Reestimating Stories in Sprint: Should You Re-Point Unfinished Stories?
Story ballooned from 5 points to 13 mid-sprint. Should you re-estimate? Update Jira? Or leave original estimate? Teams handle this inconsistently, making velocity tracking meaningless.
The Re-Estimation Debate
Three camps:
- Never re-estimate: Original estimate stays. Variance tracked separately.
- Always re-estimate: Update to actual complexity discovered.
- Re-estimate if scope changed: Changed requirements = new estimate. Discovered complexity = keep original.
Best Practice: Distinguish Scope vs Discovery
Scope change (requirements added): Re-estimate. This is new work.
Discovery (hidden complexity found): Keep original. This is estimation learning.
Velocity tracking depends on consistent rules. Pick one approach, document it, follow it.