3 Reasons Why Estimates Aren’t Working For You
3 ingredients for bad estimates
- “Estimates are pointless!”
- “Can you estimate this ticket?”
- “Could we fix this bug today?”
Focus on the story, estimates are less important. Estimates are a team effort, not a lone wolf action.
Here’s what else is wrong with your estimates.
Your story is important, not the estimate
You can’t say: “I don’t know how long it will take.”
You don’t know the problem at hand. Developers believe this is the correct way of estimating. I don’t think so.
Developers believe estimates are pointless. Why would you estimate an unknown ticket? What’s the point of the estimate? Developers don’t see what’s behind the estimate.
Good estimates contain a story. A story of risks, external dependencies, and decisions. Understand the size of the problem, create all the possible outcomes, and give an estimate.
Look at the following examples.
Here’s an example of a lousy estimate.
” Your feature is going to be ready to go to prod in Q2 2022."
