Separate size from plan

Label the object

Before debating a number, label each statement as size, uncertainty, capacity or decision constraint. The Scrum Guide says Developers are responsible for sizing and that Sprint forecasts consider past performance, upcoming capacity and the Definition of Done. It does not prescribe story points.

Worked example and transfer practice

All examples below are fictional teaching material. Use synthetic notes; no workplace or personal data is required or uploaded.

The number and the plan answer different questions. A fictional export item includes audit logging and migration of existing records. Those are work-boundary questions. An unfamiliar supplier creates uncertainty about that work. Two Developers being unavailable next week is a capacity fact for forecasting; it does not remove the migration from the item. Relative size is not a unit of calendar time, and one team’s scale is not portable to another.

Try before reading the guide: Classify each statement: the export now needs an approval record; one engineer is on leave; the supplier may rate-limit requests; the release must precede an audit. Explain where each belongs in the next discussion.

Practice review guide

These concern scope, capacity, uncertainty and a decision constraint respectively. Dependencies can affect both the work and elapsed delivery time, so identify the mechanism rather than forcing every fact into one exclusive category.