Succeeding with Agile

Going from Estimate to Commitment

The three arrows in Figure 15.4 still show only estimates. For many projects, it will be necessary to translate those estimates into commitments. I would ideally like to convert these estimates into a commitment by saying something like, “In the next 5 sprints we believe we can commit to delivering between 170 [5 × 34] and 205 [5 × 41] story points, which means we’ll deliver between here [top arrow] and there [bottom arrow] on the product backlog.” This is the most realistic and accurate commitment. However, in many cases, product owners and their teams are asked to give a point estimate—“We commit to finishing exactly here.” This is often the case for an organization doing outsourced, contract development work ...