methodatlas
Method guideAgile

Ideal Days

A practical method guide: clarify prerequisites and materials, understand the complete process, and look up outputs, pitfalls, and stop criteria.

ComplexityLow
Time15-60 min
Participants2-9
FormatWorkshop + async
MaturityEstablished
Plan Ideal Days
01

Prerequisite

What needs to be finished first

Complete firstComparable subject

Define an ideal day as one uninterrupted workday without waiting, context switching, or parallel obligations; retain full Done.

Without a common frame, values are not comparable.
Complete firstEvidence access

Refined items, Definition of Done, ideal-day definition, historical reference items, capacity data, and assumption log

Missing data remains visible as uncertainty.
02

Preparation

What needs to be ready before start

Materials

Refined items, Definition of Done, ideal-day definition, historical reference items, capacity data, and assumption log

People / roles

Delivery team estimates · product owner clarifies · facilitator separates ideal and calendar time

Pre-read

Define an ideal day as one uninterrupted workday without waiting, context switching, or parallel obligations; retain full Done.

Time needed

30–60 minutes for 8–15 prepared items.

Setup

Prepare a workspace with Definition · Anchors · Estimate · Reality · Review; separate example from live data.

03

Core question

The one question this method answers

How many uninterrupted workdays does an item require under explicit ideal conditions, and which real calendar factors are planned separately?

04

Flow

Phases with goal, actions, output and pitfall

Sie übersetzt Arbeit in geschätzte Idealzeit ohne Störungen und hält damit einen leicht verständlichen Referenzwert fest. So lassen sich Aufgaben vergleichbar einordnen, auch wenn sie unterschiedlich aussehen und später anders laufen.

Ideal Days · working structure

Fictional example

Fictional values show the actual method fields.

Ideal Days · working structure
ItemIncluded/DoneAnchorIdeal daysIdeal assumptionCalendar factorsActual/review
Save cardAdd evidence and rationale.Build, tests, security review, rolloutProvider token=33No interruption; existing API2 queue days; 60% focus3.5 active; 6 calendar
Validation ruleAdd evidence and rationale.Build, tests, review1-day anchor1Known rule engine1 review queue day1 active; 2 calendar

  1. 1. Included/Done

    Save card
    Build, tests, security review, rollout
    Validation rule
    Build, tests, review

  2. 2. Anchor

    Save card
    Provider token=3
    Validation rule
    1-day anchor

  3. 3. Ideal days

    Save card
    3
    Validation rule
    1

  4. 4. Ideal assumption

    Save card
    No interruption; existing API
    Validation rule
    Known rule engine

  5. 5. Calendar factors

    Save card
    2 queue days; 60% focus
    Validation rule
    1 review queue day

  6. 6. Actual/review

    Save card
    3.5 active; 6 calendar
    Validation rule
    1 active; 2 calendar

All values are fictional.

Reference · original teaching example

  1. 1

    Definition

    Ideal measure

    Goal

    Ideal measure: Clarify ideal day, included work, and Done together.

    Inputs for this step

    • Define an ideal day as one uninterrupted workday without waiting, context switching, or parallel obligations; retain full Done.
    • Refined items, Definition of Done, ideal-day definition, historical reference items, capacity data, and assumption log

    Actions

    • Clarify ideal day, included work, and Done together.

    Output

    Ideal measure

    Clarify ideal day, included work, and Done together.

    Quality check

    Do tests, review, and rollout remain while interruptions are excluded?

    Pitfall

    Ideal means best-case scope without quality work. Keep Done complete and remove only real interruption.

    Timing: 5–10 minutes

  2. 2

    Anchors

    Time anchors

    Goal

    Time anchors: Choose completed items as 1-, 3-, and 5-ideal-day references.

    Inputs for this step

    • Ideal measure

    Actions

    • Choose completed items as 1-, 3-, and 5-ideal-day references.

    Output

    Time anchors

    Choose completed items as 1-, 3-, and 5-ideal-day references.

    Quality check

    Are anchors from the same team domain and retrospectively plausible?

    Pitfall

    Elapsed days from old items are copied as ideal days. Use active work from history or team reconstruction.

    Timing: 5–10 minutes

  3. 3

    Estimate

    Ideal estimate

    Goal

    Ideal estimate: Estimate relative to anchors in ideal days and name dominant work portions.

    Inputs for this step

    • Time anchors

    Actions

    • Estimate relative to anchors in ideal days and name dominant work portions.

    Output

    Ideal estimate

    Estimate relative to anchors in ideal days and name dominant work portions.

    Quality check

    Does the value describe uninterrupted work by a suitable staffing pattern?

    Pitfall

    Ideal days are divided freely by headcount. State staffing and parallelisability explicitly.

    Timing: 10–15 minutes

  4. 4

    Reality

    Calendar factors

    Goal

    Calendar factors: Capture waiting, part-time focus, meetings, dependencies, and WIP separately; do not hide a buffer in the ideal value.

    Inputs for this step

    • Ideal estimate

    Actions

    • Capture waiting, part-time focus, meetings, dependencies, and WIP separately; do not hide a buffer in the ideal value.

    Output

    Calendar factors

    Capture waiting, part-time focus, meetings, dependencies, and WIP separately; do not hide a buffer in the ideal value.

    Quality check

    Are ideal effort and flow delay separately visible?

    Pitfall

    A generic focus factor automatically turns every estimate into a date. Plan capacity and dependencies with current calendar/flow data.

    Timing: 5–10 minutes

  5. 5

    Review

    Calibrated estimate

    Goal

    Calibrated estimate: Compare ideal value with actual active/calendar duration and calibrate anchors.

    Inputs for this step

    • Calendar factors

    Actions

    • Compare ideal value with actual active/calendar duration and calibrate anchors.

    Output

    Calibrated estimate

    Compare ideal value with actual active/calendar duration and calibrate anchors.

    Quality check

    Is variance treated as learning rather than personal failure?

    Pitfall

    Variance leads to retrospective number fitting. Report active work, waiting, and scope change separately.

    Timing: 5–10 minutes

05

Artifact

What comes out at the end

Sketch: what the artifact looks like

Ideal Days · Work Time instead of Calendar TimeEstimate focused work as ideal days while keeping meetings, waiting time, blockers, and calendar time separate
Ideal DaysThe visual shows the difference between focused ideal work time and real calendar time with meetings, blockers, wait time, and dependencies.Think about effort in focused work daysIdeal Days separate pure work volume from real calendar time, interruptions, and dependencies.estimate effortdo not translatedirectly into dateskeep assumptions visibleTaskclarify scope and Definition ofDone1 Ideal Day8hfocused work withoutinterruptionCalendar timeadd meetings, waiting, and context switchingEstimate3 ideal days plus assumptionsMeetingsBlockersWait timeDependency
Form

Ideal-day estimates with reference anchors, ideal assumptions, excluded waiting, and separate calendar/capacity translation.

Versioning / ownership

Record date, team, data state, and review date; preserve prior versions.

Tool alternatives
  • Ideal-day references
  • Assumption sheet
  • Separate capacity/calendar plan

ideal-days-working-template.md

Set subject, data, roles, flow, and review.

Ideal Days: Worksheet

Question

To be confirmed

Desired outcome

To be confirmed

Scope

Practice run Time: 30–60 minutes for 8–15 prepared items.

Complete this worksheet on paper or in your own document during the work.

Preparation for this scope

Method setup

  • Materials: Refined items, Definition of Done, ideal-day definition, historical reference items, capacity data, and assumption log
  • Roles: Delivery team estimates · product owner clarifies · facilitator separates ideal and calendar time
  • Advance information: Define an ideal day as one uninterrupted workday without waiting, context switching, or parallel obligations; retain full Done.
  • Overall time needed: 30–60 minutes for 8–15 prepared items.
  • Setup: Prepare a workspace with Definition · Anchors · Estimate · Reality · Review; separate example from live data.

Prepare for the work steps

Definition: Ideal measure

  • Define an ideal day as one uninterrupted workday without waiting, context switching, or parallel obligations; retain full Done.
  • Refined items, Definition of Done, ideal-day definition, historical reference items, capacity data, and assumption log

Anchors: Time anchors

  • Ideal measure

Estimate: Ideal estimate

  • Time anchors

Reality: Calendar factors

  • Ideal estimate

Review: Calibrated estimate

  • Calendar factors

Ideal Days · working structure

ItemIncluded/DoneAnchorIdeal daysIdeal assumptionCalendar factorsActual/review
Save card
Validation rule
  • Save card: Add evidence and rationale.
  • Validation rule: Add evidence and rationale.

The blank worksheet contains prompts only.

Reference · original teaching example

Definition: Ideal measure

Expected artifact: Ideal measure

Clarify ideal day, included work, and Done together.

Entry:

...

  • Do tests, review, and rollout remain while interruptions are excluded?

Anchors: Time anchors

Expected artifact: Time anchors

Choose completed items as 1-, 3-, and 5-ideal-day references.

Entry:

...

  • Are anchors from the same team domain and retrospectively plausible?

Estimate: Ideal estimate

Expected artifact: Ideal estimate

Estimate relative to anchors in ideal days and name dominant work portions.

Entry:

...

  • Does the value describe uninterrupted work by a suitable staffing pattern?

Reality: Calendar factors

Expected artifact: Calendar factors

Capture waiting, part-time focus, meetings, dependencies, and WIP separately; do not hide a buffer in the ideal value.

Entry:

...

  • Are ideal effort and flow delay separately visible?

Review: Calibrated estimate

Expected artifact: Calibrated estimate

Compare ideal value with actual active/calendar duration and calibrate anchors.

Entry:

...

  • Is variance treated as learning rather than personal failure?

Open questions and next steps

...

Method guide: https://methodatlas.meierhoff-systems.de/en/methods/ideal-days/run-sheet

06

Example output

Concrete filled scenario, fictional example

Fictional example for orientation. Counts and timings describe this case and are not universal requirements.

ideal-days-beispiel.md

Concrete filled scenario, fictional example

Fictional teaching example: Ideal Days · working structure

ItemIncluded/DoneAnchorIdeal daysIdeal assumptionCalendar factorsActual/review
Save cardBuild, tests, security review, rolloutProvider token=33No interruption; existing API2 queue days; 60% focus3.5 active; 6 calendar
Validation ruleBuild, tests, review1-day anchor1Known rule engine1 review queue day1 active; 2 calendar
07

Pitfalls

Recognize symptoms and steer against them

Quick overview, the full text is in the matching phase in the flow

  1. Ideal measureIdeal means best-case scope without quality work.View in phase
  2. Time anchorsElapsed days from old items are copied as ideal days.View in phase
  3. Ideal estimateIdeal days are divided freely by headcount.View in phase
  4. Calendar factorsA generic focus factor automatically turns every estimate into a date.View in phase
  5. Calibrated estimateVariance leads to retrospective number fitting.View in phase
08

Stop criteria

When to pause, resolve prerequisites, or choose another approach

Stop Definition: Do tests, review, and rollout remain while interruptions are excluded?
Stop Anchors: Are anchors from the same team domain and retrospectively plausible?
Stop Estimate: Does the value describe uninterrupted work by a suitable staffing pattern?
Stop Reality: Are ideal effort and flow delay separately visible?
Stop Review: Is variance treated as learning rather than personal failure?

Method after Agile Community. The method emerged from, or was spread through, the agile community of practice. Curated with 1 sources.

Sources: Ideal Days

Flow, timeboxes, and pitfalls are editorially curated practice recommendations based on the listed sources.

Where to go next?

Paper illustration for Story Points.
Agile
Story Points

Translates calibrated ideal days into team-internal relative point values.

Paper illustration for Planning Poker.
Agile
Planning Poker

Uses calibrated anchors for more consistent future estimation rounds.

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