Story points are a simple, relative way to size work. We don’t size purely in hours, instead we compare one story to another: is this smaller, about the same, or much larger?
Pointing becomes more precise over time. The key is to establish a tight feedback loop. Early estimates are imprecise, and that’s OK. As we work through our iterations we continue to deliver, measure, and recalibrate our point sizing. And that quick adjust-and-learn cycle transforms vagueness into useful predictability.
A user story is a short note that names a feature from a user’s view.
Stories are placeholders for a bigger conversation, saved for when builders are ready to implement. We used to write them on index cards because holding and passing cards sparks conversation and keeps details flexible until the right time. In this day and age of remote work and storing all of our draft and meeting notes in the cloud, we often use digital tools for everything. That’s fine. As long as we aim to hold on to the approach of tossing away stories, chopping and splitting them up, and writing new ones with zero friction at a rapid pace. (Instead of fiddling with navigating a GUI and mouse clicking on many buttons).
Discussions for your team
- What are the benefits of using story points instead of hours?
- Are we using story points to compare to other stories, or are we still thinking in terms of hours?
- Are we fleshing out the stories into tasks too early, or too late?