Have you ever wondered if Scrum could function effectively without the use of story points? Many Scrum teams rely on story points for estimating and planning their work, but is there another way?
Let's delve into this topic and envision how Scrum would look like without story points:
- Focus on Value Delivery: Without the distraction of story points, Scrum teams would prioritize delivering value to the customer and the business. Instead of spending time on detailed estimations, teams would concentrate on delivering tangible results with each iteration.
- Time-Based Planning: Scrum projects would adopt a time-based planning approach, with teams committing to delivering a certain amount of work within fixed timeframes, such as weekly or bi-weekly sprints. This time-boxed approach fosters a sense of urgency and ensures continuous delivery.
- Relative Sizing Techniques: In the absence of story points, teams may utilize relative sizing techniques like t-shirt sizing or bucketing tasks into small, medium, or large categories based on their perceived complexity or effort.
- Continuous Delivery: Scrum teams would prioritize continuous delivery over precise estimation. By breaking work down into small, manageable chunks and delivering incremental value with each iteration, teams maintain a steady pace of progress.
- Enhanced Collaboration: Without the need for story points, Scrum teams would place even greater emphasis on collaboration and communication. Teams would work closely together to understand requirements, identify dependencies, and prioritize work based on business value and customer feedback.
While, above explanation gives us the confidence that we can survive without Story Points. But it raises a few more questions such as -
- In the absence of Story Points, How can an Agile Project Manager forecast if the project is on time / on budget?
- If the project is over or under budget, then by how much ?
I am sure these are interesting questions that you want answers for. You can find answers to these questions in my Agile Project Manager course. So, Enroll Today !
Our comprehensive curriculum covers essential Agile principles, practices, and techniques, equipping you with the knowledge and skills needed to navigate Agile projects successfully. Join us and take your Agile journey to the next level!
Summary
Lets first be clear that Story Point is a measurement for estimation of work. Similar measurements are Hours, T-Shirt Size or Small / Medium / Large etc. That means, we can definitely use other estimation techniques that work best for our team.