Estimation is the process of finding an estimate, or approximation, which is a value that is usable for some purpose even if input data may be incomplete, uncertain, or unstable.
-2
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2answers
135 views
Estimation of space is required to store 275305224 of 5x5 MagicSquares? [closed]
Here are some examples of 5x5 Magic Squares found by the Magic Square Generator by Marcel Roos:
Magic squares 5x5
Sum must be: 65
Solution: 1
1 2 13 24 25
3 23 17 6 16
20 21 11 8 ...
0
votes
1answer
139 views
How to handle a client that wants me to use code from Google under all circumstances? [duplicate]
I have a client that has been upset with the fact that it takes more time than he thinks to complete a feature / bug in a web application. He is more of a project manager that has hired me as a ...
1
vote
1answer
107 views
How long do you spend on analysis? Is this analysis paralysis? [duplicate]
I am not very good at estimating how long a piece of work will take to complete. I am guilty of putting my finger in the air and guessing. Usually things are later than expected, however sometimes ...
2
votes
4answers
264 views
Scrum task over estimation
In my current company we're using Scrum with 2 week iterations and a regular planning session.
How planning normally works in our company is that we take a predefined , prioritized (by PO before the ...
0
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1answer
115 views
The place of UI design when estimating and elaborating user stories
Our company is trying to follow Agile methodologies when it comes to estimating and prioritizing any new development work. The reading I've done makes this concept appear great so we are trying to ...
48
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4answers
1k views
How can you estimate time for tasks which primarily consist of figuring out a problem?
While it is relatively possible for an experienced developer to estimate how long it will take to implement code when the pattern and problem the code is solving is well understood, how can you make a ...
1
vote
1answer
203 views
Scrum: Baseline story for point estimation
To estimate PBIs you need to choose an average story and assign it a number of points (for example 5). Then you compare all other stories to that story and assign points accordingly. My question is, ...
3
votes
1answer
236 views
How do you work out timings for larger projects?
I work for a small company that hasn't done much work in bespoke development. It's something we're growing into. With all our projects, whether a bespoke development piece of work, or a simple ...
2
votes
4answers
126 views
Estimation of your backlog
How far in advance should you estimate stories in your backlog?
My concern is that estimates that are 6 months out will become out of date as you develop features in the current sprint. I thought ...
3
votes
1answer
315 views
Using function points as a metric for the velocity of a Scrum team?
I came across the idea of using function points as a metric for the velocity of a Scrum team. I saw it in a team and I found two articles mentioning a link between estimates and function points ...
4
votes
6answers
250 views
In scrum, how do you give an estimate for a backlog item that is primarily research?
A few sprints ago I was assigned a task that was primarily research. I had to figure out how to get our product to interoperate with a very complex black box that we did not develop.
I couldn't ...
3
votes
3answers
433 views
Effective way to estimate dead code removal?
I've been working in an application with about 100k LOCs and basically We have been reworking features to comply with a new architecture based on a new technology stack. This work is almost finished ...
1
vote
1answer
238 views
What is the significance of the output of Function Point analysis
I am a beginner in Software Engineering principles. This question have only academic significance.
I read about Function Point analysis.We will be getting an integer value as output for Function ...
6
votes
4answers
385 views
Do you track progress during a agile sprint (iteration)
We have recently adopted (or are trying) to adopt managing our projects in an Agile manner. During our first sprint I asked our Scrum master (who also happens to be our primary resident Agile go-to ...
1
vote
1answer
102 views
Presenting agile estimates for Pivotal Tracker project
I've been developing for 6-7 years but never in a particularly agile way. With the latest project I'm trying to make our development process more professional, and more agile.
We're using Pivotal ...
5
votes
1answer
209 views
Why is there a 20 and not 21 in some versions of Planning Poker?
In Planning Poker, cards usually contain numbers of the Fibonacci sequence, which is 0,1,1,2,3,5,8,13,21,34,55 etc.
However, you can see on the Wikipedia page (and this has been confirmed to me by ...
2
votes
2answers
1k views
Story Point Estimation vs Ideal Days Estimation
In my project we assign 4 hours for 1 story point and estimate based on story point. So in this case one ideal day of work will be done in 2 elapsed days. From an agile standpoint are we doing story ...
0
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1answer
111 views
Story Point Estimation - Component Based
I have read that story point estimation is not intended to actually tie with number of hours , but is used to identify the relative capacity. I have a java application which has a adapter layer , a ...
0
votes
1answer
289 views
What is the best way to estimate when using Agile with Scrum? Hours or Story Points? [closed]
I was at a company that switched us over from Hours to Story Points for our estimations. I remember it being difficult to understand it, and we all chaffed against the idea. However, once we figured ...
2
votes
3answers
544 views
Setting Deadlines in software development [duplicate]
I have been working on a system alone for about two years. I inherited the system from a contractor who spent about two years working on it before me (alone). The system is not particularly well ...
4
votes
4answers
350 views
What do you do to estimates for agile stories where developers are pair programming?
If it was a 2-point story for one person, would you double it if people are pairing?
Pairing isn't always necessarily done 100% of a dev task, so it seems that doubling the story points seems ...
5
votes
2answers
597 views
Is it okay to add time for “unexpected delays” to a time estimate?
I've landed my first contract (hooray, self employment!) and the company is asking for time estimates.
Programmers are notoriously bad at time estimates, and I know I've been laughably wrong ...
0
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1answer
1k views
Are t-shirt estimates a good way to conduct initial estimates? [closed]
I've read articles with very conflicting arguments on t-shirt estimates. Neither article seemed all that credible so I thought I would bring this up here.
Are t-shirt estimates a good idea?
For ...
1
vote
2answers
593 views
How to factor in responsive design when providing an estimate for web applications?
In the past usually I have only had to estimate web applications based on browser support. But for more recent projects device and platform support are also very important as well (screen ...
9
votes
5answers
1k views
The Relative Cost Efficiency of (Acceptance) Test Driven Development
I would like to know what the overall impact of resource planning on a software project is, where the requirements and design of the project are driven by automated acceptance tests and unit tests, in ...
0
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2answers
176 views
estimation method at the “just finished definition phase”
We are basically using Waterfall life cycle methodology.
Requirement Analysis: I get a use case created by some one else.
Design (talking only about Low level design): I get some little feeling about ...
4
votes
4answers
230 views
Independency and estimation of user stories that rely on shared predecessor
Lest's say I have user stories about using product catalog in shop:
As an administrator I can add/modify/delete catalog items (one or more user story, doesn't matter here)
As a customer I can search ...
5
votes
2answers
447 views
How do I survive in a Waterfall world? [duplicate]
I currently work in a company where the Waterfall model is deeply ingrained. We are pushing Agile principles but it's a long process. Meanwhile, I have to work in a Waterfall world with sequential ...
1
vote
2answers
578 views
How to ensure a project 100% tested?
I want to know how exactly, we can ensure that a project is 100% tested ?
In banking or financial applications not 1% also tolerable.
So being a developer, how can you say your code is 100% tested?
...
2
votes
2answers
3k views
Closest Point of Approach (CPA) mathematical formula in ship radar
I was recently searching for the mathematical formula to find closest point of approach (CPA) between one ship and another ship. I need to apply the formula in my radar ship program and I can't find ...
10
votes
10answers
836 views
User stories are too high level and conceptual, management expects developers to fill in the blanks
I am employed in a very brilliant company with a true intention of doing XP. Communication is good and management is open to constructive discussion but due to pressing time constraints, some certain ...
0
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1answer
93 views
Tool helping with estimations [closed]
I am looking for a tool supporting me with estimations.
What I would like to do is to specify a higher level task and break it into several smaller tasks. When a task is small enough, I could assign ...
4
votes
2answers
389 views
Efficient way to create a code estimation/technical specification in a fast-moving environment
To better understand my question, let me elaborate the background of the subject matter.
I work in a financial institution where the business module (credit finance) is constantly changing. In the IT ...
19
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2answers
381 views
Has research been done on the effectiveness of Planning Poker as an estimation technique?
Although it is a commonly held opinion that planning poker improves the accuracy of project estimations (a small sample of which demonstrated on this question), has any defined research been done on ...
76
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15answers
35k views
Why do we use story points instead of man days when estimating user stories?
In agile methodologies (e.g. SCRUM), the complexity/effort needed for user stories are measured in Story points. Story points are used to calculate how many user stories a team can take in an ...
2
votes
2answers
236 views
If you have several SCRUM teams working on one backlog, how do you divide story point estimation between those teams?
I'm asking because approach in my company looks as follows:
stories in the backlog are not estimated
team that picks the story estimates it in story points during sprint planning part two
0
votes
1answer
385 views
What are the best practices and strategies for transferring an outsourced software development project in-house? [closed]
What are the best methods of knowledge transfer?
What kinds of documentation should be expected?
What activities should take place before and after handover, both by the external party and ...
4
votes
4answers
645 views
Freelancing - Getting paid for the quote or estimate
It is often necessary to spend time designing a solution, breaking down the design into tasks and sub tasks and estimating the time it will take to complete each task in order to produce a reasonable ...
5
votes
6answers
2k views
What are the methods to estimate source code value?
I've been working on some project on my free time for the past few months. Recently I've been approached by friends to build a startup, and this source code would be very valuable to us.
As a ...
3
votes
2answers
330 views
Can I trust the Basic schedule equation?
I've been reading Steve McConnell's demystifying the black art of estimating book, and he gives an equation for estimating nominal schedule based on Person-months of effort:
ScheduleInMonths = 3.0 x ...
5
votes
5answers
1k views
Should you ever re-estimate user stories?
My current project is having a 'discussion' which is split down the middle- "this story is more complex than we originally thought, we should re-estimate" vs "you should never re-estimate as you only ...
2
votes
2answers
212 views
Using Completed User Stories to Estimate Future User Stories
In Scrum/Agile, the complexity of a user story can be estimated in story points. After completing some user stories, a programmer or team of programmers can use those experiences to better estimate ...
12
votes
8answers
937 views
Should you promise to deliver a feature that you aren't sure if its implementable?
In an article from HN, I came across the following advice:
Always tell your customer/user "yes", even if you're not sure. 90% of
the time, you'll find a way to do it. 10% of the time, you'll go ...
1
vote
2answers
245 views
Estimation Techniques for Linux Kernel Development
I am working in Linux Kernel area and my work includes:
code study / Understanding
Porting (say from one kernel version to another kernel version)
Implementation of new kernel module / Device driver
...
1
vote
1answer
321 views
Metrics / Methodology for estimating resource utilization for software in planning stage
I'm looking for approaches to estimate the resource utilization of an (web-)application in a JEE environment. The overall target is to get a forecast for hardware/software requirements while the ...
3
votes
6answers
439 views
Finishing an iteration early
I'd like some input on this on those working with agile methodologies...
A current project is finding that development on our planned user stories is finishing some time before the end of the ...
22
votes
10answers
2k views
How to add a new developer to the team
I run a small company composed of only 2 developers. We are building a very big application for one of our clients. Development on this project has gone on for 1.5 years.
Now this client has secured ...
1
vote
2answers
341 views
Estimating time for planning and technical design using Evidence Based Scheduling
I'm at the beginning of a development project in a large organization.
The Functional Requirements are currently being worked out and documented with our business stakeholders by our Enterprise ...
11
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6answers
695 views
How can I estimate projects when I need to include a learning curve for new technology?
Sometimes, there are research and development projects where nothing is known in advance about the technology, concepts, and client. However, the manager still needs time estimates. What can I do to ...
2
votes
2answers
1k views
Good examples for teaching software estimation (size, schedule, effort)?
I'm going to be teaching a class that covers a broad brush of estimation techniques. I intend to cover absolute estimation techniques based on SLOC (e.g. Function Points, COCOMO II etc.) and ...
