Ali Bahaloo

Estimation is a critical process in software development, bridging the gap between business expectations and technical realities. Accurate estimates enable effective planning, resource allocation, and timely delivery. This blog post explores the detailed steps of the estimation process, from receiving requirements to crafting a project roadmap.

1. Gathering and Analyzing Requirements

Initial Requirement Gathering

The estimation process begins with the Business Analyst (BA) or Product Manager (PM) presenting the requirements. These requirements are typically gathered through:

• Workshops: Collaborative sessions with stakeholders to discuss and refine project requirements.
• Customer Interviews: Direct conversations with end-users to understand their needs and expectations.
• Surveys and Questionnaires: Collecting quantitative data from a larger audience to identify common needs and priorities.
• Document Analysis: Reviewing existing documentation to extract relevant information.

Requirement Analysis

Once gathered, the requirements are analyzed to ensure clarity and feasibility. This step involves:

• Requirement Workshops: Internal discussions among the technical team to break down and understand the requirements.
• Feasibility Studies: Assessing whether the requirements are technically achievable within the given constraints.
• Use Case Development: Creating detailed use cases and user stories to capture the functional requirements.

2. Breaking Down Tasks for Accurate Estimation

Identifying High-Level Tasks

The next step is to decompose the project into high-level tasks. This involves:

• Feature Listing: Identifying major features and functionalities required for the project.
• Module Identification: Breaking down features into modules or components.

Decomposing into Smaller Tasks

High-level tasks are further broken down into smaller, manageable tasks. This is crucial for providing accurate estimates:

• Task Breakdown Workshops: Collaborative sessions with the engineering team to decompose high-level tasks.
• Creating Task Lists: Documenting detailed task lists, specifying individual tasks, and sub-tasks.
• Estimation Techniques: Applying various estimation techniques such as:
  • Expert Judgment: Leveraging the experience of senior developers and architects.
  • Planning Poker: A consensus-based estimation technique involving the entire team.
  • Function Point Analysis: Measuring the functionality delivered to the user.

3. Estimation and Resource Allocation

Providing Estimates

Each task is then estimated based on its complexity and effort required:

• Effort Estimation: Estimating the amount of effort in terms of person-hours or person-days.
• Resource Estimation: Identifying the resources needed for each task, including developers, testers, and designers.
• Risk Assessment: Identifying potential risks and adding buffer time to handle uncertainties.

Review and Validation

The initial estimates are reviewed and validated through:

• Peer Reviews: Internal reviews by team members to validate the estimates.
• Technical Reviews: Reviews by technical leads or architects to ensure technical feasibility.
• Management Reviews: Final review by engineering managers to align estimates with business goals.

4. Creating Project Timelines and Roadmaps

Aggregating Estimates

Once individual task estimates are finalized, they are aggregated to create a comprehensive project timeline:

• Timeline Creation: Combining task estimates to develop a project timeline.
• Milestone Identification: Identifying key milestones and deliverables.

Developing the Roadmap

Product Managers absorb this information to create a detailed project roadmap:

• Roadmap Development: Mapping out the project phases, milestones, and delivery timelines.
• Stakeholder Communication: Communicating the roadmap to all stakeholders, including clients, management, and the development team.
• Adjustments and Revisions: Continuously revising the roadmap based on feedback and project progress.

Estimation Techniques for the Engineering Team

Choosing the right estimation technique is crucial for accurate planning. Here are some commonly used methods:

• T-Shirt Sizing: Tasks are categorized into sizes like XS, S, M, L, and XL, representing their complexity and effort. This method is quick and beneficial in the early stages of a project when high-level estimates are needed. It helps in creating a rough timeline and identifying potential bottlenecks without going into minute details.
• Story Points: This technique assigns points to tasks based on their complexity, effort, and risk. It’s widely used in Agile methodologies and is beneficial when the team is familiar with the project scope and has a history of working together. Story points help in velocity tracking, enabling the team to predict future sprints more accurately.
• Time-Based Estimation: Estimating in hours or days is straightforward and provides a clear picture of the effort required. This method is beneficial for detailed planning and when precise timelines are necessary. It is particularly useful for fixed-scope projects where accurate deadlines must be met.

Story Points: Leveraging Team History for Accurate Estimates

Story points are a widely used estimation technique in Agile methodologies, relying on the team’s historical performance to estimate the effort required for new tasks. This method assigns points to tasks based on their complexity, effort, and risk, relative to tasks the team has completed in the past. The effectiveness of story points hinges on the team’s familiarity with each other’s work habits and the project scope, making it essential that the team has a history of working together. By referencing previously completed tasks, the team can provide more accurate estimates, which in turn helps in velocity tracking and predicting the duration of future sprints.

Conclusion

The estimation process in software development is a collaborative effort that involves detailed requirement analysis, task breakdown, accurate estimation, and roadmap development. By following a structured approach, teams can provide realistic estimates, plan effectively, and deliver successful projects.

Incorporating feedback loops and continuous improvement into the estimation process ensures that the team adapts to changing requirements and delivers high-quality software on time.