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4.15 of 5 stars
Praise for "Agile Estimating and Planning"

"Traditional, deterministic approaches to planning and estimating simply don't cut it on the slippery ... read full description


reviews

Mar 11, 2010
Danien rated it: 4 of 5 stars
Probably one of the best books I've read on software production management (with the caveat that I have not tried the techniques yet, but will be doing so for a current project).

Estimating and planning in software development with any sort of real confidence is a big challenge. Even more so in game development, where experimentation, the discovery of new features and new problems are all part of the process; meeting a set of specifications doesn't guarantee a good game.

Co More...
Dec 22, 2010
Jack rated it: 5 of 5 stars
Continuing the author's series of must-read books, "Agile Estimating and Planning" clearly, quickly, yet thoroughly takes you through the topic, imparting techniques and judgement on optional variants, along with aposite insights into how these techniques contribute to making Agile processes more effective than rivals.[return][return]And if that's not enough for you, I think the book might be worth the price just for the quotes that head off each chapter:[return][return]Planning is eve More...
Feb 22, 2010
Kevin rated it: 4 of 5 stars
After having read many books on agile software development, this is the book that finally made the entire system hang together for me. Cohn walks through all of the various aspects of agile planning, providing reasoning about why various approaches are taken as well as how to go about executing them. While the flow of the book can be a bit jarring at times, jumping from one topic to a seemingly unrelated one between chapters, I still came away from the book with a much better understanding of th More...
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Jun 11, 2010
David rated it: 5 of 5 stars
Agile Estimating and Planning has jumped to the top of my list of must-read books for Software Engineers. The book covers a huge amount of extremely useful information covering estimation and planning activities at a truly useful and workable level.

The book starts with chapters on defining the problem areas of estimation and plans, which include items like: estimated times being unrealistically precise (or at least giving the impression of being so), plans that are created and forgot More...
Dec 11, 2009
steve rated it: 4 of 5 stars
I'll try to update this later with a summary of what I learned in this book, but my overall impression is that this was a great book for learning the basics of Agile software planning. I especially liked the last chapter, which wrapped up the whole book in a fictional narrative based at a game software development company. Using this example to wrap up all of the concepts in the book was a great move, even if (as a work of fiction) it was horribly written.

I found Agile Estimating a More...
Feb 17, 2009
Amy rated it: 4 of 5 stars
This book gives a very detailed look at how to use agile to plan releases and iterations.

If you're looking for a general overview of agile, or you are a developer who doesn't have to worry too much about release planning, this book might be a little overwhelming.

But if you're planning an agile project, and you need to know--or at least be aware--that there are options like feeding buffers and using the Kano model to help prioritize features, then this is the book for you
Aug 14, 2010
Ho Yan rated it: 5 of 5 stars
Probably one of the best books I've read about Agile software development. Cohn covers all the basics of what estimating and planning is like in an Agile methodology (actually, I think seems pretty Scrum-centric). More importantly, however, he includes a considerable amount of discussions on some of the more common points of confusion - e.g. story points vs ideal days, estimating size vs estimating duration, planning for multiple teams, etc. Also has a lot of helpful material for Product Owners, More...
Jan 09, 2009
John rated it: 5 of 5 stars
Great framework on how to create software quickly, with minimal planning, with minimal rework. The book applies best to web software where it can be released constantly but also can apply well to packaged software and other engineering projects like building a new juicemaker for an infomercial.
Oct 19, 2009
Sami rated it: 5 of 5 stars
Some people think that agile software development is chaotic, ad-hoc cowboy-coding without much planning. This image is just plain wrong.
Read this book and you'll get an idea what software project management - and PLANNING - really should look like.
"Plans are worthless - planning is essential"
Dec 25, 2010
Ala' rated it: 5 of 5 stars
a must read book for any body interested in agile. very simple language, straight to the point and a real joy to read
May 22, 2010
Ray rated it: 4 of 5 stars
Only part way through, but I really like it. Lots of good reasoning around why iterative is a approach.
Nov 29, 2009
Derek rated it: 5 of 5 stars
Estimating and Planning involves a lot of proven science, if you want to understand why agile planning works read this book.
Aug 07, 2009
Carlos rated it: 3 of 5 stars
Great resource for anyone interested in project management (Agile in particular).
Dec 03, 2008
Lachlan rated it: 4 of 5 stars
Must have in the agile bookshelf.
Sep 20, 2011
Artin rated it: 4 of 5 stars
Fantastic book addressing and answering many of the questions I had in relation to agile estimating and planning.
Sep 23, 2011
Rick rated it: 5 of 5 stars
A classic that is a must read for anyone doing agile development and wanting to understand planning and estimating. His blog is a must read as well. Just search for Mike Cohn.
Jan 19, 2012
Caroline rated it: 5 of 5 stars
In my opinion this is THE single book to read on Agile processes. It actually answers all those little questions that will be in your mind when you read all the other books. It is very clear after reading this exactly how these techniques can be applied. So far my favourite book on Agile.
May 29, 2008
Mike rated it: 5 of 5 stars
This is a really in-depth look at estimating and planning software projects using Agile practices. It concentrates heavily on Agile practices, gives some reasons for why they work, and gives a light case study at the end to illustrate what is taught.
Mar 28, 2008
Pat rated it: 4 of 5 stars
A lot of great take-aways from this book that make a lot of sense. Estimating and planning are two very difficult tasks to do in any software paradigm; it's nice to get a rational perspective on how to do so in an Agile development setting.
Feb 14, 2007
Amanda (Mandy) added it
This book is a good guide to to managing Agile projects. Gets into how to estimate feature size using story points or ideal days, prioritizing features, planning iterations using historical velocity and other scheduling related stuff.
Apr 13, 2009
Alf Kåre rated it: 4 of 5 stars
Excellent on how to estimate and plan projects in an agile world. If you come from a traditional waterfall world, this book will make you understand why you should come over to the agile side.
Feb 07, 2010
Doug rated it: 5 of 5 stars
This is an incredibly useful book. I'd highly, highly recommend it to anyone who plans software.
May 01, 2009
Karschtl rated it: 4 of 5 stars
Einzelne Kapitel für die Arbeit gelesen. Sehr hilfreiches Buch in einem verständlichen Stil.
Oct 13, 2008
Julie rated it: 5 of 5 stars
A must have for all Agile teams.
Feb 11, 2012
Ivan rated it: 3 of 5 stars
Feb 11, 2012
Peter marked it as to-read
Feb 10, 2012
J. Calvin rated it: 3 of 5 stars
Feb 10, 2012
Andres rated it: 4 of 5 stars
Feb 10, 2012
Erin rated it: 4 of 5 stars
Feb 08, 2012
Max marked it as to-read