Agile Alliance cofounder Mike Cohn has written the definitive practical guide to estimating and planning agile projects. Cohn doesn't just cover the "philosophy" of agile planning and estimating--he shows exactly how to get the job done, with real-world examples and case studies.

Cohn walks step-by-step through answering the questions: What will we build? How big will it be? When must it be done? How much can I really have by then? You'll first learn what makes a good plan and what makes it agile. Next, Cohn introduces agile techniques for estimating feature size and duration, and prioritizing to ensure you're building the right product with the right features. Next, he demonstrates how to schedule both simple and complex development projects, including projects with multiple teams and high levels of uncertainty. The book concludes with an extended case study.

Using the techniques in Agile Estimating and Planning, you can stay agile from start to finish saving time, conserving resources, and accomplishing more. Highlights include:

* Why conventional "prescriptive" planning fails and why agile planning works
* What makes a good software development plan
* How to estimate feature size using story points and ideal days and when to use each
* How to prioritize features and model the financial returns associated with them

Agile Estimating and Planning supports any agile, semi-agile, or iterative process, including XP, Scrum, FDD, Crystal, Adaptive Software Development, DSDM, Unified Process, and many more. It will be an indispensable resource for every development manager, team leader, and team member.

About author:

Mike Cohn is a founding member of the Agile Alliance and Director of its Articles Program. He has programmed professionally since 1984, and managed software projects since 1988, on behalf of clients such as Fidelity Investments, Viacom, Procter & Gamble, NBC, and Citibank. Mike is currently the Vice President of Engineering with Fast401k, a leading provider of Internet-based record-keeping and administration solutions for 401(k) plans. Fast401k provides private-labeled e401k products to the financial services industry, leveraging proprietary technology to drive economies of scale as an outsourced service provider. Mike has authored or co-authored four programming books.