Why Are We Still Using Story Points in 2025?

It’s been over two decades since Agile became mainstream, and we’re still clinging to story points like they’re sacred Agile scripture. Teams are locked in endless debates over whether something is a 3 or a 5. PMs turn velocity into a performance metric. Burn-down charts look precise but reveal very little of actual value.

We’ve had time to learn. Time to evolve. Time to ask the hard question: Do story points still serve us?

I’ve spent 10+ years in delivery, leading teams, building products, and sitting through more sprint plannings than I care to admit. I’ll say it plainly: story points are more trouble than they’re worth. It’s time we ditch them and start using a lighter, smarter, more human-centric approach to estimation — Roman estimation.

Let’s unpack this.

What Are Story Points, and Why Did We Start Using Them?

Story points are a relative measure of effort. Instead of estimating in hours, Agile teams were told to assign “points” to stories based on their complexity, uncertainty, and size — usually using a Fibonacci scale (1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13…).

The original idea was noble:

• Decouple effort from time
• Embrace relative estimation
• Avoid the illusion of precision

By comparing tasks to each other instead of trying to “guess the hours,” teams could estimate faster and more intuitively.

But somewhere along the way, story points became the very thing they were meant to avoid: a pseudo-precise proxy for time and productivity.

The Many Ways Story Points Go Off the Rails

Let’s talk about how story points get weaponized, distorted, and over-engineered.

1. They Get Misused as Performance Metrics

Velocity becomes a team scoreboard. Suddenly, a dip in points delivered triggers executive questions: “Why did your team drop from 42 to 31 points last sprint?”

Developers start inflating estimates to pad velocity. Teams stop splitting stories realistically because it messes with their numbers. What started as a planning tool becomes a stick to beat people with.

2. Inconsistent Calibration Across Teams

A 5-point story for Team A might be a 13 for Team B. Even within a team, calibration drifts over time as people leave and join.

This makes cross-team planning, forecasting, and dependency management painful. You can’t compare apples to oranges, but story points pretend you can.

3. False Sense of Precision

That detailed burn-down chart with decimal-accurate velocity trends? It’s a mirage. Estimating in 3s and 5s doesn’t make your forecast scientific. You’re still guessing — just with more ceremony.

4. Cognitive Overhead

Ask a team to assign a story point value, and watch the room tense up. “Well, it’s more than a 3 but less than an 8…” Cue a debate that lasts longer than the task itself.

Relative estimation is cognitively demanding. Humans are better at making simple, fast judgments. So why not play to our strengths?

Enter Roman Estimation: Agile’s Best-Kept Secret

Roman estimation, inspired by the Roman voting style (thumbs up, down, or sideways), is dead simple — and far more effective than it gets credit for.

Here’s how it works during backlog refinement:

1. The facilitator presents a story.
2. Each team member votes:

• 👍 = “We can do this quickly / low effort / can be sprint-sized”
• 👎 = “This will take significant effort, needs to be further broken down”
• ↔️ = “Uncertain”

3. If the team aligns, move on. If not, have a short discussion to unpack concerns — then re-vote or act accordingly.

It’s fast, it’s democratic, and it keeps the conversation where it belongs: on clarity, not calibration.

Story Points vs. Roman Estimation: A Head-to-Head Showdown

Real-World Wins: When We Dropped Story Points

I’ve seen teams undergo complete estimation detox by switching to Roman estimation — and they didn’t look back.

I worked remotely with a fast-growing startup during the early days of their Agile transformation. The team was talented but drowning in estimation overhead. Their backlog refinement meetings dragged on, with endless debates over whether a task was a 3 or a 5. Everyone was frustrated, and planning felt like bureaucracy, not strategy.

We ran an experiment: ditch story points completely and use Roman estimation instead.

Here’s what happened in just a few sprints:

• Estimation time dropped by over 50%. Meetings became tight, focused, and energizing.
• The team started surfacing risk and uncertainty faster, not buried under point debates.
• Morale improved. They weren’t bogged down in Agile theater — they were solving real problems again.

Most importantly, delivery got smoother. Work flowed more predictably, and sprint goals became easier to hit — not because we guessed better, but because the team was more aligned and less distracted.

Roman estimation didn’t just simplify planning — it unlocked real conversations.

“But We Need Velocity Metrics!” — Common Objections Answered

“How will we forecast without story points?”

You can track throughput instead: how many stories (or cards) do we finish per sprint? It’s simpler and, over time, just as useful for forecasting.

“What about big vs small stories?”

Use the Roman vote to surface whether something feels “big.” If a majority gives a 👎, that’s your cue to break it down or discuss risks.
A ↔️? There’s uncertainty — let’s unpack it.
You’re not losing nuance — you’re surfacing it more organically.

“Our PMs want numbers.”

Then give them numbers that matter: cycle time, lead time, and percent of sprint goals met. These are better indicators of team health and delivery rhythm than points.

Ditch the Points. Go Roman.

Story points had their moment. They taught us that time-based estimation was broken. But we’ve clung to them too long, mistaking relative guesswork for data-driven planning.

Roman estimation strips the ceremony, respects the team’s intuition, and gets the job done. It’s not flashy — but it works.

Try it in your next refinement session. All you need are thumbs and honesty.

Quick-Start Guide: Roman Estimation in 3 Steps

1. Present a story. Don’t over-explain.
2. Ask the team to vote: 👍 ↔️ 👎
3. If there’s disagreement, discuss briefly. Otherwise, move on.

Final Thoughts

Agile isn’t about tradition — it’s about adaptability. If your estimation method causes more pain than insight, it’s time to evolve.

Go Roman. Your team will thank you.

🔥If you liked this article, check out the next one where we walk through everything you need to know about Sprint Planning.

Written by

Simina F.

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