A new project needs to be submitted for urgent funding approval. The project, which will use a new technology, is vital to the organization. The entire Scrum team has worked together for over 3 years on multiple projects and delivered the previous project under the approved budget.
Which estimation technique should the project manager implement in this context?
Given the context where the Scrum team has worked together for over 3 years on multiple projects and has a track record of delivering under budget, the most suitable estimation technique would be using story points. Story points are commonly used in Agile projects to estimate the relative effort required to complete tasks or user stories, taking into account the complexity and size of the task. This method leverages the team's collective experience and familiarity with each other's work, allowing for a more accurate estimation even when dealing with new technologies. Utilizing story points also aligns well with Scrum practices, making it a fitting choice for this scenario.
Order of magnitude estimation is a technique used for rough, high-level estimation, usually in the early stages of a project, when details about the project are limited. It is a quick and straightforward method to provide a rough idea of the project's overall cost or effort. In this case, the project manager needs to submit the project for urgent funding approval. Therefore, the project manager needs to provide an estimation of the project cost to request the necessary funds. Since the project is vital to the organization, the project manager needs to ensure that the estimation is reasonable and takes into account any risks that may impact the cost. The Scrum team has worked together for over 3 years on multiple projects and delivered the previous project under the approved budget. Therefore, the team's experience and past performance can be used to provide a rough estimate using the order of magnitude estimation technique. The team can use their expertise and knowledge to provide a rough estimate of the overall cost of the project.
Definitive estimates are detailed estimates that are typically done later in the project life cycle when more information is available. Budget estimates are usually high-level estimates done for financial planning purposes. Story points are used in Agile projects to estimate the relative size of a task or a user story. These techniques are not suitable for providing a rough, high-level estimation for a new project with limited details.
option B is correct, since Story Points (option D) are typically used for estimating the effort required to complete user stories, not for determining project costs and timelines.
Rough order of magnitude (ROM) refers to an initial estimate of the cost of a project or parts of a project. It has an expected accuracy of -25% to +75% according to the PMBOK (other sources suggest -50% to +50%). In other words, the actual costs of a project are typically expected to be between 75% and 175% (or 50% to 150%) of the ROM estimate.
D. Story points. Story points are an estimation technique used in Scrum to estimate the relative effort required to complete a task or deliverable. The team can use the experience gained from previous projects to estimate the effort required for the current project. Story points are typically based on the complexity and size of the task and are measured in terms of man-days or weeks.
In the given context, where urgent funding approval is needed, and the project involves a new technology, an order of magnitude estimate would be suitable. This type of estimation provides a high-level, rough estimate based on historical data or expert judgment. Given that the Scrum team has worked together for over 3 years on multiple projects and has a track record of delivering under budget, using an order of magnitude estimate would provide a quick and reasonably accurate estimate for the urgent funding approval.
Story Points. Team has worked together over 3 years...
Given the context that the Scrum team has worked together for over 3 years on multiple projects, and the project will use a new technology, the best estimation technique would be: D. Story points. Rationale: In Agile and Scrum, story points are a common method of estimating work complexity. They allow teams to estimate work without focusing on the exact time it would take, which is particularly useful when dealing with new technologies where precise time estimation can be challenging.
D. Story points
Story points are used to estimate the effort needed to complete a task not the cost. Additionally, this is a new piece of software so the team may not be able to estimate the costing accurately beyond a 25% to 75% range, therefore the answer is B.
Option B, Rough Order of Magnitude (ROM) estimate is also a valid estimation technique when there is an urgent need for funding approval. However, ROM estimates are typically used when there is a high level of uncertainty about project requirements, scope, and objectives. In this scenario, it is mentioned that the project is vital to the organization and the entire Scrum team has worked together for over 3 years on multiple projects. This suggests that there is a higher level of certainty regarding the project requirements, scope, and objectives, and a budget estimate would be more appropriate in this context.
Budget estimates are typically used to provide a high-level estimate of the total cost of the project, based on historical data, industry benchmarks, or expert judgment. This approach is more appropriate when there is a higher level of certainty about the project requirements, scope, and objectives. In summary, both a budget estimate and ROM estimate are valid estimation techniques, but the choice of technique will depend on the level of uncertainty surrounding the project requirements, scope, and objectives. In this scenario, a budget estimate is more appropriate given the higher level of certainty surrounding the project.
Therefore option C is my choice.
what is the real right answer?
Order of magnitude is needed for urgent funding approval.
It should be Order to magnitude estimation.
In the context of an urgent project vital to the organization, where the Scrum team has a strong track record of successful project deliveries and familiarity with the technology, story points estimation would provide a quick and effective way to estimate the effort required. It leverages the team's collective knowledge and experience to estimate the size and complexity of the work involved, allowing for a more accurate assessment of the project's scope and timeline. Additionally, story points estimation aligns well with Agile principles and practices, making it a suitable choice for Agile teams like the one described.
D Apologies for the oversight. Given the urgency and importance of the project, along with the Scrum team's extensive experience, using story points estimation technique would be appropriate. Story points are a common estimation technique in Agile projects and would allow the team to quickly estimate the effort required for completing the project based on their collective understanding and familiarity with the technology. Adigun.
Given the context that the Scrum team has worked together for over 3 years on multiple projects and delivered the previous project under the approved budget, it would be beneficial to use Story Points (Option D) as the estimation technique. Story points are a unit of measure for expressing an estimate of the overall effort that will be required to fully implement a product backlog item or any other piece of work. This method is commonly used in agile projects and is based on the team’s past experience, which in this case is substantial. The team’s familiarity with each other’s work habits and the project domain increases the accuracy of story point estimation. It allows the team to account for the complexity of the new technology in their estimates, making it a suitable choice for this scenario.
B. Order of magnitude
The facts that the team is a SCRUM and that the involvement of new technology imply that there is uncertainty in scope and hence budget cannot be a definite one. Besides there is urgency for budget approval. Thus, for me ROM is the best answer