mediumScenarioConceptMidSeniorLead
Why do we estimate in story points at all, and what would you do if the team's estimates were consistently wrong?
7 min readUpdated 2026-08-15
Answer
Short answer
Points are relative sizes that trade false precision for a fast conversation whose real output is surfaced disagreement. Estimates that are always wrong are a system symptom, so diagnose unclear criteria, oversized stories, invisible work and interruptions, then forecast with throughput and cycle time.
The strongest answers keep story points in their proper place. Story points are a planning conversation, not a contract, and story points become dangerous when leaders treat them as output. If story points are always wrong in one direction, the interview signal is whether you inspect the system before blaming the people estimating.
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