My preferred approaches to estimation on Agile projects

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Initial assessment: Blink Estimation

Blink Estimation for the initial assessment

I got a group of really smart people in a room, with at least 10 years’ experience each, and asked them.

Dan North, “Blink Estimation”

For initial assessment of whether something is worth attempting at all OR to choose between different options, I prefer Blink Estimation, aka project-scale Planning Poker.

Key points

• Ensure all relevant perspectives are represented
• Requires experienced participants

Just enough refinement before starting: User Story Mapping and Swimlane Sizing

User Story Mapping and Swimlane Sizing for refinement

Talk about the user’s journey through your product by building a simple model that tells your user’s story as you do.

Jeff Patton, “User Story Mapping”

After the initial rough sizing, in order to get just enough refinement to start delivery, I prefer using User Story Mapping to further break things down and…