Pols Consulting

I have noticed a couple of common problems when the team meet the business to estimate what they are going to do next:

1. There is too much talking and the estimating takes far too long.
2. It does not involve the whole team. Some people don’t feel confident to participate while others dominate the proceedings.

Here is a little technique that is worth trying if you find yourself in this situation:

1. Get someone to read out and quickly explain the task that needs estimating.
2. On a count of three (as if playing Rock, Paper, Scissors!), each developer presents a hand showing their estimate with a finger representing a unit of work. If you feel that the task is too big for 5 units of work, simply break the task down and repeat for the smaller tasks.
3. We take an average of the team estimates.

The nice thing about this is that it is quick, fun and appears to provides reasonably accurate estimates (probably because it involves everyone).