This document discusses agile estimating and planning. It outlines some of the problems with traditional project planning approaches, such as overruns in cost and schedule and underutilized features. Agile planning focuses on features rather than activities and incorporates uncertainty. It involves estimating the size of backlog items using techniques like planning poker and measuring team velocity to determine how long it will take to complete items based on past performance. Regular replanning allows adapting to changes and improving estimates over time.

1. Agile Estimating and
Planning
Madan Mohan Upadhyay | Scrum Master | Agile Coach | Facilitator
March 13th, 2016 | Sunday | 9.00 AM IST

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Agile Estimating and Planning
1. The Problem and the Goal
2. Agile Planning
3. Agile Estimating
4. Why Agile Planning Works

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Planning Objectives
✤ What am I going to get?
✤ When am I going to get it?
✤ How much is it going to cost?

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The Problem and the Goal
“Traditional project management assumes that events
effecting the project are predictable and that tools and
activities are well understood. In addition, with
traditional project management, once a phase is
complete, it is assumed that it will not be revisited.”

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Traditional planning fails
 Nearly two-thirds of projects significantly
overrun their cost estimates (Lederer and
Prasad 1992)
 64% of the features included in products are
rarely or never used (Johnson 2002)
 The average project exceeds its schedule by
100% (Standish 2001)

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Why does traditional Planning fail?
 Planning by Activity rather than feature
 Activities don‘t finish early
 Lateness is passed down schedule
 Activities are not independant
 Multitasking causes further delays
 Features are not developed by priority
 We ignore uncertainty
 Estimates become Commitments

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Why do we plan?
Planning:
 Reduces risk
 Reduces uncertainty
 Supports decision making
 Establishes trust
 Conveys information

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Agile Estimating and Planning
1. The Problem and the Goal
2. Agile Planning
3. Agile Estimating
4. Why Agile Planning Works
5. Q & A

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Agile Planning
“When preparing for battle, I
find that plans are
useless, but planning is
indispensable”
- Dwight D. Eisenhower

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Levels of Agile Requirements

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Planning LEVELS

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Rules of Planning – Agile - I
1. Involve the whole team
2. Plan in multiple levels
3. Keep size and time estimates separate (optional
4. Consider uncertainty for features and dates
5. Replan frequently
6. Track and advertise progress

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Rules of Planning – Agile - II
1. Be aware of the importance of learning
2. Work with features of the right size
3. Prioritize features
4. Base your estimates and plans in facts
5. Not plan for 100% of the time
(buffer, ideal work day)
6. Coordinate planning to avoid dependencies

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Agile Estimating and Planning
1. The Problem and the Goal
2. Agile Planning
3. Agile Estimating
4. Why Agile Planning Works

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How long it will take...

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Estimation Size Speed Duration

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Measure of Size – Story points
 The “bigness” of a task
 Influenced by
 How hard it is
 How much of it there is

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How to Estimate
Planning Poker T-Shirt Sizing

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Estimation Backlog
Planning Poker T-Shirt Sizing

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Estimation Backlog
Product backlog item Estimate
Read a high-level, 10-page overview of agile software development in a celebrity magazine.
1
Read a densely written 5-page research paper about agile software development in an academic
journal. 2
Write the product backlog for a simple eCommerce site that sells only clocks.
3
Recruit, interview, and hire a new member for your team.
5
Create a 60-minute presentation about agile estimating and planning for your coworkers.
8
Wash and wax your boss’ Porsche.
3
Read a 150-page book on agile software development.
2
Write an 8-page description of agile development for your boss.
1

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Connecting The Dots
Size (complexity) is estimated
A story is estimated to be 3 story points in
relative complexity
Velocity is measured
“Team A can deliver 20 story points in a 2-
week sprint”
Duration is derived
- “Based on Team A’s measured velocity of
20 story points per sprint, it will take Team A
3 sprints to deliver 60 story points.”

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Estimation Summary
Backlog Item estimates answer the
question “how big?”, rather than
“how long?”
Size estimates and observed
Velocity, used together, are answer
the question “how long?”