I was asked to write about “What’s the Point of Agile Points?” for SitePoint. Here’s an excerpt:

Agile points seem arbitrary, and it’s hard to see how they can help a team with its real-world concerns, like meeting deadlines.

Hours and days, on the other hand, are easy to understand, measure and weigh against practical external requirements.

Additionally, one of the key rewards that gets teams interested in implementing an agile workflow is the promise that they can learn to accurately estimate the amount of work the team can do in a certain number of days or weeks. Using points seems like taking a step back from that goal.

Read the rest of my article about What’s the Point of Agile Points? on SitePoint.