Original Message:
Sent: Jul 29, 2024 11:09 AM
From: Darren Grzywacz
Subject: Estimated Progress is coming!
I think this is a good addition overall. But the new field labels are adding some confusion to what is already the somewhat confusing topic of portfolio item progress. The exiting labels in my opinion were a little confusing saying "Percent Done By..." and then showing "% x/y points complete" when it is actually showing points on stories where Schedule State = Accepted. Not points completed as in stories in Scheduled State = Completed, which would make more sense to a new user initially. It would be most clear to have the labels just say "Percent Accepted By..." and "% x/y points accepted" so they all align. The newer fields can cause more confusion. I have had users report the new fields as bugs because it was not really possible to tell what it was doing without additional documentation. If you line up all the progress related fields to make it easier to see in one place, it is not hard to understand why users get confused. I have recommended my users setup a view with these fields to help. Examples:

or

Some ideas:
- Could Refined Work Item Count Estimate be named Refined Estimate Count Value to match Preliminary Estimate Count Value? Or Refined Story Count Estimate?
- Could Refined Estimate be named Refined Estimate Value to match Preliminary Estimate Value? Or name them Preliminary Estimate Points and Refined Estimate Points.
- Have the new progress calculation field labels match better. For example, Progress by Estimated Count Value and Progress by Estimated Points. Or Progress by Estimated Value. Or even Progress By Estimate.
- Show the Preliminary Estimate Value on the detail editor
- The Help article is confusing at the moment. Based on the labeling currently, should it not say Estimated Progress by Story Count is calculated using the Preliminary Estimate Count Value and Refined Work Item Count Estimate? And shouldn't the Estimated Progress by Story Points say it is calculated by the Preliminary Estimate Value?
Help Article:

There could be many way to rename these, it would easier if the names were more aligned with each other.
Original Message:
Sent: Jul 25, 2024 02:11 PM
From: Nate Bever
Subject: Estimated Progress is coming!
Hello everyone,
Estimated Progress by Story Points and Estimated Progress by Story Count are now live!
You can now add these fields to any table that shows Portfolio Item's and...

see them within the detail editor for your Portfolio Items.

Additionally, you can configure your Timeline views to use Actual Progress or Estimated Progress when drawing the chart!

To get the most out of these fields we highly recommend that you continue to refine your estimation of items throughout their lifecycle and update the value of "Refined Estimate" often. This value works best when it is a combination of the sum of the work you have defined plus the amount you expect it to grow.
Thank you, and we hope this new calculation helps you communicate your progress more accurately.
-Rally Product Management
Original Message:
Sent: Jul 03, 2024 11:02 AM
From: Nate Bever
Subject: Estimated Progress is coming!
#ProductAnnouncements
Hello Everyone,
We have another very exciting mini-feature coming to Rally in the next couple of weeks that I'd like to share with you ahead of time in case you notice some new fields appearing.
These new fields will be called:
Estimated Progress by Story Points and
Estimated Progress by Story Count
Up until now the only "Progress" that was available on Portfolio Items provided the ratio of "Work Done / Work Defined". This is a fine measure if you have your Portfolio Items fully elaborated, but how often can you say that you have a Feature or an Epic fully elaborated before it begins? Probably not very often and therefore your "Progress" would always be wrong.
These new fields offer the ratio of "Work Done / Work Estimated", where the estimate we use is the Refined Estimate if you have one, then Preliminary Estimate, and if you have neither it becomes the Work Defined. In this way you can input a value for Refined Estimate that takes into consideration the work you know, and the work you believe has yet to be defined and get a much more accurate value for "Progress"
So stay tuned and we will report back here when the new fields are available throughout our application.
Thank you so much for your continued support,
-Rally Product Management.