Scrumban Product Management
How to Improve your Delivery Estimates
Tips to better understand context, assumptions, and contingencies.
Mastering the Art of Estimation is essential for delivering successful products. This article outlines three actionable tips for improving your Scrum estimates: understanding the context, documenting and testing assumptions, and adding contingency time.
1. Understand Context
Understand the context of your product, including political dimensions and external dependencies. Knowing what external factors impact your delivery helps you manage dependencies and constraints effectively. This understanding ensures you can anticipate and mitigate risks affecting your timeline.
2. Document and Test Assumptions
Document and test all assumptions to ensure validity. Assumptions form the basis of your estimates, so it’s crucial to articulate and record them. Test these assumptions for validity or plausibility to ensure your estimates are accurate. If assumptions change, be ready to adjust your estimates accordingly to maintain accuracy and reliability.
3. Add Contingency Time
Add contingency time to your estimates based on confidence levels. Planning for uncertainties involves adding extra time to your estimates. Analyze alternative scenarios to refine your contingencies. This step helps you accommodate potential risks and ensures your product delivery remains on track despite unexpected events.
What techniques do you use to ensure your estimates are accurate and reliable? Please share your thoughts in the comments to help other product managers improve their estimation processes.
If you found this helpful content, please clap. Clapping helps the Medium algorithm display this content to more product owners, contributing to our professional community.
