Story Points

Story Points are a way for teams to estimate the relative effort of a Product Backlog Item, not in hours or days, but by comparing it to other work. They take into account complexity, uncertainty, and scope.

The real value of estimation isn't the number---it's the conversation. Estimating helps teams build a shared understanding of what's being asked, surface assumptions, and align on what "done" means.

Story Points are team-specific and not comparable across teams. They're also not tied to individual pace---because everyone works differently. That's why effort estimates tied to one person's speed usually fall short.

Important: Story Points should never be used as a performance metric or KPI. Their purpose is to support planning---not to measure output.

Some teams find value in not estimating at all and instead focus on slicing work small and improving flow. Whether you estimate or not, what matters is creating clarity and enabling smart decisions.