The art of #NoEstimates for optimizing predictability and profitability of Drupal projects.

piyushpoddar

Prediction is very difficult, especially about the future.—Niels Bohr

In this session, I’ll introduce the approach of #NoEstimates, touch base on its pros and cons, talk about how this approach fits in well with Drupal projects, specific scenarios where it works best and cite real life examples of project delivered with #NoEstimates.

Software estimations gone wrong is a very common problem found in majority of software projects. No wonder so many methods and framework ( Functional Point Analysis, Use Case Analysis, COCOMO, COSYSMO, PERT, Weighted Micro Function Points, Story Points etc.. ) have been developed over years but none really solves the problem perfectly.

Last decade saw the rising adoption of Agile Software Development, emphasizing on iterative & value driven development instead of plan driven development. However the proposed Agile estimation techniques uses story points, team velocity, planning poker and all such stuff focusing more on rituals whilst placing not nearly enough on value.

#NoEstimate is a recent kid on the block ( introduced around 2012-13 ) that tries to solve this ubiquitous problem via eliminating the problem itself i.e. doing away with estimates. The idea is to find the right granularity for your Product Backlog Items ( PBIs )  and avoiding the need to differentiate between Small/ Medium/ Large/ Extra Large or 2,3,5,8,13 sizing of the PBIs. Once you have identified the most important story, just implement it. Once that's completed, move on to the next most important story.

EXPECTED TAKEAWAYS

  • Decision making framework for Drupal projects that do not require estimates
  • Project management (risk management, scope management, progress reporting, etc.) approaches that do not require estimates
  • The tools and arguments you need to prove the value of #NoEstimates to your boss
  • How to get started applying #NoEstimates right away
  • Best practices of using #NoEstimates along with other frameworks like story/ impact mapping, lean UX & BDD.
  • Where is #NoEstimates going and what are the likely changes to software development that will come next

Register NOW

Session Track

Project Management

Experience Level

Intermediate

Drupal Version