What is normalized estimation?

• A. The exact hours required per task.
• B. Normalized story point estimating provides the economic basis for estimating work within and across programs.
• C. A technique to estimate defects only.
• D. A method to measure team happiness.

Answer: (B)

Normalization uses a common reference point to size work relative to a baseline, so story points become a shared, comparable measure across teams and programs. This standardized scaling lets you forecast capacity, align velocities, and prioritize work based on an economic view—balancing value, risk, and cost of delay rather than chasing exact hours. It’s about relative sizing that supports cross-team planning and value-driven decision making. It isn’t about precise hours, it isn’t limited to defects, and it isn’t a measure of team happiness.