Agile & Delivery playbook/Module 5 · Estimation & forecasting

Day 42 / 100 · Estimation & forecasting · Story points, honestly

Points aren't hours.

Story points were meant as a rough, relative sense of size. Ron Jeffries, often credited with inventing them, has since said he regrets how they're used.

What they are

Relative Size

Effort, complexity and uncertainty compared to other work. Specific to one team.

What they aren't

Not Time Or Output

Not hours. Not productivity. Not comparable between teams.

Where they help

The Conversation

A 3 against a 13 exposes a misunderstanding worth talking about.

Source: RonJeffries.com: Story Points Revisited ↗

The conversation is the value. The number isn't.