Story Points Workshop

Want to use Story Points but don't know how to get started? Here's a template to get you and your team started using them effectively.

Story points are a great way to measure the effort needed to complete a backlog item or any other task. They take into account the complexity, amount of work, and risk involved.

By assigning values to story points, we can break down the work into smaller, manageable pieces. This helps us address uncertainty and determine what we can achieve in a given timeframe. It also promotes consensus and commitment to finding a solution.

But:

• An estimate is a forecast, an approximation, and should be treated as such.

• An estimate is a window to be opened, not a contract to be signed.

• An estimate is far from being a commitment.

• An estimate is an approximation.

• An estimate is also a waste and doesn't provide value to the product.

You might think it's strange, but this abstraction actually benefits the team. It encourages us to make tough decisions about the difficulty of the work. Here are a few reasons why story points are useful:

• When we think about the Story Points we will need to take meetings, emails, and interviews in consideration to provide a more accurate estimation.

• Relative estimation removes the emotional attachment we have to hours. But we can forget we work in a time-space.

• Once we agree on the relative effort of each story point value, assigning points becomes quick and easy. There's no need for lengthy debates.

• Story points reward team members for solving difficult problems, not just for spending time on them. This keeps our focus on delivering value.

Unfortunately, story points are sometimes misused. They should never be used to judge people, set detailed timelines, or allocate resources. Instead, they should be used to understand the size and prioritization of the work. Let's embrace the power of story points and use them wisely to drive our success!