Monte Carlo simulation

Estimation meets Cynefin

Question: Which provides a better estimate: Planning Poker or an ‘expert’? Many teams would answer that question by saying Planning Poker is always better than an expert’s estimates. We’ve been told it’s the case so many times, that few question it. Truth is, an expert estimate is sometimes more appropriate than an estimate… Read More »Estimation meets Cynefin

DistShaper6

Warning: geek alert! Last week, I raved about how easy Ozzie Gooen’s Guesstimate made Monte Carlo simulations. But, I wanted more: “… imagine if you could draw your own curve for the distribution: a kind of click-and-drag option”, I mused. Straight away, Ozzie highlighted that he’d enable this in tandem… Read More »DistShaper6

Distribution chart and details of my Monte Carlo simulation

Guesstimate

In my summary of Monte Carlo Simulators (May 2015), I said that they were good because they grant the use of ranges and allow you to see how changing the inputs affects the project; but the biggest problem was that they can take quite a bit of time to set up. Well, Guesstimate has… Read More »Guesstimate