>Some tasks take 15 minutes of discussion (no, they aren't complex tasks) with people debating whether it is worth 5 points or 8. It is just tiring and pointles

>Some tasks take 15 minutes of discussion (no, they aren't complex tasks) with people debating whether it is worth 5 points or 8. It is just tiring and pointless. If you're not personally responsible for deadlines on the project, it could seem pointless. But the difference might mean pushing the commitment for a feature out two weeks, which in a commercial project could be a big deal. Planning is hard: you've got to try to estimate something with incomplete information, and then reconcile differing opinions. But it's definitely not pointless. Velocity is probably one of the most misunderstood aspects of scrum. It's a key metric for long-term planning, but it's not intended to be manageable. It's also unique to the team, and not intended to be compared between teams. Many managers are not used to a metric that they don't manage, and that causes a lot (maybe most) of the bad experiences people have with poorly practiced scrum.