A story point is a relative measure of the effort required to complete a software task or project. Unlike an hourly estimate, it focuses on work effort rather than elapsed time and can account for complexity, uncertainty, risks, team skills, and available resources. section 7.2 section 7.2.2
Teams use story points to align on the size of work and support flexible planning. Estimates can be reviewed and revised as the project changes, while the choice between story points and hours depends on the project and team preference. section 7.2 section 7.2.2
Common ways to assign story points include:
- Planning Poker: team members estimate independently with numbered cards, then discuss differences and reach a consensus. section 7.2.2
- T-Shirt Sizing: teams classify work from extra-small to extra-large according to relative effort. section 7.2.2
- Fibonacci Sequence: each number represents increasing relative effort, such as 1 for the lowest effort and 13 for the highest. section 7.2.2
Estimating a search feature
A team might assign 1 point to creating an empty search-page framework, 2 to displaying filters, 3 to displaying results, 4 to standard search functionality, and 5 to implementing search filters. The numbers compare effort; they do not represent hours.
