Mastering Estimation Meetings in Scrum: A Step-by-Step Guide with Examples using Fibonacci

Navigating the world of Agile development can be complex, especially when running estimation meetings in Scrum. This crucial process of Scrum, often called planning poker, is essential in creating successful, efficient projects. Our comprehensive guide will walk you through the steps of conducting a successful estimation meeting using the Fibonacci sequence for scoring, ensuring you maximise the benefits of Scrum

---

 

Understanding Scrum Estimation Meetings

In Scrum, estimation meetings or planning poker sessions are crucial in the Sprint planning process. These meetings involve the Scrum team coming together to discuss and estimate the effort required to complete each user story or product backlog item (PBI). The Fibonacci sequence is frequently used for these estimations, aiding teams in creating more accurate estimates.

 

Fibonacci: A Simple, Effective Tool for Estimation

Estimating effort in software development can be tricky, which is why teams turn to the Fibonacci sequence. The sequence’s nature, where each number is the sum of the previous two (1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, etc.), mirrors the uncertainty and complexity of tasks as they increase in size. In other words, as tasks grow larger, so does the uncertainty around them. This makes the Fibonacci sequence an excellent fit for Scrum estimations.

 

How to Run an Estimation Meeting in Scrum

Here’s a step-by-step guide to conducting an effective estimation meeting using the Fibonacci sequence:

• Prepare User Stories: Before the meeting, the Product Owner should prepare and prioritise the user stories that need to be estimated.

• Present the User Story: At the start of the meeting, the Product Owner presents the first user story to the team, describing its requirements and answering any queries

• Discussion: The team discusses the user story’s complexity, dependencies, and possible uncertainties. This is an opportunity for everyone to align their understanding of the task.

• Individual Estimation: After the discussion, each team member privately selects a number from the Fibonacci sequence that they believe represents the effort needed for the user story.

• Reveal Estimates: Once all estimates are ready, they’re revealed simultaneously. This prevents team members from influencing each other’s estimates.

• Discuss Discrepancies: If there’s a significant difference in the estimates, the team discusses their reasoning. The higher estimators often perceive additional risks or complexities that others may have missed.

• Re-estimate: After discussing, the team re-estimates until they reach a consensus.

• Repeat: This process is repeated for each user story in the backlog

Estimation Meeting Example using Fibonacci

Imagine a Scrum team developing an eCommerce website. One of the user stories is, “As a customer, I want to filter products by category so that I can easily find what I’m looking for.“

After discussing the complexity and requirements of this task, the team members individually select a Fibonacci number for their estimate. The revealed estimates are 3, 5, 5, 8, and 5.

The team member who estimated ‘8‘ shares concerns about potential complexities and dependencies related to the website’s database. After further discussion, the rest of the team agrees that there are some complexities they had yet to consider. They re-estimate, and they all agree on 8’ this time. The consensus is that this user story requires a relatively moderate effort to complete.

 

Wrapping Up

Estimation meetings are an invaluable tool in Scrum. Using the Fibonacci sequence for scoring enables teams to manage uncertainty, leading to more accurate estimates.