The term vague was used today when discussing estimation of effort for a story card. The context was the estimation was made early with many assumptions - therefore it was vague and there was no need for specific input from designers.
On first instinct I thought - Yeah cool I like that. Vagueness - or ambiguity - has its place it leaves room for the team to negotiate the best possible outcome for each story card.
However - vagueness needs to be partnered closely with flexibility. A vague estimation requires flexibility when it comes to re-estimation later on.
If we are we are willing to accept vagueness - then flexibility needs to be accepted as a given.
Vague estimation and assumptions
Let’s think about the example given around story estimation. The story was estimated before any analysis or design had taken place. There where many assumptions and guesses about how the story might be played out. This is vague - but that is cool. We are just estimating. But what about later …
What happens when the story gets played and the team comes up with an idea. AS they run through the idea with a developer they realise it will take much more work than originally estimated. If flexibility is parried with the vague estimate then of course the card can be re-estimated - and re-prioritised based on the new effort.
The vague estimation was just that, vague, based on assumptions and not accurate. When clarity was found the estimate is proved wrong.
Unfortunately it does not always happen so easily. Imagine the case of a larger project where the original vague estimate is used to plan scope of work and delivery of a schedule. Any change to this estimate can potentially throw all the planning out and threaten the project timeline.
Not particularly agile is it - then again I am sure many teams work within these conditions. To swallow the vague estimate and not have the opportunity of flexibility in the process puts the team in an awkward spot.
If you are working with vague assumptions and prioritisation based on effort - have a think about the flexibility your are offered in return.