Estimation points - Effort vs duration

Estimation points - Effort vs duration

In Zoho Sprints, a project is the biggest entity that has a defined scope which is sub-divided into smaller units called Sprints. The scope of the project is released in smaller deliverables to the customers by running different sprints. In Agile, every project is defined by a size that will determine the complexity of the work that you do. This size is known as the Estimation Type.

Estimation Type   

Every project that you create in Zoho Sprints will have an option to create a prefix and estimation type. Zoho Sprints offers Fibonacci and Custom series for defining your estimation type. 
 
Based on the business, you will set the estimation type for your project. If you are opting for Fibonacci series, you can set up to five values: 1, 2, 3, 5, 8. And the team can work around these estimation points for their work items. 
 
For example, if you're running a large business, the project will have a huge amount of work. In this case, you cannot confine to lower points.  What's the solution? You can set up to 15 custom points with a maximum of 3 digits. With this, you can have a clear estimation of the work your team does.


                                             
Estimation Points   

In Agile methodology, every work is defined with an estimation point. It is based on the type of work, the amount of effort required to complete the work, and its complexity. 
 
Estimation points are not random numbers that define work, it has a standard format that scales the effort and complexity of the work involved in the project. 
  • Accurate and clear way of defining the effort of your work.
  • Defines the complexity of the work
  • Measure the performance of the team by calculating the total estimation points completed vs total estimation points committed. 

Estimation points vs duration

There's a huge difference in estimating your work in points vs duration. Let's run a simple instance 'CLIMBING THE STAIRCASE'. Now, the task is to climb 150 steps and we have two individuals to accomplish this task. 
 
David is 24 years old and he can climb the steps in 10 minutes and Charles is 40 years old and he can climb the steps in 20 minutes. When you estimate the work in duration, you tend to take the expertise of the person here because of the age and health. Charles would take 2 times the duration of David to complete the task.


 
In Scrum, the overall performance of the user is calculated based on the effort required to accomplish the task - Here, effort refers to the complexity of the task. In the above case, the effort of climbing the 150 steps for both the individuals is same but the time taken to complete the task differs. 
 
Let us take a software example:
 
Mark runs an online shopping site and has two stories in the backlog:
 
User story 1: Develop payment module
User story 2: Develop support form 
 
Both the user stories requires design, development, and testing effort, but the user story 1 is complex than user story 2. User story 1 is a whole new section in the website that has a lot of development effort whereas user story 2 is less complex compared to the former. So, Mark estimates 50 points for user story 1 and 30 points for user story 2. 
 
"Scrum calculates more on effort and complexity of the work rather than the time it takes to complete the task".


    • Sticky Posts

    • Bug Viewer for Zoho Sprints

      Project managers work on multiple sprints simultaneously, and given the potential for a number of bugs that can crop up, it is helpful if the bugs can be viewed in a single location. This is made possible by the Bug Viewer for Zoho Sprints extension.

    • Recent Topics

    • Manage your invoices from Bigin's mobile app (iOS)

      Hello everyone! We're happy to announce that users can now integrate Zoho Books with the latest version of Bigin's iOS app. Zoho Books can be integrated with Bigin only via the web application. Users can view the Zoho Books tab in the detail pages of

    • Systematic SPF alignment issues with Zoho subdomains

      Analysis Period: August 19 - September 1, 2025 PROBLEM SUMMARY Multiple Zoho services are causing systematic SPF authentication failures in DMARC reports from major email providers (Google, Microsoft, Zoho). While emails are successfully delivered due

    • Accessibility controls and multilingual captcha authorization for Help Center users ​

      Hello everyone, As part of our ongoing effort to improve user experience, we are excited about the accessibility controls and predefined accessibility personas added in the Help Center, similar to what is already available in Zoho Desk. Help Center users

    • Zoho Sign + Zoho CRM : la solution pour simplifier vos accords de vente

      La conclusion d’un contrat de vente nécessite de nombreuses étapes : préparation de documents, validations successives et collecte des signatures. Les équipes commerciales passent souvent par plusieurs cycles de collaboration et de révision, tout en assurant

    • Item/service subtotal

      Just discovered & really pleased that we can drag to re-order the line items in Sales orders & Invoices, a very nice feature which doesn't seem to be documented? It would be nice to be able to insert a subtotal as a line item to complete this great feature

    • Send email template "permission denied to access the api"

      Hello, Per the title, I'm trying to send a Zoho CRM Email template based on the advice given here: https://help.zoho.com/portal/en/community/topic/specify-an-email-template-when-sending-emails-in-custom-functions (I'd prefer to send right from Deluge

    • how to Solve Conflict Invoices in Zoho POS

      Hello Team, I am facing a repeated issue in Zoho POS while saving a sale that contains service-based items. My products are intentionally created as Service (Non-Inventory) items because I do not want to track stock for them. However, every time I try

    • Copy, Paste, Highlighted text

      when i copy paste text it gets highlighted. Fix this.  WTF is with this black highlight ? Fix copy pasting. Some people pay for using this mail service. 

    • Pricing Strategies: #6 Common Mistakes while Configuring Pricing

      "Why does this month's billing feel messy again?" That was the exact line Priya muttered while staring at the spreadsheet full of edited pricing, one-off discounts and mismatched subscription details. Her business was growing, but the pricing machine

    • Publish to LinkedIn via API

      Hi, Is it possible to publish a job opening to LinkedIn (paid job slots) if creating a job opening via api / deluge function? Or is the user required to manually publish via the job boards process? Many Thanks Adrian

    • FSM - Associating and selecting Contacts based on Service Addresses

      Hi FSM team, I've come across an FSM limitation I wanted to share for improvement. I'm currently configuring FSM for a client who provides heating system install and maintenance services. The are often sub contracted by building management companies to

    • Do Unpublished Products in Shopify Sync to Zoho POS?

      Will an unpublished product in Shopify sync to Zoho POS? I would like to know how Zoho POS handles products that are in draft/unpublished status in Shopify.

    • Problem in Zoho POS frontend ERP.

      We are facing some difficulties in our billing and inventory processes and require your support to resolve them at the earliest. Customer Advance Payments We receive advance payments from customers for upcoming sales. Please guide us on how to record

    • How to create estimates/Invoices with sub-totals

      Every other accounting package can create estimates and invoices with Sub-totals. How can I do that in ZohoBooks?

    • Categorize Items with Item Headers

      Hello customers, Did you ever want to classify items based on specific categories to help your customers understand your invoice better? With the new Item Header feature, you can easily categorize items in your invoices and estimates and give them a common title.  Item Headers are available in the Invoices, the Recurring Invoices and the Estimates module. It can be carried forward from estimates to invoices at the time of converting the estimates.  To add an item header: Go to the Estimates, Invoices

    • Discount on the transaction level in POS

      "Is it possible to apply a discount on the total bill before tax in Zoho POS?" I want to apply a discount on the total transaction amount in Zoho POS, but the discount should be calculated before the taxes are applied. Is there an option to do this in

    • Create Tasklist with Tasklist Template using API v3

      In the old API, we could mention the parameter 'task_template_id' when creating a tasklist via API to apply a tasklist template: https://www.zoho.com/projects/help/rest-api/tasklists-api.html#create-tasklist In API v3 there does not seem to be a way to

    • Send Automated WhatsApp Messages and Leverage the Improved WhatsApp Templates

      Greetings, I hope all of you are doing well. We're excited to announce a major upgrade to Bigin's WhatsApp integration that brings more flexibility, interactivity, and automation to your customer messaging. WhatsApp message automation You can now use

    • Jobs at multiple locations

      Hi A lot of times we have same job open at multiple locations. So I would like an option where we can create a job and choose multiple locations. Currently we have to create individual jobs for each location. If we can create one job and mention multiple

    • From Zoho CRM to Paper : Design & Print Data Directly using Canvas Print View

      Hello Everyone, We are excited to announce a new addition to your Canvas in Zoho CRM - Print View. Canvas print view helps you transform your custom CRM layouts into print-ready documents, so you can bring your digital data to the physical world with

    • Tag Adding Option in Kanban Card Customization Bigin CRM Mobile App

      I would like to request an option to add and display tags on Kanban cards in the Bigin CRM mobile app. This feature would make it easier to categorize deals and quickly identify priorities while working on the go.

    • Empowered Custom Views: Cross-Module Criteria Now Supported in Zoho CRM

      Hello everyone, We’re excited to introduce cross-module criteria support in custom views! Custom views provide personalized perspectives on your data and that you can save for future use. You can share these views with all users or specific individuals

    • Associating a Candidate to a Job Listing

      Hello, I am trying to use Zoho Forms embedded on my website for candidates to apply for a job opening. I want the form then to tie directly with zoho recruit and have the candidate be automatically inputed into Recruit as well as associated with the specific

    • WhatsApp Voice Message Sending Option in Bigin CRM

      I would like to request a feature that allows users to send WhatsApp voice messages directly from Bigin CRM. This would help improve communication efficiency and make it easier for teams to respond quickly to customer inquiries.

    • CRM: hosting a single html file in Zoho and displaying it as a widget

      I have seen that CRM offers the option of uploading a web project to Zoho itself and displaying it as a widget in CRM. The instructions then talk about setting a development environment with Node and developing an application to upload to Zoho. But I

    • How to change position button transtition of Blueprint?

      Hi Everyone, Look at my screenshoot, it is possible move the reject button to the right? I couldn't find that setting in the blueprint. Thank you.

    • Multi file upload

      Hi, I just wonder if one could upload multiple files in one shot, say between one and three files, without adding multiple File Upload fields? Thanks, Alalbany

    • Sorting Descending in a lookup

      I have a case number lookup on multiple forms. I need the most recent added to appear at the top of the lookup or as the list of cases grom it's too much to scroll. Is there a way to have a look up sort descending?

    • Auto-upload Creator Files to WorkDrive

      Hi everyone, I’m working on a workflow that uploads files from Zoho Creator to specific subfolders in Zoho WorkDrive, as illustrated in the attached diagram. My Creator application form has two multi-file upload fields, and I want—on successful form submission—to

    • Asap Widget 2.0

      Where's the documentation for the new ASAP widget? https://www.zoho.com/desk/developers/asap/#introduction this one is outdated How can we dynamically navigate between different views? How can we prefill ticket forms using ASAP 2.0?

    • Can the Trigger be changed?

      I'm afraid I already know the answer, but here goes... After activating a workflow (under Campaigns > Automations), Then later choosing to Edit the workflow, Can the Workflow's Trigger be changed? Currently the entire Trigger section + options are gone

    • Marketer's Space: Proven tips to improve open rates – Part I

      Hello Marketers! Welcome back to another post in Marketer's Space! In this week's post, we'll discuss the ever-important concept of open rates. This will be a multi-part series, as we have a range of topics to cover. Open rates—which measure the percentage

    • Can't send nor receive emails on my external email accounts since this morning

      Greetings, I have two external accounts integrated into Zoho mail through POP3 + SMTP. These accounts have always worked normally since the day I've set them up. Starting 10:30 AM this morning (Western European Time) both suddenly stopped sending and

    • Creating Custom PDF Template from Form

      I am trying to create a custom PDF from form submissions. I have the standard subscription and it indicates that PDF forms are included. I cannot find anywhere to create PDF forms. I try to follow the instructions from here: https://help.zoho.com/portal/en/kb/forms/form-settings/pdf-settings/pdf-editor/articles/creating-your-own-pdf-template#Creating_your_template_from_the_scratch

    • Cannot connect to imap.zoho.eu on iOS26

      Hey, I recently migrated to another iPhone and since then use iOS26. Every since then, I was not able to connect to "imap.zoho.eu" from Apple Mail. I tried deleting the account and adding it again, did not work. I tried creating an app password, didn't

    • Important Update: Facebook Metrics Deprecation & Impact on Zoho Analytics

      Dear Zoho Analytics users, Facebook has deprecated a set of metrics from the Facebook Pages Insights API, effective November 15, 2025. As a result, these changes will affect any reports and dashboards in Zoho Analytics that rely on Facebook Pages data.

    • Quick Copy Column Name

      Please add the ability to quickly copy the name of a column in a Table or Query View. When you right-click the column there should be an option to copy the name, or if you left-click the column and use the Ctrl+C keyboard shortcut it should copy the

    • Conditional Field Visibility in Bigin CRM

      I would like to request support for conditional field visibility within Bigin CRM. This feature should allow administrators to configure show/hide rules for fields based on predefined criteria (e.g., field values, picklist selections, stage changes,

    • Introducing Zoho MCP for Bigin

      Hello Biginners! We're excited to introduce Zoho MCP for Bigin, a completely new way of interacting with Bigin data using AI. With Zoho MCP, you can securely connect your Bigin account with popular AI agents like Claude, Cursor, Windsurf, and VS Code,

    • MCP > Creator connection failing with Claude

      I'm trying to get claude to access any of my Zoho Creator apps and it keeps failing. I have enabled all tools for creator and ensured in claude settings that everything is authorised. Here is what claude says : Unfortunately, the error messages I'm receiving

    • Next Page