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How to estimate bugs and change in Jira? Stories are in points

Last post 07:56 am May 31, 2019 by Sander Dur
7 replies
Jaca Perc
01:47 pm May 24, 2019
Daniel Wilhite
07:38 pm May 24, 2019

I'm a radical in this situation. I coach to not use the Bug type in Jira. Make everything in the Product Backlog the type of item. Since you say that Stories are pointed, I'd suggest that they all become stories.  I've said this in other threads but to me there is no real difference between a bug and a story if it comes from the Product Backlog.  Bugs are just technical debt and have value associated to fixing or not fixing. The only "bug" I see are the ones that a developer introduces and fixes in the same Sprint. If it is found and fixed in the same Sprint, I don't even recommend taking the time to write it up. Just have comments in the code or the commit that pushes it to the code repository. If it makes it out of the Sprint, it becomes technical debt. Create all as Stories and handle them all exactly the same. 

But I admit my stance is not the popular one.

Ian Mitchell
08:36 pm May 24, 2019

How to estimate bugs and change in Jira? Stories are in points

Suppose you estimated them differently, regardless of whether or not a tool is being used. What would that mean for the ability of a team to forecast the total amount of work which is believed to remain?

Jaca Perc
10:48 pm May 26, 2019

I'm new to this team and the estimation wasn't great. We are going to do points for all items in the backlog, stories, bugs, change..... As points field is default just for stories and not bugs, I couldn't find where in the setup I can add the field. I finally did on Friday afternoon - custom fields>Story Points, click on configure under global story points adding the project.

Thank you both for the quick reply!

Sander Dur
08:02 am May 27, 2019

Would you see any benefit in estimating them differently?

Nimisha Garg
02:06 pm May 28, 2019

You mean to say  bugs are also estimated in story points ? 

Steve Matthew
03:44 am May 30, 2019

@Jadranka Perc, @Nimisha Garg, Would there be any difference in the ability of a team to determine/forecast if that defect/bug can be accomodated in the Sprint even in the absence of story points?

What is the purpose of story points according to you?

Sander Dur
07:56 am May 31, 2019

You mean to say  bugs are also estimated in story points ? 

I'm not saying you have to do anything, but in my personal experience I havn't seen it done any other way. 

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