Have you ever set your Facebook relationship status to “It’s complicated”? I have. And after years of effort, reflection, and persistence, that status still applies. Not to my life relationships—thankfully—but to my relationship with the story point.
For those unfamiliar, a story point is a relative, abstract unit used by agile teams to estimate the complexity and effort required to complete a user story. It's not based on hours or days—it’s based on comparisons. And that’s actually rooted in science: humans are naturally better at making relative estimates than absolute ones.
Let me explain. If I asked you to guess who weighs more—yourself or the person sitting next to you—you’d probably have no trouble. But if I asked you how many kilos your neighbor weighs, that would be much harder to answer. The same principle applies to agile estimation. Instead of estimating how long something will take in hours, teams compare the complexity of one story to another, using a well-known reference story as a benchmark. It’s an elegant idea—and I truly believe in its power. I’ve seen it work beautifully.
But in practice? Well… let’s just say I’ve often been tempted to fall back into estimating in hours. It’s complicated.
Still, I’ve learned that sticking to story points brings real benefits. Here are four reasons why it’s worth committing to this approach:
1. It aligns with how humans naturally estimate.
We’re wired to think in comparisons. Estimating relative complexity is more intuitive and often more accurate than trying to calculate exact hours.
2. It makes planning faster and more efficient.
Gone are the days of endless debates over exact timelines. With story points, teams can estimate stories without diving into every tiny detail.
3. It fosters better collaboration and team performance.
By focusing on the whole story rather than just individual tasks, teams build a shared understanding. This prevents fragmentation and encourages cross-functional thinking.
4. It reveals the team’s growth over time.
Unlike hours, which remain static, story points show progress. A story that felt “very complex” in Sprint 1 might seem “moderately complex” by Sprint 6. That shift reflects real learning and improved performance.
After many restless planning sessions and late-night reflections, I’ve realized that the only way to make my relationship with story points work is with discipline. We stick to the principles—even when it's tough—because the results are worth it.
But I won’t pretend it’s easy. It takes time. It takes commitment. And yes, sometimes a little encouragement to stay the course. But that’s the essence of agile: continuous learning, constant improvement.
Like any meaningful relationship, it only works if you put in the effort.
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