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How to use t-shirt sizing to manage product launches & project tasks
Use this simple tool to create a list of features/customer stories/tasks, estimate the effort required for each, and track it all so you can get everything done on time.
HOW TO USE THIS DOC
Start by making a personal copy of this doc, so you can customize it the way you want to, otherwise no information or updates will be saved. Once you’ve got your new copy, rename the doc title at the top-left, and delete everything in this section, between the two lines.
Make a copy now
Step 1: Create a list of features/stories/tasks, then estimate the impact of each one
Click ‘+ Add new’ to add product features, customer stories, or project tasks, and provide rough estimates of the impact from 1-5 ‘lightning bolts’ (actual impact depends on your metrics such as ROI, estimated profits, signups). Est Impact can also be used as a way to indicate ‘Priority.’
Add new
As an Editor, I expect any changes I make to the column name in one table to auto-update in another view of the same table
As an Admin, I want to be able to click on a button to view reports by month, by quarter, or by year.
As an Editor, I want to be able to publish a template doc that others can make a copy to customize for themselves.
There are no rows in this table
Step 2: Use t-shirt sizing to estimate the effort required
For each feature/task added, estimate how much effort it will require by T-shirt sizes (where ‘XXS’ means that it can be completed in 1-2 hrs, and ‘XXL’ may take months). To do this, select from the ‘Est. Effort’ column.
See to look up how T-shirt sizes map to Fibonacci and Modified Fibonacci sequences.
Pro-tip: When you have L-, XL-, and XXL-sized features/stories/tasks, it’s a good idea to create additional features/stories/tasks that are smaller so you can better manage all the work that is required.
As an Editor, I expect any changes I make to the column name in one table to auto-update in another view of the same table
L
As an Admin, I want to be able to click on a button to view reports by month, by quarter, or by year.
XXS
As an Editor, I want to be able to publish a template doc that others can make a copy to customize for themselves.
M
There are no rows in this table
Step 3: Add due dates & other details
Click any card to update the ‘Due Date’ and any other details. By default, the due date is automatically set to 2 weeks from the day you added a given feature/task.
To change this, click on ‘Sprint Setup’ to enter the number of weeks you’d prefer to use when define your sprints cycles (i.e. 1 week or 3 weeks).
The ‘Start Date’ for any task is automatically determined—based on the sprint cycle you set. So, if your sprint cycle is ‘2 weeks’, the ‘Start Date’ will always be 2 weeks before the ‘Due Date.’
Note: All features/tasks are automatically grouped in this section by 'week number’ (rather than Sprint numbers) to keep things simple. They are also sorted by Est. Impact (with higher impact features/tasks appearing at the top).
Enter the number (i.e. 1,2,3,6) of weeks you’d like use to define each sprint (The default cycles is ‘2’ weeks per sprint):
9
2
13
1
As an Editor, I want to be able to publish a template doc that others can make a copy to customize for themselves.
Due Date
2021-03-03Est. Effort
M
Est. Impact
As an Admin, I want to be able to click on a button to view reports by month, by quarter, or by year.
Due Date
2021-03-03Est. Effort
XXS
Est. Impact
As an Editor, I expect any changes I make to the column name in one table to auto-update in another view of the same table
Due Date
2021-04-02Est. Effort
L
Est. Impact
Step 4: Regularly track all features/stories/tasks due this week
The table below is where you can view/track all the features/stories/tasks due each week. As you make progress on tasks, drag and drop task cards to the right or to the left to change their status. To view features/stories/tasks scheduled for other weeks in the Sprint, select ‘View all.’ To expand/collapse Backlog, click the dropdown arrow. These tasks are hidden by default, otherwise.
Note: Sprints may span multiple weeks (depending on the sprint cycle you’ve set in Step 3. The ‘week number’ displayed on each task card refers to the week of the year, with ‘week 1’ corresponding to the 1st week of this calendar year. These weeks always start on a Monday. So, for example, 2-week sprint cycles would start could start every other week (i.e. week 1, week 3, etc.). 3-week sprint cycles would start every 3 weeks (i.e. week 1, week4, etc.)
It is currently Week 33, and there's nothing scheduled at the moment. Please go to the 'Backlog' page to add some tasks to complete this week.
It is currently Week 33, and there's nothing scheduled at the moment. Please go to the 'Backlog' page to add some tasks to complete this week.
View all feature/story/task cards
BACKLOG
0
TO DO
0
IN-PROGRESS
0
DONE
0
Go to the page to 'groom’ and prioritize everything more easily
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