A Simple Story Point Scale for Software Estimation
Anna Shipman shares a practical technique for software estimation, attributed to Mazz Mosley, that uses a 1-5 story point scale based on how well the developer understands the work involved. The scale ranges from trivial tasks where the exact code is known (1) to large tasks with only rough understanding (5). The approach shifts focus from time-based estimation to complexity-based estimation.
Key quotes
1: This is trivial. I know exactly the code I would write if I went back to my desk right now.
2: This is quite easy. I know roughly what I'd have to do. I might have to look one or two things up.
3: This is a bit complex. I might have to refresh my memory on a few things and there are a couple of unknowns.
5: This is big. I have only a rough i
From the article
You might also wanna read
The Reality of Software Project Estimation: Why Accurate Predictions Are Impossible
The article challenges the conventional wisdom in software engineering that accurate project estimation is possible. The author, a staff sof
seangoedecke.com·5mo ago
The Challenges of Software Development Estimation: Why Developers Struggle with Project Timelines
The article explores the challenges and frustrations of software development estimation, particularly from a developer's perspective. It exa
Story Points vs. Ideal Days: Which Agile Estimation Technique?
Why measuring AI-assisted coding by lines of code is a flawed metric
The article argues against using vanity metrics like lines of code, PR counts, and commit frequency to measure developer productivity, espec
curlewis.co.nz·27d ago
Building Code Visualizers as an Effective Way to Understand Complex Codebases
The article presents a practical approach for developers to understand complex codebases by building visualizers. The author shares personal
ProgramBench: New Benchmark Reveals Language Models Struggle to Build Complete Software Projects From Scratch
This paper introduces ProgramBench, a new benchmark designed to evaluate the ability of language model-based software engineering agents to
arXiv.org·2mo ago
Comments
Sign in to join the conversation.
No comments yet. Be the first.