2024 - NoEstimates vs Story Points

A stylized title Story points versus no estimates with an jumping angry project manager using an axe on the left, and a vampire female software developer on the right

Abstract

If you sometimes feel frustrated by estimates, you’re not alone. Perhaps you’re part of a technical team constantly asked to pull numbers out of a hat, and the complaints about the discrepancy between these estimates and reality irritate you. Or maybe you’re on the other side of the mirror, frustrated by the difficulty of getting an answer to the seemingly simple question: when can we deliver?

To address this problem, two seemingly irreconcilable positions emerge: eliminate estimates altogether or push them even further to estimate better.

One might wonder who is right, and there are very inspiring conferences that provide clear answers to this question. For several conferences now, I have been using scientific sources that I simplify with drawings to try to bring a bit more objectivity to my practices. It was high time for the topic of estimates to be put under scrutiny!

In this talk, we will try to answer the following questions:

  • Does better estimating work?
  • How can I know which approach is suitable for my project?
  • Is it absurd to ask for a schedule when we don’t estimate?
  • In practice, how do we do #NoEstimates?

/!\ Warning, this talk may offend those who are a bit too attached to their practices :-)

Slides

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