However, they are consistently getting hung up on what the numbers should represent. What advice should you give them?

Correct Answer: Tell them not to focus on the exact value, but rather on ensuring that the relative sizing is accurate.

The best advice is to 'Tell them not to focus on the exact value, but rather on ensuring that the relative sizing is accurate.' Planning Poker aims to achieve relative estimation where a team seeks to compare the complexity between different user stories rather than an exact duration. Answer 'Encourage them to aim for exact duration estimates.' is incorrect because Planning Poker should not be used for exact duration estimates. Answer 'Switch to the Ideal Days method of estimation.' is wrong as Planning Poker is a type of estimation method on its own and switching to another method does not necessarily fix the problem at hand. Lastly, 'Encourage them to skip the estimating process and focus on completing tasks.' is not advisable because estimation is an essential part of Scrum to gauge velocity and to effectively plan for Sprints.

Question 2

Your team uses the Fibonacci sequence for agile estimation. However, stakeholder queries have been increasing regarding lack of clarity on time duration. How should you handle this situation?

Correct Answer: Explain that story points and time are not the same, the points represent complexity and effort required.

The main responsibility of a Project Manager using agile methodologies such as the Fibonacci sequence for estimation is to explain the concept carefully to stakeholders, which is the answer in model 150044. The points in Fibonacci sequences represent complexity and effort required, not the exact time necessary. The concept aims for relative estimation and not absolute. The other answers are incorrect as follows: Switching to a different system, like T-shirt sizing (suggested in model 150046), may still not provide the time-duration clarity the stakeholder is looking for, as still no direct correlation to time. Altering the Fibonacci sequence to represent days or weeks, as suggested in model 150048, actually invalidates the purpose of using story points, which are meant to measure complexity, not time. And skipping the estimation process altogether to focus on delivery dates (suggested in model 150049) could potentially lead to unrealistic expectations and deadlines as the complexity of the tasks is not measured or considered.

Question 3

Your team has an average velocity of 24 points per sprint. You are given a requirement of a user story estimated at 100 points. What is the best approach to handle this?

Correct Answer: Break the user story into smaller stories that fit into sprints

In agile project management, it is generally best to break down large user stories into smaller, manageable chunks that can be completed within a sprint. This allows the team to better manage their work and continuously deliver value to the client. Trying to increase the team size for a large story could disrupt the team dynamics and is not a guarantee of quicker completion because of the ramp-up time and possible communication complications. It is also not beneficial to ignore the requirement as it might be important for the project, and assigning it to a future sprint assumes that the team's velocity will increase, which is not guaranteed. Therefore, breaking the user story into smaller stories is the most effective approach.

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