Estimates and velocity

Points or hours, how velocity is calculated, and why the first three sprints of a number are meaningless.

4 min read

Points or hours

Taskzin supports story points, hours, or t-shirt sizes mapped to numbers. Points work better for planning because they survive a team member being faster than another; hours work better when you bill for them. Pick one per project and do not mix.

How velocity is calculated

Velocity is the sum of estimates on work completed inside a sprint, averaged over the last three completed sprints. Work carried over counts in the sprint that finished it, not the one that started it.

Give it three sprints

A velocity number from one sprint is noise. After three it is a planning tool. After six it is stable enough that a large deviation is worth asking about rather than worrying about.

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