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Praise for Agile Estimating and Planning“Traditional, deterministic approaches to planning and estimating simply don’t cut it on theslippery slopes of today’s dynamic, change-driven projects. Mike Cohn’s breakthrough bookgives us not only the philosophy, but also the guidelines and a proven set of tools that we needto succeed in planning, estimating, and scheduling projects with a high uncertainty factor. Atthe same time, the author never loses sight of the need to deliver business value to the customer each step of the way.”—Doug DeCarlo, author of eXtreme Project Management: Using Leadership, Principles andTools to Deliver Value in the Face of Volatility (Jossey-Bass, 2004)“We know how to build predictive plans and manage them. But building plans that only estimate the future and then embrace change, challenge most of our training and skills. In AgileEstimating and Planning, Mike Cohn once again fills a hole in the Agile practices, this time byshowing us a workable approach to Agile estimating and planning. Mike delves into the nooksand crannies of the subject and anticipates many of the questions and nuances of this topic.Students of Agile processes will recognize that this book is truly about agility, bridging manyof the practices between Scrum and ExtremeProgramming.”—Ken Schwaber, Scrum evangelist, Agile Alliance cofounder, and signatory to the AgileManifesto“In Agile Estimating and Planning, Mike Cohn has, for the first time, brought together mosteverything that the Agile community has learned about the subject. The book is clear, well organized, and a pleasant and valuable read. It goes into all the necessary detail, and at the sametime keeps the reader’s burden low. We can dig in as deeply as we need to, without too muchdetail before we need it. The book really brings together everything we have learned about Agile estimation and planning over the past decade. It will serve its readers well.”—Ron Jeffries, www.XProgramming.com, author of Extreme Programming Installed(Addison-Wesley, 2001) and Extreme Programming Adventures in C# (Microsoft Press, 2004)“Agile Estimating and Planning provides a view of planning that’s balanced between theoryand practice, and it is supported by enough concrete experiences to lend it credibility. I particularly like the quote ‘planning is a quest for value.’ It points to a new, more positive attitudetoward planning that goes beyond the ‘necessary evil’ view that I sometimes hold.”—Kent Beck, author of Extreme Programming Explained, Second Edition(Addison-Wesley, 2005)“Up-front planning is still the most critical part of software development. Agile software development requires Agile planning techniques. This book shows you how to employ Agile planning in a succinct, practical, and easy-to-follow manner.”—Adam Rogers, Ultimate Software“We are true believers in the Agile methods described in this book, and have experienced asubstantially positive impact from their implementation and continued use. I would highlyrecommend this book to anyone interested in making their software development more practical and effective.”—Mark M. Gutrich, President and CEO, Fast 401k, Inc.
“Mike does a great follow-up to User Stories Applied by continuing to provide Agile teams withthe practical approaches and techniques to increase agility. In this book, Mike provides timeproven and well-tested methods for being successful with the multiple levels of planning and estimating required by Agile. This book is the first to detail the disciplines of Agile estimating andplanning, in ways that rival my 1980 civil engineering texts on CPM Planning and Estimating.”—Ryan Martens, President and Founder, Rally Software Development Corporation“With insight and clarity, Mike Cohn shows how to effectively produce software of high business value. With Agile estimation and planning, you focus effort where it really counts, andcontinue to do so as circumstances change.”—Rick Mugridge, Rimu Research Ltd., and lead author, Fit for Developing Software (PrenticeHall, 2005)“Finally! The groundbreaking book my clients have been clamoring for! Agile Estimating andPlanning demystifies the process of defining, driving, and delivering great software that mattersto the business. Mike’s clarity, insight, and experience leap out through every page of this book,offering an approach that is relevant and immediately useful to all members of an Agile project.”—Kert D. Peterson, President, Enterprise Agile Group, LLC“This isn’t yet another generic book on Agile software development. Agile Estimating andPlanning fills a gap left by most of the other books and gives you important, practical, downto-earth techniques needed to be successful on Agile development projects.”—Steve Tockey, Principal Consultant, Construx Software“Estimation, planning, and tracking is a trinity. If you don’t do one of them, you don’t needthe other two. This book provides very practical knowledge for estimation, planning, prioritizing, and tracking. It should be compulsory subject matter for project managers and theirteams, even if they hesitate to call themselves Agile.”—Niels Malotaux, Project Coach“Effective planning is an important, but often misunderstood, part of any successful Agileproject. With Agile Estimating and Planning, Mike Cohn has given us a definitive guide to awide range of Agile estimating and planning practices. With his clear and practical style, Mikenot only explains how to successfully get started planning an Agile project, but also provides awealth of tips and advice for improving any team’s Agile planning process. This book is a mustread for managers, coaches, and members of Agile teams.”—Paul Hodgetts, Agile coach and CEO, Agile Logic“Mike’s writing style captures the essence of agility—just the right amount of information tobring clarity to the reader. This book provides an excellent guide for all Agile practitioners,both seasoned and novice.”—Robert Holler, President and CEO, VersionOne, LLC“It is as if Mike took the distilled knowledge regarding planning and estimation of a great Agiledeveloper (which he is) and laid out all he knows in an easily understandable manner. Moreimportantly, he has a great mix of concepts with real-world examples finished off with a case
study so the reader can relate the information to their own situation. Unless you are already anexpert Agile planner and estimator, this book is for you.”—Alan Shalloway, CEO, Senior Consultant, Net Objectives, and coauthor of Design PatternsExplained, Second Edition (Addison-Wesley, 2005)“Although I had plenty of XP experience before trying out Mike Cohn’s Agile planning practices, the effectiveness of the practical and proven techniques in this book blew me away! Thebook recognizes that people, not tools or processes, produce great software, and that teamsbenefit most by learning about their project and their product as they go. The examples in thebook are concrete, easily grasped, and simply reek of common sense. This book will help teams(whether Agile or not) deliver more value, more often, and have fun doing it! Whether you’rea manager or a programmer, a tester or a CEO, part of an Agile team, or just looking for a wayto stamp out chaos and death marches, this book will guide you.”—Lisa Crispin, coauthor of Testing Extreme Programming (Addison-Wesley, 2003)“Mike Cohn does an excellent job demonstrating how an Agile approach can address issues of riskand uncertainty in order to provide more meaningful estimates and plans for software projects.”—Todd Little, Senior Development Manager, Landmark Graphics“Mike Cohn explains his approach to Agile planning, and shows how ‘critical chain’ thinkingcan be used to effectively buffer both schedule and features. As with User Stories Applied, thisbook is easy to read and grounded in real-world experience.”—Bill Wake, author of Refactoring Workbook (Addison-Wesley, 2003)“Mike brings this book to life with real-world examples that help reveal how and why an Agileapproach works for planning software development projects. This book has great breadth,ranging from the fundamentals of release planning to advanced topics such as financial aspects of prioritization. I can see this book becoming an invaluable aid to Agile project managers, as it provides a wealth of practical tips such as how to set iteration length and boot-strapvelocity, and communicate progress.”—Rachel Davies, Independent Consultant“There has been a need for a solid, pragmatic book on the long-term vision of an Agile Projectfor project managers. Agile Estimating and Planning addresses this need. It’s not theory—this book contains project-tested practices that have been used on Agile projects. As Mike’stest subjects, we applied these practices to the development of video games (one of the mostunpredictable project environments you can imagine) with success.”—Clinton Keith, Chief Technical Officer, High Moon Studios“When I first heard Mike Cohn speak, I was impressed by a rare combination of qualities: deepexperience and understanding in modern iterative and Agile methods; a drive to find and validateeasy, high-impact solutions beyond the status quo of traditional (usually ineffective) methods;and the passion and clarity of a natural coach. These qualities are evident in this wonderful, practical guide. I estimate you won’t be disappointed in studying and applying his advice.”—Craig Larman, Chief Scientist, Valtech, and author of Applying UML and Patterns, ThirdEdition (Prentice Hall, 2005) and Agile and Iterative Development (Addison-Wesley, 2004)
“Agile Estimating and Planning is a critical guide on how to successfully provide value to customers of IT services. This book is filled with clear examples that are essential—from projectteam members to the executive level.”—Lou Thomas, Director, Applications Development, Farm Credit Services of America“This work is deeply significant in that it articulates and details structured techniques to realize a simple, but profound insight—planning is an iterative quest for value, rather than a perfunctory scheduling of activities. Mike presents processes to converge on this value whilereducing risk and uncertainty, supporting decision making, establishing trust, and conveyinginformation. Agile methodologies have shifted the emphasis from plans to planning, but haveglossed over many of the finer details of Agile planning. Now, very simply and accessibly, Mikedemonstrates how it can be done.”—Sanjiv Augustine, Practice Director, Lean-Agile Consulting at CC Pace, and author ofManaging Agile Projects (Prentice Hall, 2005)“The techniques described in Agile Estimating and Planning have helped us tremendouslywith planning and managing our projects. It provides all you have ever wanted to know aboutAgile project management.”—Roman Pichler, Engineering Manager, Siemens Communications“Mike Cohn presents a highly pragmatic and logical approach to making projects successful ina world beset by uncertainty and change. With his trademark clarity and directness, Mike cutsthrough the management mumbo jumbo to present practical techniques that can be put intouse immediately. Put the odds squarely in your favor by making Mike Cohn the planning guruon your next big project.”—Pete Deemer, Vice President, Product Development, Yahoo!“This book distills the fundamental ideas behind Agile estimating and planning, presentingthem in a thoughtful and approachable manner. This is a ‘must-have’ book that presents clear,unambiguous, and practical advice for anyone who wants to successfully manage modern software development projects.”—Scott W. Ambler, President, Ambysoft Inc.
Agile Estimating and Planning
Robert C. Martin SeriesThe mission of this series is to improve the state of the art of software craftsmanship.The books in this series are technical, pragmatic, and substantial. The authors arehighly experienced craftsmen and professionals dedicated to writing about whatactually works in practice, as opposed to what might work in theory. You will readabout what the author has done, not what he thinks you should do. If the book isabout programming, there will be lots of code. If the book is about managing, therewill be lots of case studies from real projects.These are the books that all serious practitioners will have on their bookshelves.These are the books that will be remembered for making a difference and for guidingprofessionals to become true craftsman.Managing Agile ProjectsSanjiv AugustineWorking Effectively with Legacy CodeMichael C. FeathersAgile Java : Crafting Code with Test-Driven DevelopmentJeff LangrAgile Software Development: Principles, Patterns, and PracticesRobert C. MartinUML For Java ProgrammersRobert C. MartinFit for Developing Software: Framework for Integrated TestsRick Mugridge and Ward CunninghamAgile Software Development with SCRUMKen Schwaber and Mike BeedleExtreme Software Engineering: A Hands on ApproachDaniel H. Steinberg and Daniel W. PalmerFor more information, visit http://www.phptr.com/martinseries
Agile Estimating and PlanningMike CohnPrentice Hall Professional Technical ReferenceUpper Saddle River, NJ Boston Indianapolis San FranciscoNew York Toronto Montreal London Munich Paris MadridCapetown Sydney Tokyo Singapore Mexico City
Many of the designations used by manufacturers and sellers to distinguish their products areclaimed as trademarks. Where those designations appear in this book, and the publisher wasaware of a trademark claim, the designations have been printed with initial capital letters or inall capitals.The author and publisher have taken care in the preparation of this book, but make no expressed or implied warranty of any kind and assume no responsibility for errors or omissions.No liability is assumed for incidental or consequential damages in connection with or arisingout of the use of the information or programs contained herein.The publisher offers excellent discounts on this book when ordered in quantity for bulk purchases or special sales, which may include electronic versions and/or custom covers and content particular to your business, training goals, marketing focus, and branding interests. Formore information, please contact:U. S. Corporate and Government Sales, (800) 382-3419corpsales@pearsontechgroup.comFor sales outside the U. S., please contact:International Salesinternational@pearsoned.comVisit us on the Web: www.phptr.comLibrary of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication DataCohn, Mike, 1962Agile estimating and planning / Mike Cohn.p. cm.Includes bibliographical references and index.ISBN 0-13-147941-5 (pbk. : alk. paper)1. Computer software—Development. I. Title.QA76.76.D47C6427 2005005.1—dc222005023257Copyright 2006 Pearson Education, Inc.All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. This publication is protected bycopyright, and permission must be obtained from the publisher prior to any prohibited reproduction, storage in a retrieval system, or transmission in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or likewise. For information regardingpermissions, write to:Pearson Education, Inc.Rights and Contracts DepartmentOne Lake StreetUpper Saddle River, NJ 07458ISBN 0-13-147941-5Text printed in the United States on recycled paper at Courier in Stoughton, Massachusetts.First printing, October 2005
For Laura, with no room for doubt.
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ContentsAbout the Author . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xviiForeword by Robert C. Martin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xixForeword by Jim Highsmith . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xxiForeword by Gabrielle Benefield . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xxvAcknowledgments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xxviiIntroduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .xxixPart I: The Problem and the GoalChapter 1:1The Purpose of Planning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3Why Do It? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5What Makes a Good Plan? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8What Makes Planning Agile? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10Discussion Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10Chapter 2:Why Planning Fails . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11Planning Is by Activity Rather Than Feature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12Multitasking Causes Further Delays. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15Features Are Not Developed by Priority . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17We Ignore Uncertainty . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17Estimates Become Commitments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18Discussion Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19xi
xii ContentsChapter 3:An Agile Approach . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21An Agile Approach to Projects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23An Agile Approach to Planning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31Discussion Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32Part II: Estimating SizeChapter 4:33Estimating Size with Story Points . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35Story Points Are Relative. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36Velocity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40Discussion Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41Chapter 5:Estimating in Ideal Days . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43Ideal Time and Software Development . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44Ideal Days as a Measure of Size . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46One Estimate, Not Many . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47Discussion Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47Chapter 6:Techniques for Estimating. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49Estimates Are Shared . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51The Estimation Scale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52Deriving an Estimate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54Planning Poker . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56Why Planning Poker Works . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60Discussion Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60Chapter 7:Re-Estimating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61Introducing the SwimStats Website . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61When Not to Re-Estimate. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62When to Re-Estimate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64Re-Estimating Partially Completed Stories. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66The Purpose of Re-Estimating. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67Discussion Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67Chapter 8:Choosing between Story Points and Ideal Days . . . . . 69Considerations Favoring Story Points . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69Considerations Favoring Ideal Days. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72Recommendation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
Contents Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .74Discussion Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .75Part III: Planning for ValueChapter 9:77Prioritizing Themes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79Factors in Prioritization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .80Combining the Four Factors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .86Some Examples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .86Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .88Discussion Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .89Chapter 10:Financial Prioritization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91Sources of Return . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .93An Example: WebPayroll. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .96Financial Measures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .102Comparing Returns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .108Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .109Discussion Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .109Chapter 11:Prioritizing Desirability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111Kano Model of Customer Satisfaction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .112Relative Weighting: Another Approach. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .117Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .119Discussion Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .120Chapter 12:Splitting User Stories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121When to Split a User Story . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .121Splitting across Data Boundaries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .122Splitting on Operational Boundaries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .124Removing Cross-Cutting Concerns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .125Don’t Meet Performance Constraints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .126Split Stories of Mixed Priority . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .127Don’t Split a Story into Tasks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .127Avoid the Temptation of Related Changes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .128Combining Stories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .128Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .129Discussion Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .129xiii
xiv ContentsPart IV: SchedulingChapter 13:131Release Planning Essentials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133The Release Plan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134Updating the Release Plan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138An Example . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142Discussion Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143Chapter 14:Iteration Planning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145Tasks Are Not Allocated During Iteration Planning . . . . . . . . . . . 147How Iteration and Release Planning Differ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148Velocity-Driven Iteration Planning. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149Commitment-Driven Iteration Planning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158My Recommendation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162Relating Task Estimates to Story Points . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165Discussion Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166Chapter 15:Selecting an Iteration Length . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167Factors in Selecting an Iteration Length . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167Making a Decision . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171Two Case Studies. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175Discussion Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176Chapter 16:Estimating Velocity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177Use Historical Values . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178Run an Iteration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179Make a Forecast. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181Which Approach Should I Use? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186Discussion Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186Chapter 17:Buffering Plans for Uncertainty . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187Feature Buffers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188Schedule Buffers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189Combining Buffers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198A Schedule Buffer Is Not Padding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199Some Caveats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200Discussion Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201
ContentsChapter 18: Planning the Multiple-Team Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203Establishing a Common Basis for Estimates. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .204Adding Detail to User Stories Sooner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .205Lookahead Planning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .206Incorporating Feeding Buffers into the Plan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .208But This Is So Much Work. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .210Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .210Discussion Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .211Part V: Tracking and CommunicatingChapter 19:213Monitoring the Release Plan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 215Tracking the Release. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .216Release Burndown Charts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .219A Parking-Lot Chart . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .224Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .225Discussion Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .226Chapter 20:Monitoring the Iteration Plan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 227The Task Board. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .227Iteration Burndown Charts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .230Tracking Effort Expended . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .231Individual Velocity. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .232Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .232Discussion Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .233Chapter 21:Communicating about Plans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 235Communicating the Plan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .237Communicating Progress . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .238An End-of-Iteration Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .241Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .244Discussion Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .245Part VI: Why Agile Planning WorksChapter 22:247Why Agile Planning Works . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 249Replanning Occurs Frequently. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .249Estimates of Size and Duration Are Separated. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .250Plans Are Made at Different Levels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .251Plans Are Based on Features, Not Tasks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .252Small Stories Keep Work Flowing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .252Work in Process Is Eliminated Every Iteration. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .252xv
xvi ContentsTracking Is at the Team Level . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 253Uncertainty Is Acknowledged and Planned For . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 253A Dozen Guidelines for Agile Estimating and Planning . . . . . . . . 254Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 256Discussion Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
With Agile Estimating and Planning, Mike Cohn has given us a definitive guide to a wide range of Agile estimating and planning practices. With his clear and practical style, Mike not only explains how to successfully get started planning an Agile project, but also provides a wealth of tips and advice for improving any team's Agile planning .
