{"id":6632,"date":"2015-01-19T09:25:21","date_gmt":"2015-01-19T15:25:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.watermarklearning.com\/blog\/?p=6632"},"modified":"2024-09-06T14:26:47","modified_gmt":"2024-09-06T19:26:47","slug":"agile-estimating-and-planning","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.watermarklearning.com\/blog\/agile-estimating-and-planning\/","title":{"rendered":"Webinar Recap: Agile Estimating and Planning Best Practices"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2><strong>Three Agile Planning Horizons<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Agile estimating and planning involves three &#8220;horizons&#8221; :<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Release Plan,\u00a0<\/strong>around\u00a02-6 months<\/li>\n<li><strong>Iteration Plan, <\/strong>\u00a02-4 weeks<\/li>\n<li><strong>Daily Plan, <\/strong>every day<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Below is a brief overview of these horizons, as explained in our latest Watermark Learning webinar: Agile Estimating and Planning Best Practices.\u00a0 The webinar is now<a href=\"https:\/\/www.watermarklearning.com\/blog\/agile-estimating-and-planning\/\"> available on <\/a>demand and it includes numerous practical examples and visual aids.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Horizon 1: Agile\u00a0Release Plan<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>The release plan answers the question: \u201cWhen will you be done (or partially done)?\u201d The <a href=\"\/course\/agile-business-analysis-144.php\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"attachment noopener wp-att-7833\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright wp-image-7833\" src=\"\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/BecomeAnABA.png\" alt=\"BecomeAnABA\" width=\"150\" height=\"130\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.watermarklearning.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/BecomeAnABA.png 365w, https:\/\/www.watermarklearning.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/BecomeAnABA-347x300.png 347w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a>release is accomplished through a series of iterations.<\/p>\n<p>Release planning involves the following 5 actions: (1) selecting themes and user stories, (2) estimating user stories, (3) selecting iteration length, (4) estimating or forecasting the team\u2019s velocity, and (5) selecting a release date.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>1. Select Themes and User Stories<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Themes are collections of\u00a0 related user stories (also called Minimally Marketable Features).\u00a0Once themes have been selected, user stories that compose the themes are selected from the product backlog and prioritized.<\/p>\n<p>A useful way to prioritize these user stories is through the <em><strong>MoSCoW rules<\/strong><\/em>.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 60px;\"><strong>Must have<\/strong>, features that are fundamental to the system<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 60px;\"><strong>Should have<\/strong>, features that are important but for which workarounds exist<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 60px;\"><strong>Could have<\/strong>, can be left out if time runs out for the release<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 60px;\"><strong><strong>Won&#8217;t have<\/strong><\/strong>, desired, but won\u2019t be included in the release<\/p>\n<p><strong>Best Practice: <\/strong>During release planning, use themes and the MoSCoW rules to provide agility during the release cycle.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>2. Estimate User Stories<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>In order to estimate user stories, consider using one of the following\u00a0user story estimation techniques:<\/p>\n<p>The first technique is <strong><em>story points<\/em><\/strong>, which are a measure of relative size.\u00a0\u00a0Story points can be numbers or other size measures (e.g. t-shirt sizes). Story points estimate the \u201cbigness\u201d of a user story relative to other stories.<\/p>\n<p>The second technique is <strong><em>ideal days<\/em>,<\/strong> which refer to the amount of time a story takes to develop with no interruptions. This is an estimate of effort rather than relative size.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Best Practice: <\/strong>Refine your user story estimates as uncertainty is reduced.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>3. Select an Iteration Length<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>The release is composed of a series of iterations (also known as sprints when using Scrum) which\u00a0are typically 2-4 weeks long.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>4. Estimate Velocity<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><em><strong>Velocity<\/strong><\/em> is a measure of the team\u2019s rate of progress (e.g. the number of story points \/ ideal days completed during an iteration).\u00a0\u00a0This can be an observed velocity or a forecasted velocity based on the team\u2019s capacity.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.watermarklearning.com\/resources\/webinars\">Watch the full presentation to see examples of how to forecast a team\u2019s velocity.<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Best Practice: <\/strong>Use velocity to predict work and team capacity to confirm it during release and iteration planning.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>5. Select Release Date<\/strong><\/h2>\n<h3><strong>Horizon 2: Agile Iteration Plan<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>During the Iteration Planning Meeting, user stories are selected for an iteration based on the release plan, development priority, and size.\u00a0\u00a0The team discusses each story and\u00a0breaks\u00a0each story\u00a0down\u00a0into the tasks that need to be done to complete it. Then tasks are estimated using ideal days or hours.\u00a0 Task estimates are done collaboratively with the whole team.<\/p>\n<h5><strong>Ready vs.\u00a0Done<\/strong><\/h5>\n<p>Note that stories need to be \u201cready\u201d in order to be implemented in an iteration. \u201cReady\u201d means that the acceptance criteria have been defined and are well understood so that the team can break the story down into tasks. Ready also means that the story is small enough for a team to deliver between\u00a0a number\u00a0of them within an iteration, typically 4-10.<\/p>\n<p>Stories are <em>not <\/em>ready if it takes a long time in planning for the team to understand the user story and break it into tasks, or if\u00a0a lot of additional tasks are identified within an iteration that were not originally expected, or if the story isn\u2019t completed within the iteration, etc.<\/p>\n<p>Keep in mind the difference between \u201cready\u201d and \u201cdone.\u201d <em><strong>Ready<\/strong><\/em> refers to whether the story can be completed within an iteration. Meanwhile, <em><strong>Done<\/strong><\/em> means \u201ccomplete as mutually agreed to by all parties and conforming to an organizations standards, conventions, and guidelines.\u201d (Ken Schwaber).\u00a0 Each team needs to develop their definition of done with their stakeholders.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Best Practice: <\/strong>Define clear criteria for when a story is &#8220;Ready&#8221; for iteration planning and when a story is &#8220;Done.&#8221;<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Horizon 3: Daily Plan<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>The Daily Stand Up (or Daily Scrum when using Scrum) consists of a brief (no more than 15 minute) daily meeting. Each team member responds to 3 questions:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>What did I do yesterday?<\/li>\n<li>What do I plan to do today?<\/li>\n<li>What impediments are in my way?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Track the progress using a Team Board and a Burndown Chart.\u00a0These are \u201cbig visible charts\u201d or <em>information radiators <\/em>that are usually hung on a wall so that anyone can see the status of the project at a glance.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p>For more in-depth examples, check out <a href=\"https:\/\/www.watermarklearning.com\/blog\/agile-estimating-and-planning\/\">the full webinar on demand<\/a>\u00a0(requires free Watermark Learning membership).<\/p>\n<p>Looking for Agile\u00a0skills training?\u00a0 Check out our Agile Planning and\u00a0Estimating class!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Three Agile Planning Horizons Agile estimating and planning involves three &#8220;horizons&#8221; : Release Plan,\u00a0around\u00a02-6 months Iteration Plan, \u00a02-4 weeks Daily Plan, every day Below is a brief overview of these horizons, as explained in our latest Watermark Learning webinar: Agile Estimating and Planning Best Practices.\u00a0 The webinar is now available on demand and it includes [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":10582,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":"","site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,6,5,1],"tags":[219,168,67,163],"coauthors":[170],"class_list":["post-6632","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-agile","category-planning","category-scrum","category-watermark-learning","tag-agile","tag-agile-planning","tag-agile-project-management","tag-agile-training"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.watermarklearning.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6632","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.watermarklearning.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.watermarklearning.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.watermarklearning.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/19"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.watermarklearning.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6632"}],"version-history":[{"count":44,"href":"https:\/\/www.watermarklearning.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6632\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11455,"href":"https:\/\/www.watermarklearning.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6632\/revisions\/11455"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.watermarklearning.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10582"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.watermarklearning.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6632"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.watermarklearning.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6632"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.watermarklearning.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6632"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.watermarklearning.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=6632"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}