Agile Estimation Techniques for Astral Bank Project
Planning should be adapted to the nature of a project. In this assignment, you apply the appropriate planning techniques to complete the project.
Astral Bank is known for providing excellent online services to its customers. As part of a new project, customers will be able to electronically submit a loan request. You’re assigned to be the scrum master of this project within a team of six developers and a product owner.
Since your team is unfamiliar with the agile approach, especially with some of the agile practices for estimating effort:
Create a document summarizing 3 alternative techniques in 175 to 350 words they can use for relative estimating.
Your team decided to use the Fibonacci sequence to assign story points. During sprint planning, the development team estimated a user story to be worth 8 story points, while the product owner’s estimate for the same user story was 3 story points.
Assess in 175 to 350 words how you should assign story points to account for the gap between the two estimates.
At the beginning of the project, the product owner selected 50 user stories for the first release and urged the development team to accomplish them in 5 sprints, assuming that they can complete 10 user stories per sprint.
Analyze in 175 to 350 words the product owner’s mistake in this scenario and evaluate what the product owner should do instead to estimate how many sprints are needed to complete the first release.
Cite any sources to support your assignment.
Agile Estimation Techniques for Astral Bank Project
Introduction
As the scrum master of the Astral Bank project, introducing agile estimation techniques to the team can enhance the planning process and improve project outcomes. Here are three alternative techniques that your team can use for relative estimating:
1. Planning Poker
Description: Planning Poker is a collaborative estimation technique where each team member independently estimates the effort required for a user story and then reveals their estimates simultaneously. Any significant discrepancies are discussed to reach a consensus estimate.
Benefits: Encourages team collaboration, fosters discussion on varying perspectives, and leads to more accurate estimations.
2. T-Shirt Sizing
Description: T-Shirt Sizing involves assigning sizes (e.g., XS, S, M, L, XL) to user stories based on their relative complexity or effort required. This technique provides a quick and easy way to estimate user stories without delving into specific time-based estimations.
Benefits: Simplifies the estimation process, allows for quick categorization of user stories, and provides a high-level overview of effort distribution.
3. Bucket System
Description: The Bucket System groups user stories into "buckets" based on their complexity levels, such as low, medium, or high. This technique helps in categorizing user stories into relative effort buckets and facilitates prioritization during sprint planning.
Benefits: Streamlines the estimation process, enables easy prioritization based on complexity levels, and provides a visual representation of effort distribution.
Assessing Story Point Assignments
When there is a discrepancy between the development team's estimation (8 story points) and the product owner's estimation (3 story points) for a user story, it is essential to facilitate a discussion to understand the differing perspectives. The team should collaborate to align on a consensus estimate that considers various factors impacting the story's complexity. Adjusting story points based on shared understanding and agreement will help in bridging the gap between different estimates.
Evaluating Product Owner’s Sprint Estimation
The product owner's assumption of completing 50 user stories in 5 sprints (10 user stories per sprint) may not be realistic due to unforeseen challenges, dependencies, or variations in story complexities. Instead, the product owner should collaborate with the development team to conduct a more detailed sprint planning session, considering historical velocity and potential impediments. By analyzing past performance and adjusting sprint capacity based on team dynamics and external factors, a more accurate estimation of the number of sprints required to complete the first release can be achieved.
In conclusion, incorporating agile estimation techniques and fostering collaboration between the development team and the product owner can lead to more accurate estimations, realistic sprint planning, and successful project execution for Astral Bank.
Sources:
- Agile Estimating and Planning by Mike Cohn
- Scrum Alliance: https://www.scrumalliance.org/