Plan and Estimate phase

A Scrum stage focused on planning and sizing User Stories and their related tasks. It includes creating User Stories, estimating User Stories, committing selected stories to the sprint, identifying tasks, estimating tasks, and updating the Sprint Backlog.

Key Points

  • Produces a realistic Sprint Backlog with agreed scope and effort estimates.
  • Product Owner clarifies priorities and acceptance criteria; Developers estimate; Scrum Master facilitates.
  • Common techniques: story points, relative sizing, Planning Poker, task breakdown and hour estimates.
  • Outputs include committed User Stories, decomposed tasks, updated Sprint Backlog, and captured risks/assumptions.

Example

At sprint planning, the team selects the top Product Backlog items totaling 30 story points, clarifies acceptance criteria, breaks each story into tasks (e.g., design, API changes, tests), estimates hours for tasks, commits to the sprint scope, and updates the Sprint Backlog accordingly.

PMP Example Question

Which statement best describes the Plan and Estimate phase in Scrum?

  1. The team plans and sizes User Stories and tasks, commits to sprint scope, and updates the Sprint Backlog.
  2. The team deploys the increment to production and gathers end-user feedback.
  3. The team creates the product vision and high-level roadmap.
  4. The team conducts a daily 15-minute meeting to synchronize work.

Correct Answer: A — Scrum planning and estimation phase

Explanation: The Plan and Estimate phase focuses on selecting, estimating, committing to User Stories, breaking them into tasks, and updating the Sprint Backlog for the upcoming sprint.

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