T-Shirt Sizes

Business Agility Office

Is an estimation technique used in Agile with the next characteristics:

  • Just as in the case of T-shirts, we see sizes: XS (Extra Small), S (Small), M (Medium), L (Large), XL (Extra Large). A similar approach is followed here.Items are estimated in T-shirt sizes.
  • This is a perfect technique to give a rough estimation of the large backlog of items.
  • Useful when quick and rough estimation needs to be done. Later these sizes can be converted into no’s as per the requirement.
  • A relative size (mostly Medium) is decided after mutual discussion and agreement of the team members or estimators. Then, the no’s are assigned to the items according to the relative size that is assigned to Medium size.
  • Disadvantage: What seems L to someone may seem to be XL for someone.
  • All estimators assign their own size to the items. After discussions and resolving the mismatches, a consensus is reached to get the final estimate.
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