Burndown Question
Let's say I estimate a task at three days. RTC factors these 24 hours into the total hours for the sprint burndown chart. Eventually, I finish the task, but it only took two days. So, I put a correction in the task to reflect this and mark it complete. How does this correction reflect in the burndown chart? Is the total number of hours reduced by the one day, or does the chart burn down by the original three days, or something else?
Thanks,
Chris
Thanks,
Chris
5 answers
On 3/18/2010 9:53 AM, cbarlock wrote:
We're really talking about three different concepts. Estimate, Corrected
Estimate, and Time Spent. From your description, if, when you finish the
project you find it only took two days, then I would enter 2 days as
Time Spent, not as Corrected Estimate. That is, the corrected estimate
should be used not as an after-the-fact reflection of how much work was
required, but as a way of correcting your estimate before you start the
work, or as the work is ongoing, to reflect changes in your assumptions,
etc.
To answer your question though...
If you supply 3 days (24 hours) as the estimate on Monday, and then on
Wednesday you supply 2 days as the Corrected Estimate, then your
burndown chart for the week would show 3 days on Monday and Tuesday, and
then a dip to 2 days on Wednesday and henceforth.
Hope this helps.
james
RTC Reports Team Lead
rjaouaniwrote:
The corrected estimate will always override the original estimate.
OK, but how does that affect the burndown chart? Does it get rebuild
from scratch using the reduced estimate (in my example) as the new
total number of hours?
We're really talking about three different concepts. Estimate, Corrected
Estimate, and Time Spent. From your description, if, when you finish the
project you find it only took two days, then I would enter 2 days as
Time Spent, not as Corrected Estimate. That is, the corrected estimate
should be used not as an after-the-fact reflection of how much work was
required, but as a way of correcting your estimate before you start the
work, or as the work is ongoing, to reflect changes in your assumptions,
etc.
To answer your question though...
If you supply 3 days (24 hours) as the estimate on Monday, and then on
Wednesday you supply 2 days as the Corrected Estimate, then your
burndown chart for the week would show 3 days on Monday and Tuesday, and
then a dip to 2 days on Wednesday and henceforth.
Hope this helps.
james
RTC Reports Team Lead
On 3/18/2010 9:53 AM, cbarlock wrote:
rjaouaniwrote:
The corrected estimate will always override the original estimate.
OK, but how does that affect the burndown chart? Does it get rebuild
from scratch using the reduced estimate (in my example) as the new
total number of hours?
We're really talking about three different concepts. Estimate, Corrected
Estimate, and Time Spent. From your description, if, when you finish the
project you find it only took two days, then I would enter 2 days as
Time Spent, not as Corrected Estimate. That is, the corrected estimate
should be used not as an after-the-fact reflection of how much work was
required, but as a way of correcting your estimate before you start the
work, or as the work is ongoing, to reflect changes in your assumptions,
etc.
To answer your question though...
If you supply 3 days (24 hours) as the estimate on Monday, and then on
Wednesday you supply 2 days as the Corrected Estimate, then your
burndown chart for the week would show 3 days on Monday and Tuesday, and
then a dip to 2 days on Wednesday and henceforth.
Hope this helps.
james
RTC Reports Team Lead
Yes, it helps a lot, thank you! It also answers a question I posted sometime back that didn't get a really good answer. Using this example, I asked whether I should make the Correct Estimate and the Time Spent two days when I completed the task. The one response was "that's what I do," but your response says "no." So, if I left the estimate at three days and then finished the task with two days, how does RTC handle the chart? Would it show a burndown of three days (the original estimate) or just two? If the latter, how would you get it to zero when all tasks are complete?
Chris
On 3/18/2010 4:07 PM, cbarlock wrote:
Yes, it helps a lot, thank you! It also answers a question I posted
sometime back that didn't get a really good answer. Using this
example, I asked whether I should make the Correct Estimate and the
Time Spent two days when I completed the task. The one response was
"that's what I do," but your response says "no."
So, if I left the estimate at three days and then finished the task
with two days, how does RTC handle the chart? Would it show a
burndown of three days (the original estimate) or just two? If the
latter, how would you get it to zero when all tasks are complete?
Chris
Once a work item is closed, its estimate value is removed from the
burndown line. If work item 1 had an estimate of 3 days, and you
completed it in 2 days, then when you close the work item, the burndown
report will drop by 3 days.
james
RTC Reports Team Lead
jmoodywrote:
On 3/18/2010 9:53 AM, cbarlock wrote:
rjaouaniwrote:
The corrected estimate will always override the original estimate.
OK, but how does that affect the burndown chart? Does it get
rebuild
from scratch using the reduced estimate (in my example) as the new
total number of hours?
We're really talking about three different concepts. Estimate,
Corrected
Estimate, and Time Spent. From your description, if, when you finish
the
project you find it only took two days, then I would enter 2 days as
Time Spent, not as Corrected Estimate. That is, the corrected estimate
should be used not as an after-the-fact reflection of how much work
was
required, but as a way of correcting your estimate before you start
the
work, or as the work is ongoing, to reflect changes in your
assumptions,
etc.
To answer your question though...
If you supply 3 days (24 hours) as the estimate on Monday, and then on
Wednesday you supply 2 days as the Corrected Estimate, then your
burndown chart for the week would show 3 days on Monday and Tuesday,
and
then a dip to 2 days on Wednesday and henceforth.
Hope this helps.
james
RTC Reports Team Lead
Yes, it helps a lot, thank you! It also answers a question I posted
sometime back that didn't get a really good answer. Using this
example, I asked whether I should make the Correct Estimate and the
Time Spent two days when I completed the task. The one response was
"that's what I do," but your response says "no."
So, if I left the estimate at three days and then finished the task
with two days, how does RTC handle the chart? Would it show a
burndown of three days (the original estimate) or just two? If the
latter, how would you get it to zero when all tasks are complete?
Chris
Once a work item is closed, its estimate value is removed from the
burndown line. If work item 1 had an estimate of 3 days, and you
completed it in 2 days, then when you close the work item, the burndown
report will drop by 3 days.
james
RTC Reports Team Lead