Task estimation best practices
Task estimation can be challenging, but the following best practices can help the work be more manageable:
- Add buffer time to estimates – Some unpredictable things can happen during the Sprint. Adding some buffer time will help the team make time to recuperate when these risks do happen.
- Add more hours to spikes – Planning for spikes, especially for new or unfamiliar technology or functionalities, will help the team work around uncertainty.
- Take team capacity into account – The team must know everyone’s availability for the Sprint, so that they can adjust the tasks and estimates accordingly.
- Revisit past estimates – Looking at the Scrum board from the previous Sprint and learning from experience will help estimating more accurately for the next Sprint.
Tracking tasks with the Scrum Board
Once tasks have been estimated and committed during Sprint Planning, they should be plotted on the team’s Scrum Board. Typically, a Scrum Board would have the following columns:
- To Do – Backlog of tasks that are planned to be worked on but have not yet been worked on.
- In Progress – Tasks that are currently being worked on.
- Done – Tasks that are completed, depending on the team’s Definition of Done.
Some teams like to add other columns, such as “To Verify”, when there are tasks that need to be reviewed. Some teams also like to add horizontal swim-lanes, which divide the tasks by user story or by role. Aside from de-cluttering the Scrum Board, adding swim-lanes also helps in limiting Work-in-Progress (WIP) and ensuring that work will be done.
Recommended Further Reading
The following materials may assist you in order to get the most out of this course: