Time label

[jackcarlisle]

@nelsonic @iteles When assigning a time label to an issue, does the time specified relate to how long it will take to work on, or how long it will be until it is completed?

Usually this would mean the same thing but I'm just wondering about when you're working on something in your own time e.g. at the weekend. On the weekend if I'm working on something I would take bigger breaks between stints. Does this factor in to the time that it is taking or should the time be purely how long you're spending in front of the keyboard?

Or should you not assign a time label because it's essentially bonus time?

[nelsonic]

@jackcarlisle great question! The time label e.g: T30m is added to an issue by the person who is doing the work. Initially it's a "best estimate" that the story will take 30 minutes to be "done". The label is is added before the task is started (preferably at the sprint planning stage so we can estimate a "batch" of stories before starting a sprint) so that everyone has a guide as to the perceived complexity and/or expected duration of the task/activity.

This process is designed to help us all learn how to estimate our work and get better at communicating with team members and client. ⌛️ ❓

[jackcarlisle]

@nelsonic ok perfect thank you!

[nelsonic]

at present our time estimate/actual labels are: #10 (comment)
what should our smallest increment of time be?

At present our two most active projects have the following Time-related Labels:

and:

@iteles can/should we have a T30m (one "pomodoro") label?
(yes I know, one pomodoro is 25 minutes, but I'm rounding it up because we include the "break" people should have after they finish a pomodoro...)

[iteles]

I've observed that when we have too many of the 'short periods of time' labels, people have a tendency to underestimate. The "Oh, this will only take 10 minutes, but actually it ends up taking an hour" syndrome is something that happens a lot at the beginning of projects when a team is setting up or still learning to work together.

Having said that, a task will extend to take up the amount of time you allocate to it, so a pomodoro seems like a good idea.