Understanding Estimates in Agiloop INVENT

Overview

After completing a comprehensive Interview with Agiloop’s AI-assisted personas, Agiloop INVENT automatically generates estimates for the work being planned.

These estimates are designed to help product managers, founders, and teams:

• Understand scope early

• Compare options and tradeoffs

• Make informed planning and budgeting decisions

Estimates are intended as planning guidance, not fixed commitments.

What Agiloop INVENT Estimates

Agiloop INVENT generates estimates across several dimensions:

Cost

An estimated cost based on:

• The types of roles required

• The amount of effort required from each role

• Average U.S. market rates for those roles

Duration

An estimated timeline based on:

• Total effort

• Role dependencies

• Parallel vs sequential work

This provides a realistic sense of how long the work may take under typical conditions.

Team Makeup

An estimated mix of roles, such as:

• Product / Business roles

• Frontend and backend engineers

• Infrastructure or DevOps roles

• QA or testing roles

This helps teams understand who is needed, not just how much work exists.

Complexity (Story Points)

Agiloop INVENT also produces complexity estimates, expressed as story points.

These reflect:

• Relative effort

• Technical complexity

• Uncertainty and risk

Story points help teams reason about scope independently from cost.

How Estimates Are Calculated

Persona-Driven Inputs

Estimates are derived from:

• Functional requirements identified by the Business Analyst persona

• Technical decisions shaped by the Systems Architect persona

This ensures estimates reflect both what needs to be built and how it should be built.

Market-Based Role Rates

Cost estimates are based on average U.S. market rates for the estimated roles.

These averages provide:

• A neutral baseline

• A consistent comparison point across projects

• Early-stage planning confidence

Because they are averages, they may not reflect your organization’s actual rates.

Why Calibration Is Important

Every team is different.

Your actual costs may vary based on:

• Geography

• In-house vs contract resources

• Seniority levels

• Vendor or agency pricing

• Existing team composition

For this reason, Agiloop INVENT estimates are designed to be calibrated, not blindly accepted.

How to Calibrate Estimates

Agiloop INVENT makes calibration straightforward.

Feature-Level Role Breakdown

Each feature includes:

• A breakdown of required roles

• The percentage of effort attributed to each role

Example:

• Backend Engineering: 40%

• Frontend Engineering: 30%

• DevOps: 15%

• QA: 15%

Applying Your Actual Rates

To calibrate estimates:

1. Review the role percentage breakdown for a feature

2. Substitute your actual hourly or blended rates for each role

3. Recalculate cost using the same effort distribution

This allows you to:

• Align estimates with your real team

• Adjust for regional or organizational differences

• Preserve relative effort and complexity while changing cost assumptions

What Calibration Changes (and What It Doesn’t)

Calibration Changes:

• Total cost estimates

• Budget alignment

• Financial planning accuracy

Calibration Does NOT Change:

• Relative feature complexity

• Scope comparisons

• Duration logic

• Story point estimates

This ensures that planning logic remains consistent even when costs are customized.

Best Practices for Using Estimates

• Use estimates early to compare scope and options

• Calibrate costs before committing budgets

• Treat estimates as directional, not contractual

• Revisit estimates as requirements evolve

Agiloop INVENT is designed to support iteration and refinement, not one-time decisions.

Why Agiloop’s Approach Works

By combining:

• Persona-driven discovery

• Structured requirements

• Market-based benchmarks

• Transparent role breakdowns

Agiloop INVENT provides estimates that are:

• Explainable

• Adjustable

• Defensible

• Useful for real-world planning

Related Articles

• Understanding the Interview

• Reviewing Estimates in Agiloop INVENT

• What Is a Feature Bundle?

• Understanding the Work Breakdown View