Red Squirrel Reflections Dave Hoover explores the psychology of software development

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Learning about Velocity
Friday, December 6, 2002

On November 10, I stated, "Our velocity has us hitting the mark a week late." Throughout the project I had informally tracked our velocity using a point system. Over seven weeks we averaged 5.3 points per week. With two weeks left, I estimated we had 15 points remaining and thus predicted completing the project a week late.

It is absolutely uncanny how accurate this prediction was. With a mere 30 minutes to spare, I just finished the final story for the deadline, exactly one week late. What a way to learn about Yesterday's Weather!

It is interesting to note the consistency of the project velocity, particularly when considering the number of developers on the project ranged from 1-3. The project started with two, another one came on three weeks in, and then after two weeks, left. The last week I worked alone. It's interesting how little the personnel changes affected the velocity. Here are the points completed per week:

4 - 5 - 5 - 7 - 6 - 5 - 5

This was an excellent learning experience in so many ways. I am already excited about our upcoming e-commerce project!

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