| Course Code: |
IN 811 |
| Course Abstract: |
A good estimating and planning process is integral to project success. Estimates provide information to make decisions, create performance targets and develop plans. Lack of an estimating process and pressure to over promise can lead to overly optimistic estimates that potentially hurt both your project team and their customers. Adaptive planning reduces budgeting and forecasting complexity. This course provides guidelines for project estimation and planning that are consistent with the core principles of Agile Development (e.g. Scrum, Extreme Programming (XP), Crystal, Feature Driven Development, etc.) and a reference process that satisfies those principles.
You will learn how to construct an estimate using a product backlog as input as well as how to derive and maintain a project schedule and staffing model. You will apply what you learn in a series of exercises that take you through the agile estimating reference process. |
| Audience: |
This course is designed for individuals who are project team members, customers and stakeholders who are responsible for deriving, approving or just understanding the fundamentals of a project estimate or project plan. |
| Duration: |
2 days |
| Learning Outcomes: |
Upon completion of this course, the participant will be able to:
> An understanding of the key concepts and terms of agile estimating and planning
> Able to explain the benefits and key techniques of agile estimating and planning
> A familiarity with the progression of key activities and artifacts in agile estimation and planning
> Prepared to adapt the agile estimating reference process to an upcoming project |
| Course Topics: |
Agile estimating
Reasons to estimate and measure
Basic estimating techniques
Values in agile estimating
Exercise: Do a relative estimate
Estimating size with story points
Estimating in ideal days
Techniques for estimating
Exercise: Derive an estimate using Planning Poker
When to re-estimate
Agile planning
Reasons to plan
The problem with traditional planning
The product backlog
Techniques for story prioritization
Exercise: Prioritize a product backlog using Planning Poker
Release planning
Exercise: Create a release plan
Iteration planning
Exercise: Create story tasks and produce an iteration plan
Estimating velocity
Exercise: Calculate team velocity for a product backlog
Planning for uncertainty
Creating your first estimate
The importance of having a reference process
An overview of the basic reference process
Assumptions and risks – What don’t we know (& what shall we assume)?
Requirements scope definition – Stories unto themselves.
Story estimates – One size shouldn’t fit all.
The project estimate – How big is it?
Exercise: Size a sample project
The project schedule – When are we done?
Exercise: Determine a project schedule
The project staffing model – Just who are we anyway?
Exercise: Create a project staffing model
Calculating price – How much does it cost?
Exercise: Calculate a project cost
Extensions to the basic reference process
Tracking and communicating
Monitoring the release plan
Monitoring the iteration plan
Communicating via information radiators
Exercise: Produce a burn down chart for a release
Retrospective
Review
Agile estimating and planning retrospective |
| Prerequisites: |
“Developing Requirements with User Stories” Course or a basic understanding of user stories and product backlogs; “Applying Scrum with User Stories” Course or attendance at a Certified ScrumMaster (CSM) course is required. |