@WoodyZuill @johncutlefish @AnthonyMastrean @tastapod Yes, we all have biases. Mine is to make sure we’re working in systems that deliver what they say they will, and take actions to improve when they don’t, for the good of the organization and everyone within it. 1/9
@WoodyZuill @johncutlefish @AnthonyMastrean @tastapod I’m trying to discuss how we create a system of working that improves over time, while not planning or estimating but just “doing the work”. I don’t see that as a prescription for success, so either it’s happening and we’re not talking about it, or there is a flaw in Agile. 2/9
@WoodyZuill @johncutlefish @AnthonyMastrean @tastapod To that end, I have been having several conversations this week regarding estimates. You say you’re interested in discussing estimates? Here are just a few of the ideas that have been raised and discussed by me on Twitter in the last week or so. 3/9
@WoodyZuill @johncutlefish @AnthonyMastrean @tastapod The first being that planning is estimating. When we plan, we estimate what work must be done, what must be in place before we can start, and what we might produce as a result. Each area is an estimate. 4/9
@WoodyZuill @johncutlefish @AnthonyMastrean @tastapod Second, estimates of cost and duration are how plans are improved — even if it’s what can be done in a two-week sprint. Good planning involves looking at alternate paths and trade-offs to determine the best approach. Estimates are used to choose among different plans. 5/9
@WoodyZuill @johncutlefish @AnthonyMastrean @tastapod Third, we cannot improve our work unless we’re making estimates. Plan-Do-Check-Act requires a baseline to know whether we’re on track or need to change. This is the basis of any feedback loops, learning, and application of knowledge to improve. 6/9
@WoodyZuill @johncutlefish @AnthonyMastrean @tastapod And fourth, I’ve argued that just because we’re not estimating doesn’t mean estimates are not being created and used. We may have taken ourselves out of that process, and may be right to do so, but to say that means work is being done “without estimates” is likely very wrong. 7/9
@WoodyZuill @johncutlefish @AnthonyMastrean @tastapod I think that creates quite a buffet of options for people who want to engage on the topic. What I’m finding, and others are pointing out as well, is the idea that many feel engaging in any of them is non-Agile and therefore “wrong”. That’s all we’re trying to tell you. 8/9
@WoodyZuill @johncutlefish @AnthonyMastrean @tastapod If we’re truly interested in moving agile forward, or beyond how it’s currently defined, we have to help people listen to the critics as seriously as to the proponents. We can’t assume they’re trying to drag us backward, when many are actually trying to help us get unstuck. 9/9
