What are Story Points and how are they used in Jira | Story Points vs Hours estimation

Summary

This video script delves into the concept of story points in agile teams, addressing common misunderstandings. It explains story points as a method of relative estimation, contrasting them with absolute time-based estimations. The script uses examples to illustrate how story points are assigned based on the relative effort of tasks, not the time taken. It clarifies that one story point does not equate to one day's work and emphasizes the importance of agile teams using relative estimation for flexibility as requirements evolve. The video also provides a practical guide on how to apply story points in Jira, noting the difference between company and team-managed projects.

Takeaways

• 📏 Story points are used in Agile teams for relative estimation, which is quicker and easier than absolute estimation.
• 🔄 The concept of relative estimation involves comparing the effort of different tasks rather than breaking them down into smaller parts.
• ❌ A common misconception is that one story point equates to one day of work, but this is incorrect as story points are relative, not absolute.
• 👥 The effort required for a story point can vary between team members with different levels of experience.
• ⏱️ Time taken to complete a task is not the same as story points; the latter is a relative measure independent of time.
• 🔄 Agile teams prefer relative estimation because requirements often change, necessitating quick re-estimation and re-forecasting.
• 📈 Story points help teams to adapt to evolving requirements and provide stakeholders with updated progress reports.
• 📋 In Jira, story points are applied at the product backlog level and can be updated in the issue view under the 'Story Points' field.
• 👀 There's a difference in field names between company-managed and team-managed projects in Jira, which affects how you interact with story points.
• 🎥 The next video in the series will cover how Scrum teams use planning poker to determine story point values for their backlog items.

Q & A

What is a story point in the context of agile teams?

A story point is a unit of measure used in agile software development to estimate the effort needed to implement a product backlog item. It is derived from relative estimation, which is quicker and easier than absolute estimation by comparing items to each other rather than breaking them down into smaller parts.

Why is relative estimation preferred over absolute estimation in agile teams?

Relative estimation is preferred because it allows for quicker and easier estimation by comparing items to one another. This is particularly useful in agile environments where requirements can change rapidly, necessitating frequent re-estimation and re-forecasting.

How does the concept of story points differ from the concept of time?

Story points are a relative measure of effort and are not directly tied to time. The same story point can represent different amounts of time depending on the individual or team working on it. For example, a story point might represent half a day for an experienced developer but could take two days for a less experienced one.

What is the significance of not equating one story point to one day of work?

Equating one story point to one day of work would negate the purpose of relative estimation. It is a mistake because it does not account for the varying complexities and efforts required for different items, and it does not allow for the flexibility needed in agile development.

How do you apply story points in Jira?

In Jira, story points are applied at the product backlog level. You can update them by opening the issue, scrolling down to the story points field, and entering the appropriate value. The field name might differ based on the project type, being 'story points' in company-managed projects and 'story point estimate' in team-managed projects.

Why are story points important for agile teams?

Story points are important because they provide a flexible and relative way to estimate work effort, which is essential for managing the dynamic nature of agile projects where requirements and priorities can change frequently.

What is the relationship between story points and a team's velocity?

A team's velocity is the average number of story points they can complete in a sprint. Story points help in determining velocity by providing a measure of the team's capacity and productivity over time.

How can story points be used to plan a team's long-term release?

Story points can be used to plan a long-term release by estimating the total effort required for a release and then comparing it with the team's velocity to determine the number of sprints needed to complete the work.

What is the difference between a company-managed project and a team-managed project in Jira regarding story points?

In Jira, a company-managed project uses the field 'story points' while a team-managed project uses 'story point estimate'. This difference is important for using Jira features like JQL searches or Jira automation, where the correct field name must be used.

What is the next topic that will be covered in the series after explaining what a story point is?

The next topic in the series will be how scrum teams decide on the story point value for each product backlog item using an approach called planning poker.