estimate-ticket

Estimate Ticket

Sibling of /refine-ticket. Takes the same input, returns size, risk, split recommendation, and uncertainty — nothing else. Separate from refinement so each stays sharp. Output is copyable; write-back is user-gated.

When to use

• Sprint planning: "how big is PROJ-123?"
• Scope sanity: "should we split this?"
• Confidence check: "do we actually understand this ticket?"
• German: "wie groß ist das Ticket?", "sollen wir das splitten?", "ist das ein Spike-Kandidat?"

When NOT to use (near-misses)

/estimate-ticket does not rewrite the ticket. If the ticket is too vague to estimate, output says so and routes to /refine-ticket.

Inputs

Same four paths as /refine-ticket (delegates to jira-ticket loader): ticket key, branch-name detection, pasted text, URL.

Procedure

1. Load ticket

Delegate to jira-ticket §1-3 (key / URL / branch → Jira API fetch, summary + description + AC + comments). For pasted text: parse markdown.

2. Inspect estimability

Before producing numbers, check:

• Is the outcome observable (AC bullets concrete)?
• Is the scope one behavior, or bundled?
• Are external dependencies (APIs, teams, migrations) named?
• Is there a rollback plan implied?

If the ticket scores low on estimability (vague AC, no out-of-scope, no mention of dependencies), set uncertainty = Underspecified and emit a single-line redirect to /refine-ticket at the top of the output.

A cross-source discrepancy (per cross-source-consistency, gated by consistency.cross_source) — ticket text contradicting an attached mockup, or a clearly-needed-but-unstated behavior (weekend/holiday shift) — is not estimable as-is: it hides an open scope decision. Raise uncertainty and name the discrepancy in the redirect rather than sizing over a contradiction.

3. Apply sizing heuristics

Score across four axes; each axis contributes to the final size:

Map the combined score to S / M / L / XL:

• S — single file / single layer / fully understood / unit tests suffice
• M — 2-4 files / one service boundary / one unknown / some integration tests
• L — multiple modules / cross-layer / 2+ unknowns / migrations or data changes
• XL — multi-service / 3+ unknowns / coordination with another team — always recommend split

4. Apply personas

Same Core-6 as refine-ticket. Each voice produces one sentence focused on their sizing concern, not general feedback:

• Developer — "implementation size feels X because Y"
• Senior Engineer — "blast radius is X; hidden cost is Z"
• Product Owner — "value is X; can we deliver value incrementally?"
• Stakeholder — "timeline fit: X; drop-dead date risk: Y"
• Critical Challenger — "this estimate is wrong because Z"
• AI Agent — "automatable parts: X; manual parts: Y"

--personas=+qa adds QA: "test surface is X; regression risk is Y".

5. Synthesize + close-prompt

Produce the four-section output (template below). After rendering, emit the close-prompt.

Output template

## Estimate

- **Size:** S / M / L / XL
- **Risk:** Low / Medium / High
- **Split:** No / Yes → <split points>
- **Uncertainty:** High-confidence / Needs-spike / Underspecified

## Sizing rationale

<2-4 bullets citing the four axes — surface area, unknowns,
coordination, testing cost — each with evidence from the ticket>

## Split points (only if Split: Yes)

1. <first slice — deliverable on its own>
2. <second slice — deliverable on its own>
3. …

## Persona voices (sizing-focused)

- **Developer** — <one sentence>
- **Senior Engineer** — <one sentence>
- **Product Owner** — <one sentence>
- **Stakeholder** — <one sentence>
- **Critical Challenger** — <one sentence>
- **AI Agent** — <one sentence>
- **[qa]** — *(only when `--personas=+qa`)* <one sentence>

Wrap the Estimate section in a copyable markdown block so it can be pasted into Jira / sprint tooling verbatim.

Close-prompt (mandatory final step)

> Next action for this estimate:
>
> 1. Comment on Jira — I'll post the estimate as a comment
> 2. Set story points — I'll set the Story Points field (if your size maps: S=2, M=3, L=5, XL=8)
> 3. Nothing — I'll handle it myself / take it to planning

Options 1 and 2 require jira-ticket write permissions; degrade to copy-paste instructions if missing.

Output format

1. Estimate block with four fields (size, risk, split, uncertainty), wrapped in a copyable markdown block.
2. Sizing rationale — 2-4 bullets, each citing one of the four axes with evidence from the ticket.
3. Split points section — only when Split: Yes; numbered list of independently-deliverable slices.
4. Persona voices — one sentence per persona from the active set, sizing-focused (not general feedback).
5. Close-prompt — exactly three numbered options (comment / set points / nothing); no fourth option in v1.

Gotcha

• Estimators default to optimism. Every size must cite evidence for at least one of the four axes — not "feels like M".
• Underspecified is not a safe default. Use it only when estimability actually fails; otherwise pick a size and state the risk.
• Split: Yes without concrete split points is useless. Name the slices or drop the recommendation.
• Persona voices drift into general feedback. Each sentence must be about sizing — developer talks implementation size, stakeholder talks timeline fit, etc.
• Story-point mapping (S=2 / M=3 / L=5 / XL=8) is the default; projects may override — do NOT hardcode their scale into this skill.

Do NOT

• Do NOT rewrite the ticket — that's /refine-ticket. If the ticket needs rewriting, emit the redirect line and stop.
• Do NOT write to Jira in v1 — copy-paste + close-prompt, same contract as /refine-ticket.
• Do NOT chain into /feature-plan automatically — separate invocations by design.
• Do NOT produce sizes without rationale — the bullets are mandatory, not optional.
• Do NOT invent split points that share state with each other — every slice must be independently deliverable.

See also

• refine-ticket — sibling; refine first if the ticket is vague
• jira-ticket — ticket loader
• feature-plan — downstream planning
• artifact-drafting-protocol — drafting protocol