Story Points

What are Story Points?

Story points are measuring units used to estimate the size of a user story. A story point estimate is not a time estimate but rather a forecast of the effort needed to complete the story. Story points are compatible with Agile approaches such as Scrum and Kanban.

When you estimate with story points, you assign a point value to a story based on the complexity and effort required to complete it. For example, a story that is estimated to take one day to complete would be assigned a point value of 1, while a story estimated to take two days to complete would be assigned a point value of 2.

Additionally, a story point must include all the work required to complete the story, including design, development, testing, and documentation.

Why are Story Points Important?

Story points are an essential tool for measuring the complexity of software development projects. They help estimate how much time and resources a project will require and can also be used to track progress and manage expectations.

Software Development

Story points are an important tool in Agile software development, as they allow for accurate estimation of work and help to level resources against those estimates. For example, the Product Owner assigns story points to user stories to estimate the effort required to complete them. The team then commits to completing a certain number of story points in each sprint. 

Transparency

Story points provide transparency on the overall progress of a project. For instance, teams can track the number of story points completed in a given time. This information can guide decisions about future work, such as what to include in the next sprint or whether to add additional resources to the project.

Velocity

Another benefit of story points is that they can track the velocity of a team. Velocity is a measure of how many story points a team can complete in a given time. Tracking velocity allows scrum teams to ensure they are on track to meet their goals, and helps them identify any potential bottlenecks in the project.

How Can GoRetro Help Your Team with Story Points?

GoRetro is a productive online retrospective tool that helps users gather feedback from team members, visualize data as graphs and charts, identify improvements, and take actions accordingly.

The tool helps teams with story points by letting them track their progress. This is done by plotting the number of story points completed in each iteration against the number of story points planned for that iteration. The result is a visual representation of how well the team is doing to complete their tasks within the set timeframe. 

Besides tracking progress, GoRetro aids in identifying potential bottlenecks in the project. This can be done by studying the trends in story points completed in each iteration. For example, if the trend shows a sudden drop in the number of story points completed, it could indicate a blockage in the project. 

Conclusion

The benefits of story points are clear, but there are a few things to keep in mind. First, make sure your entire team is on board with using them. Second, be aware that story points can be subjective and may not always reflect the amount of work needed. Finally, use a tool like a burndown chart to track progress and ensure your team makes the most of their time.