Re:How I Estimate Work as a Staff Software Engineer
by SoftTalker on Saturday January 24, 2026 @10:21PM
(#46750375)
Yeah we had half-point stories. Never remember getting as high as 20. I think we topped out at about 13 and those were usually split if they could be. It's been years since I did planning poker, sort of surprised to hear that it's still in use.
Re:How I Estimate Work as a Staff Software Engineer
by crazygringo on Sunday January 25, 2026 @10:27AM
(#46754869)
> sort of surprised to hear that it's still in use.
Why? It's not like it was some fad that didn't work. When things work, organizations tend to stick with them.
Otherwise, it would be impossible to have 20-point stories done in a 10-business-day sprint! Under the usual assumption that a single person is responsible for the whole story.
For the teams I've been on, a point has usually been more like a third of a day or half a day, i.e. 2-3 hours of uninterrupted concentration, and the 1/2 point card is used rarely. Sounds like you've probably used 1/2 point stories a lot more...
But this is why points are arbitrary. Each team decides whatever precise scale it wants. And it really depends on the type of work you're doing too -- whether the smallest stories tend to be things that are day-sized or things that are 2-hour sized.