QuestionQ136

Chapter 5: Managing the Test Activities

Consider an estimation session where a six-member Agile team (Mempb1, ..., Memb6) applies planning poker to estimate a user story in story points. Team members use cards with these values: 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21.

The first estimation round produces the following results:

| Team member | Estimate |

| --- | ---: |

| Memb1 | 3 |

| Memb2 | 3 |

| Memb3 | 3 |

| Memb4 | 21 |

| Memb5 | 3 |

| Memb6 | 1 |

Which answer BEST describes how the estimation session should proceed?

  • A The final estimate of the user story in story points is determined by applying the three-point estimation technique with the following input values: most optimistic estimate = 1, most likely estimate = 3, and most pessimistic estimate = 21.
  • B Further estimation rounds should be performed until all team members will pick the card having the same value: this value will represent the final estimate of the user story in story points.
  • C The final estimate of the user story in story points is determined by calculating the average value between the most optimistic estimate of 21 story points (Memb4) and the most pessimistic estimate of 1 story point (Memb6).
  • D Memb6 and Memb4 which have produced the most pessimistic and the most optimistic estimates respectively, should explain the reasons of their choices to stimulate a discussion between all members before proceeding to another estimation round.
Explanation

In Planning Poker, a wide spread in estimates triggers discussion by the people who selected the highest and lowest values, so that differing assumptions, risks, or understanding can be surfaced. The team can then conduct another round to seek a consensus estimate; consensus should not be imposed by averaging or by requiring identical cards. Here, 21 is the highest estimate and 1 is the lowest estimate, even though the optimistic/pessimistic labels in the selected option are reversed.

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