Session Brief: Affinity Estimation

Goal

Artifact: Affinity Size Map

Working Question

How can the team place the items in a reliable relative size order and label the resulting groups?

Context

The backlog slice to estimate, the sizing scale to use, and any known dependencies or risky items.

Setup

• Format: Method session
• Duration: 30-90 min
• Mode: Workshop
• Participants: One facilitator, 3-12 team members, and ideally people who know the work from product, design, and engineering.
• Owner: One facilitator, 3-12 team members, and ideally people who know the work from product, design, and engineering
• Participation mode: Team round, shared work and alignment
• Outcome logic: Finish artifact

Participation Logic

Use the session for shared understanding. Contributions are collected visibly, assumptions are aligned, and open differences remain traceable in the artifact.

Outcome Logic

The session works directly toward Affinity Size Map. After the session, the artifact should be shareable, reviewable, or reusable.

Input

Item cards, a large wall or board, a visible size axis or reference scale, a timer, and markers for cluster labels.

Preparation

Lay out a blank relative size axis and keep the cards visible. Start without numbers so the group focuses on comparison first.

Agenda

1. 0-10 min (10 min) Owner: Facilitator Action: Review the items, remove duplicates, and make sure every card is understandable at a glance. Hint: If items are still too vague, estimating them now only creates false precision. Output: Affinity Size Map

2. 10-25 min (15 min) Owner: Facilitator Action: Place a few reference items on the board to define the visible relative size axis. Hint: If the reference items are wrong, the rest of the session will drift. Pick anchors the team already trusts. Output: Grouped Estimates

3. 25-45 min (20 min) Owner: Facilitator Action: Sort the remaining items silently from smaller to larger and adjust the order when strong disagreements appear. Hint: Do not debate every card. Focus on the items that surprise the group most. Output: Unclear Items

4. 45-65 min (20 min) Owner: Facilitator Action: Group neighboring items into size buckets and attach a label such as T-shirt size or a point range. Hint: If the buckets become too many, the method has turned into micro-estimation. Output: Affinity Size Map

5. 65-90 min (25 min) Owner: Owner Action: Resolve outliers and unclear items, then record any splits, assumptions, or items that need a separate estimate later. Hint: Unclear items must stay visible. Hiding them inside a bucket makes the estimate look more certain than it is. Output: Grouped Estimates

6. Publish artifact (10 min) Owner: Owner Action: Check the artifact for completeness, define location, set version or status, and name review recipients. Output: Affinity Size Map

Closeout

• Update result artifact: Affinity Size Map
• Define location, version, and review recipients.
• Define owner, next step, and review date.

Affinity Size Map: Affinity Estimation

Working Question

How can the team place the items in a reliable relative size order and label the resulting groups?

Context

The backlog slice to estimate, the sizing scale to use, and any known dependencies or risky items.

Participants

• Owner: One facilitator, 3-12 team members, and ideally people who know the work from product, design, and engineering
• Participants: One facilitator, 3-12 team members, and ideally people who know the work from product, design, and engineering.

Input

Item cards, a large wall or board, a visible size axis or reference scale, a timer, and markers for cluster labels.

Template

Affinity Estimation Canvas

Context

What is this method used for?

Core question

Which question should be answered at the end?

Input

Which data, observations, or materials are available?

Working area

• Area 1:
• Area 2:
• Area 3:
• Relationships / patterns:

Output artifacts

• Affinity Size Map:
• Grouped Estimates:
• Unclear Items:

Open questions

• ...

Next step

Owner, date, success signal.

Completion Check

• Affinity Size Map is complete enough for review:
• Location:
• Version / status:
• Review by:
• Next step:

Next Step

• Review result
• Mark open questions
• Schedule review or decision