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Estimation - No Value

Last post 02:24 pm November 14, 2017 by Ian Mitchell
4 replies
01:18 pm November 14, 2017

Hi All,

 

I had an interesting conversation with a QA manager who told me estimating has no value/benefit. I told him estimating is impercise and difficult if one is estimating in hours because its too absolute but there is value in estimating. I wonder what everyone thinks. Thanks!


01:59 pm November 14, 2017

Being able to make a good forecast is useful. When work is complex and varied, estimation can help.

You could continue your interesting conversation, and ask him if in an optimal Scrum Development Team there would be any benefit in having a QA manager.


02:01 pm November 14, 2017

Thanks, Ian. I forgot to add that he is saying Agile states that estimating has no value. This is true?


02:13 pm November 14, 2017

Peter, rather than ask this forum for truth on that or not, ask him for evidence that that's what 'Agile states'.


02:24 pm November 14, 2017

Nope. The closest there is to an “agile statement” about anything is the Agile Manifesto, and that doesn’t say estimation is waste.

It is certainly possible to implement Scrum without estimating, and to forecast on the basis that backlog items are more or less equally sized. This may or may not be a good idea depending upon the complexity and novelty of the domain. He may have picked up on the no estimates idea from a Kanban context where it tends to be more applicable, interpreted it as a best practice, and then extended it to agile ways-of-working generally. 


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