Estimate project tasks (milestones, dependencies, story points)

Concepts

A crucial skill for any professional aiming to succeed in project management, particularly for those preparing for the Project Management Professional (PMP) examination is understanding how to accurately estimate project tasks. This skill helps set realistic expectations, allows for precise budgeting, timeline creation, and overall project planning. In particular, we’ll focus on three core components of project task estimation: Project Milestones, Dependencies, and Story Points.

I. PROJECT MILESTONES

Project milestones are crucial events or significant occurrences that segment the project into manageable stages or phases. They serve as guideposts along the project timeline and tend to be inflexible after being set. Understanding and identifying milestones is critical for accurate project task estimation.

For example, if you’re working on a software development project, milestones may include design finalization, code completion, testing phases, and product delivery. Estimating when these milestones occur helps provide a general timeline and sequencing of events for your project.

II. DEPENDENCIES

In project management, dependencies refer to the intertwining relationship between different project tasks. Dependencies can impact the start and finish date of project tasks, making them an essential factor during task estimation. There are four primary types of dependencies:

Finish-to-start (FS): Task B cannot begin until Task A has been completed.
Start-to-start (SS): Task B cannot begin until Task A has begun.

Finish-to-finish (FF): Task B cannot end until Task A has ended.
Start-to-finish (SF): Task B cannot finish until Task A has started.

In software development, for instance, you cannot begin testing (Task B) before the code writing phase (Task A) ends. This is a classic example of a Finish-to-start dependency.

Dependency Type	Example
FS	Code writing (Task A) ends before testing (Task B) begins.
SS	Code writing (Task A) begins before design (Task B) begins.
FF	Design (Task A) ends before documentation(Task B) ends.
SF	Testing (Task A) starts before code writing (Task B) ends.

III. STORY POINTS

In Agile project management, Story Points are a unit of measure for estimating the overall effort required to implement a given piece of work. Story points consider not only the work to be done but also the complexity, risks, and uncertainties of the task. They are relative estimates, meaning they don’t correspond to a specific duration but rather to a comparison of task complexities.

For example, if a user story A is thought to be twice as much effort as another user story B, then it would be assigned twice as many story points. This form of estimation is very effective in Scrum teams as it focuses on the size of the work to be done and leaves the team to determine how quickly they can deliver that work.

In summary, understanding and adequately managing project milestones, dependencies, and story points are invaluable skills for project management, allowing for accurate task estimation and effective overall project management. The comprehension of these elements not only betters your chances at succeeding in the PMP certification examination but also ensures your ability to lead and deliver projects successfully in your professional career.

Answer the Questions in Comment Section

True or False: In project management, milestones are a way of knowing how much work has been completed and how much is left.

True
False

Answer: True

Explanation: Milestones are markers for significant events or stages that help in tracking the progress of the project and giving visibility to all stakeholders about the status of the project.

Single Select: Which of these factors is NOT considered while estimating a task?

a) Time required
b) Resources available

c) Cost
d) Forecasted weather

Answer: d) Forecasted weather

Explanation: While certain weather-sensitive projects may consider it, weather is not a typical factor while estimating a task. The key factors are resources available, cost and time required.

True or False: Dependencies can be ignored while estimating project tasks.

True
False

Answer: False

Explanation: Ignoring dependencies can lead to inaccuracies in the project estimation. Dependencies impact the sequence in which tasks should be performed and may also affect time estimates.

Multiple Select: What is the purpose of using story points in Agile project management?

a) To measure the overall progress of a project

b) To measure the effort required to complete a task
c) To determine the resources available
d) To illustrate the complexity of a task

Answer: b) To measure the effort required to complete a task, d) To illustrate the complexity of a task

Explanation: Story points are a unit of measure used in Agile project management to estimate the amount of work involved in completing a story (task). It helps estimate the level of effort and complexity involved.

Single Select: The process of task estimation should be performed by:

a) The project manager alone

b) Only team members
c) Only stakeholders
d) Both the project manager and team members

Answer: d) Both the project manager and team members

Explanation: The process of task estimation should involve both the project manager and the team members as they have a better understanding of their capabilities and the work involved.

True or False: Milestones do not need to be clearly defined in task estimation.

True

False

Answer: False

Explanation: Milestones provide significant stages of a project. They need to be clearly defined to provide a measure of progress and confidence to the stakeholders.

Multiple Select: Which of these best describes a project dependency?

a) A task that can be done independently
b) A task that relies on the output of another task
c) A necessary relationship between project activities

d) Something that is optional and can be omitted outright

Answer: b) A task that relies on the output of another task, c) A necessary relationship between project activities

Explanation: A project dependency is a task or activity that depends on the output or outcome of another task. These dependencies need to be accounted for when planning and scheduling projects.

True or False: Story points are only relevant in traditional project management.

True
False

Answer: False

Explanation: In fact, story points are primarily used in Agile project management methods, particularly in Scrum, and not in traditional project management.

Single Select: Which of the below is NOT a type of project dependency?

a) Mandatory dependency
b) External dependency

c) Discretionary dependency
d) Force Majeure dependency

Answer: d) Force Majeure dependency

Explanation: The main types of project dependencies are: Mandatory, Discretionary, and External. Force Majeure is a term often used in contracts to represent unforeseen circumstances, but not a type of project dependency.

True or False: The bigger the story points, the more complex the task.

True
False

Answer: True

Explanation: Story points are used as a measure of the size or complexity of a task in Agile project management methodologies. Greater the story points, higher is the estimated complexity of the task.

Single Select: In Agile, the work to be done is typically estimated in:

a) Months

b) Days
c) Percentages
d) Story points

Answer: d) Story points

Explanation: In Agile methodologies, work is typically estimated in story points, a unit that represents the effort, risk and complexity associated with a task or feature.

True or False: Dependencies can affect the scheduling of a project.

True

False

Answer: True

Explanation: Project dependencies are a necessary relationship between project steps or tasks. If a dependency is delayed or does not complete as planned, it can affect the scheduling and timeline of the entire project.