Embed Size (px)
DESCRIPTION
A refresher on story points, one of the most misunderstood concepts for those new to Agile.
Citation preview
Everything is RelativeMuch of the pain and confusion over story points, velocity, etc. is related to the difference between points and hours
Story points are about size and all size is relative
Story points are used for stories and long term (release) planning, low fidelity
Hours are absolute sizesHours are used for tasks and short term (iteration) planning, high fidelity
Everything is Relative cont.Because story sizing is about relative size, the best methods of sizing (pointing) involve techniques that emphasize relative and not absolute size
Planning poker is generally misused because most teams think of it in absolute terms
Speed is important – Why? Do you have stories without points? How can you give idea of long term capabilities?
The best method for co-located teams that I have found is silent grouping
Silent GroupingStep 1 – Re-direct previous behaviors.– Night Sky and Zen Tea Koan
Silent Grouping – Night Sky
Silent Grouping – Night Sky
Silent Grouping - Zen Tea KoanA Japanese master received a university professor who came to inquire about Zen. The master served tea. He poured his visitor's cup full, and then kept on pouring. The professor watched the overflow until he no longer could restrain himself. "It is overfull. No more will go in!“ "Like this cup," the master said, "you are full of your own opinions and speculations. How can I show you Zen unless you first empty your cup?"
Silent GroupingStep 1 – Re-direct previous behaviors.– Night Sky and Zen Tea Koan
Step 2 – Facilitator takes a story and places it on the wall.
Silent GroupingStep 1 – Re-direct previous behaviors.– Night Sky and Zen Tea Koan
Step 2 – Facilitator takes a story and places it on the wall.
Step 3 – Facilitator takes second story, gets agreement on whether larger or smaller than first.
Silent GroupingStep 1 – Re-direct previous behaviors.– Night Sky and Zen Tea Koan
Step 2 – Facilitator takes a story and places it on the wall.
Step 3 – Facilitator takes second story, gets agreement on whether larger or smaller than first.
Step 4 – Facilitator repeats until team understands
Silent GroupingStep 1 – Re-direct previous behaviors.– Night Sky and Zen Tea Koan
Step 2 – Facilitator takes a story and places it on the wall.
Step 3 – Facilitator takes second story, gets agreement on whether larger or smaller than first.
Step 4 – Facilitator repeats until team understands
Step 5 – Team grabs stories and places them on the wall in size order – with minimal talking
Silent GroupingStep 2 – Facilitator takes a story and places it on the wall.
Step 3 – Facilitator takes second story, gets agreement on whether larger or smaller than first.
Step 4 – Facilitator repeats until team understands
Step 5 – Team grabs stories and places them on the wall in size order with minimal talking
Step 6 – After all stories are placed, team takes a few minutes to verify stories are smallest to largest
Silent GroupingStep 3 – Facilitator takes second story, gets agreement on whether larger or smaller than first.
Step 4 – Facilitator repeats until team understands
Step 5 – Team grabs stories and places them on the wall in size order with minimal talking
Step 6 – After all stories are placed, team takes a few minutes to verify stories are smallest to largest
Step 7 – Draw lines to create columns
Silent GroupingStep 3 – Facilitator takes second story, gets agreement on whether larger or smaller than first.
Step 4 – Facilitator repeats until team understands
Step 5 – Team grabs stories and places them on the wall in size order with minimal talking
Step 6 – After all stories are placed, team takes a few minutes to verify stories are smallest to largest
Step 7 – Draw lines to create columns
Silent GroupingStep 4 – Facilitator repeats until team understands
Step 5 – Team grabs stories and places them on the wall in size order with minimal talking
Step 6 – After all stories are placed, team takes a few minutes to verify stories are smallest to largest
Step 7 – Draw lines to create columnsStep 8 – Verify that the small column is the smallest and assign points to columns
Silent GroupingStep 5 – Team grabs stories and places them on the wall in size order with minimal talking
Step 6 – After all stories are placed, team takes a few minutes to verify stories are smallest to largest
Step 7 – Draw lines to create columnsStep 8 – Verify that the small column is the smallest and assign points to columns
Step 9 – Give the team one last chance to briefly discuss now that points have been added
Non co-located teamsA similar exercise can be done over phone and screen sharing
One difference is that columns are usually already created and stories are put into existing columns based on relative size
Sizing New Stories is EasyA physical (or virtual) sizing board becomes the yardstick by which all future stories are measured
Instead of asking the team what is the story size, you can ask them which group of stories does the new story most resemble, place it in column and you have points
If there is trouble gaining consensus, this might be where planning poker cards will help
Determine a Baseline VelocityStart with the largest column and proceed through each column asking a simple question – “Could we get a story from this column completed in a single iteration?”
For each “yes”, add the point value.Once you have added the point values, you have your first cut at estimated velocity
If the team has a history you can use those stories (with your new yardsticks) to get an average velocity
Order, Groom, Plan IterationStory sizing should inform story ranking – You don’t know ROI without the I.
Story sizing and initial velocity helps us determine which stories are too large and need to be broken down
Story sizing and velocity helps us determine which stories to groom and add detailed acceptance criteria and tasks to
Execute, Revise As we complete the stories and iterations, the team begins to understand more about actual velocity
There is a general pattern that a lot of teams follow which is good to understand – the heartbeat
The backlog can always be laid out over time, using estimated velocity and story points, to show the business what the team is capable of completing over time
