Agile Estimation and Forecasting Workshop

This is a step-by-step facilitation guide with Miro and PPT templates for running a workshop "Agile Estimation and Forecasting". This workshop was previously known as "Relative Estimation in Agile Teams".

Teach your team why and how we use a different method of estimation in an agile environment and how to use them to create delivery plans.

This workshop has been created from scratch and has been run by many different teams in different organizations with a lot of success.

 

Audience

The purpose of this workshop is to introduce an audience to how to properly estimate and plan in an Agile environment and show them how to do it well.

This will be a great workshop to run with a new team who is not very familiar with tools like Planning Poker or metrics like velocity.

In addition, it is a great refresher workshop for a team that has been running for a while to remind them why we do relative estimation in an Agile environment, instead of estimating in hours.

The workshop highlights important principles and reiterates the values of agility through teaching about estimation.

 

Why use this tool?

This facilitation guide is a great addition to your Scrum Master's toolbox.

It gives you all the tools you need to run a highly engaging and effective workshop with minimal preparation and little stress.

And it is ready for facilitation with handy tools like Miro for remote teams, and a PPT presentation for in-person workshops.

 

Topics covered

The workshop includes the key topics needed to understand not only estimation, but velocity metrics, and creating forecasts and plans for stakeholders:

1. What is the absolute estimation in hours and why it doesn't work in Agile
2. What is a relative estimation and what types and techniques exist
3. Where the user stories came from - the most popular Agile estimation technique
4. How to estimate as a team using story points
5. What is velocity and how to use velocity for forecasting
6. What are the most common misconceptions about Agile estimation

 

What's included?

The facilitation guide includes all the key information to get the best results out of this workshop:

• Clear agenda with timestamps. Helps you prepare and time your workshop properly.
  

• Learning objectives. Gives you clarity around what the team should learn by the end of the workshop.
  

• Virtual board template. A ready-to-use template you can copy and paste into your own Miro account for quick facilitation.
  

• Step-by-step instructions. Clear instructions will guide you through each exercise even if you've never run a workshop before. Variations are also provided where relevant, for virtual and in-person delivery in case it impacts the exercise.
  

• Engaging exercises. This is not a presentation, but rather a set of engaging group activities with short teaching blocks along the way. You'll have all the explanations you need to run the exercises with success.
  

• Additional resources. Not only this workshop helps your team learn, when you prepare, you will also be able to learn in-depth details about the topic itself so that you can WOW! your team with your knowledge :)
  

• Facilitator's notes. All throughout the facilitation guide, you'll find quick tips and tricks for exercises and teaching blocks for smooth facilitation.
  

What will you get in the package?

• 37-page downloadable PDF.
  
• 18-slide Power Point template following the workshop exercises.
• Miro template ready for virtual delivery. Just copy-and-paste the content in your own Miro board and invite your team members to join.