Sizing Matters

  Agile   Estimating   ProjectsAtWork  

Agile is about adapting to change, not completely abandoning documentation or dismissing helpful planning and estimating inputs. Here is a look at how the benefits of an agile approach can shine brighter when used in conjunction with a fundamental development practice such as sizing.

Do not deny the classical approach, simply as a reaction, or you will have created another pattern and trapped yourself there. — Bruce Lee

Though agile methods are steadily gaining in popularity, not everyone has bought into them because they don’t always see the benefits agile is supposed to bring to the table. Some of the frustrations include never ending development and lack of documentation. But the problem doesn’t lie with agile because it was never intended to be a “silver bullet” solution. It was meant to offer a way to be adaptable to changing circumstances.

Unfortunately, many people have hidden behind the guise of “doing agile” development to cover up poor fundamentals, lazy behaviors, and a lack of mature and disciplined processes. No matter your chosen method of “how” to deliver, any successful software development effort cannot escape the importance of knowing and quantifying “what” you want to build. And to do this, you can’t get away from certain elementary inputs to the estimation and planning process, …

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