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Criterion
Paper illustration for Dot Estimation.
Facilitation
Dot Estimation
Four paper stations connect system purpose, quality goals, risk cards and focused investigation with a target and gap profile.
Architecture
LASR (Lightweight Approach for Software Reviews)
Paper illustration for Bucket System.
Agile
Bucket System
Paper illustration for Affinity Estimation.
Agile
Affinity Estimation
Purposedifferent
When size or effort can only be estimated roughly, Dot Estimation condenses the group's experience into a quick range. It turns individual contributions into a visible selection. The result is captured as an Effort Heatmap, Risk Signals, and Discussion Targets.LASR helps development teams identify where their software falls short of important quality goals and which improvements to consider. A small group with existing system knowledge can make an initial assessment and investigate open questions in more detail.When a large batch of work needs a fast, rough estimate, it sorts items into predefined size buckets. It sorts work by value, risk, and delivery ability. The result is captured as a Bucketed Backlog, Relative Estimates, and Split Candidates.When many tasks need to be classified quickly, it sorts them by perceived effort and similarity. It reduces the effort of fine-grained estimation for large volumes.
Complexitydifferent
LowMediumMediumMedium
Timedifferent
5-20 min3–4 h for initial assessment; preparation and deeper analysis additional30-90 min30-90 min
Participantsdifferent
3-201 or a small team; particularly suitable for 3–4 people3-123-12
Formatdifferent
WorkshopWorkshop + asyncWorkshopWorkshop
Outputdifferent
Effort Heatmap, Risk Signals, Discussion TargetsLean Mission Statement describing the software’s purpose, Prioritized quality goals and evaluation criteria, Risks and estimated gaps against quality goals, More closely examined findings and open checksBucketed Backlog, Relative Estimates, Split CandidatesAffinity Size Map, Grouped Estimates, Unclear Items
Tagsno overlap
EstimationEffortRisk
ArchitectureQualityRiskAssessmentLean
EstimationBacklogRelative sizing
EstimationBacklogRelative sizing
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