Process

Vision = reality

Estimations

There are many ways to estimate a software project and we have experimented with many. What we have learned is that it is very time consuming and can create over-estimations when using issues to estimate as they are too fine grained. On the otherhand, we don't want to use #NoEstimates as it has too much of a negative impact on expectation management. With this in mind, the high-level, balanced approach to estimations is:

• A milestone has a goal and the team uses MoSCoW (must-have, should-have, could-have, won't-have) to prioritise requirements.
• Estimations are performed at the milestone level and not the issue-level.
• The team must agree on a realistic amount of time they need to complete the milestone.
• The team doesn't stop at the must-haves and continuously works Kanban-style on the backlog with the available time.
• The squad lead and account manager will calculate an appropriate buffer based on the risk associated with the milestone and communicate this date to the product owner.
• The team still aims for the closest date.
• Nothing builds trust faster than finishing earlier and delighting a customer.

Lastly, the account manager will be in charge of the estimations throughout the tender or bidding process so the team will inherit an overall time for Stages One and Two. It is imperative that the account manager consults senior team members to gain advice on how big the project should be so there is enough time to ensure a high quality project.

• 8 to 12 weeks for Stage One.
• 3 to 8 weeks for each milestone in Stage Two.
• 15 to 40 weeks for five milestones over Stage Two.

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