Welche Fallstricke sollten bei der Schätzung von User Stories in agilen Methoden vermieden werden?

Using time units (such as hours or days) for estimating user stories in Agile methodologies can be a pitfall. This approach can lead to inaccurate estimations, as it's often challenging to predict the exact amount of time a task will take. Instead, Agile teams should use relative estimation techniques, such as story points, which allow for a more abstract and relative comparison of the effort required for different user stories. This approach helps teams focus on the relative complexity and effort of user stories rather than trying to predict the exact time it will take to complete them.

Always keep in mind that an estimate is just that: an estimate. It must be based on prior experience and be a sum of effort and complexity (time is a consequence of these factors, in my opinion). The team will improve in estimating with practice and consistency.

Estimating user stories alone can be a pitfall in Agile methodologies. When team members estimate user stories individually, without input from others, there is a risk of bias or overlooking important factors that could impact the estimation. It's important to involve the entire team in the estimation process to ensure that different perspectives are considered and that the estimation is more accurate. Collaborative estimation techniques, such as Planning Poker, can help facilitate discussions and align team members' understanding of the work involved in each user story.

Estimating user stories too early or too late can be a pitfall in Agile methodologies. Estimating too early, before the team has a clear understanding of the requirements and scope of the user story, can lead to inaccurate estimations and the need for rework later on. On the other hand, estimating too late, when the team is already working on the user story, can lead to delays in the project timeline and difficulty in adjusting plans based on the estimation. It's important to find the right balance and time to estimate user stories, ideally when the team has a solid understanding of the requirements but before committing to work on the user story. This allows for more accurate estimations and better planning.

Estimating user stories that are too big or too small can be a pitfall in Agile methodologies. Estimating user stories that are too big can lead to inaccuracies in planning and difficulty in tracking progress. It can also result in delays in delivering value to stakeholders. On the other hand, estimating user stories that are too small can lead to excessive granularity and unnecessary overhead in managing and tracking the work. It's important to strike a balance and ensure that user stories are estimated at an appropriate level of granularity, taking into account the team's capacity and the desired level of detail for planning and tracking.

Always consider a buffer time for bug fixes, unstable env issues, or even for the last minute changes in the requirements. Its always better to consider some buffer time when providing estimations for a user story, Best case scenario you will not require the buffer time for you User story, in that case you can always use that time for improving your code, test coverage or automation suite, because there's always some space for efficiency in these areaa.

Consider not estimating at all. There is a big trend on more mature teams to move away from story points and estimations and focusing in superb refinement and planning. That way, you deliver value consistently and can manage capacity by the number of stories and/or features.