Agile Event Session

No Estimates at Scale in the US Federal Government

This video content is for Agile Alliance members only

If you’re already an active member, please log in now.

To view this content, and gain access to many more valuable resources, conference discounts, and invitations to exclusive networking and learning events, please consider becoming an Agile Alliance member.

Abstract/Description

When conversations about improving our backlog refinement ceremony started, we had no intention of getting rid of points. We did not set out prove or disprove the #NoEstimates debates waged on social media. “We” were the three teams of E-Verify Modernization (EVE-MOD) product group. E-Verify is web-based system offered by US Citizenship and Immigration Services – an agency under the umbrella of the Department of Homeland Security. An experiment had barely gotten underway for refinement before our whole landscape shifted. Our planned work became overwhelmed by mid-sprint interruptions and decisions made in sprint planning became moot within hours. We had to act fast, so we stopped all work for a one entire day. We held a workshop offsite to decide how to re-design our approach to work. Beginning the very next day, our teams switched to Kanban. And with the unrelenting stream of incoming work, we also decided to stop the practice of estimating work and thus began EVE-MOD’s NoEstimates journey.

In this session, you will also learn how EVE-MOD adapted refinement conversations, how NoEstimates continued after a transition back to Scrum, why we eventually returned to estimating, and what this agilist learned during this unique 12-month experience in the US Federal Government.

Additional Resources

Add to Bookmarks Remove Bookmark
Add to Bookmarks Remove from Bookmarks
Add to Bookmarks Remove from Bookmarks

Speaker(s) may be willing to present this session at local group meetings and other events.

Agile2021
Experience Report

More Agile Event Session Videos

A Tale of Experimenting with Scrumban
Are you seeing teams that continually struggle with finding a sense of flow? Is it difficult to see how work moves through the system? Is it hard for a team to deliver anything within a sprint because there are too many dependencies or hidden work st…
A Tale of Experimenting with Scrumban
Are you seeing teams that continually struggle with finding a sense of flow? Is it difficult to see how work moves through the system? Is it hard for a team to deliver anything within a sprint because there are too many dependencies or hidden work st…

Have a comment? Join the conversation

Discover the many benefits of membership

Your membership enables Agile Alliance to offer a wealth of first-rate resources, present renowned international events, support global community groups, and more — all geared toward helping Agile practitioners reach their full potential and deliver innovative, Agile solutions.

Not yet a member? Sign up now