One benefit of Scrum and other Agile practices is predictability. Predictable Agile teams know their capacity for work, make realistic commitments, and deliver what is expected. But, predictability requires good estimation. Good estimates enable an Agile team to plan sprints well, forecast milestones, and build confidence with end users and other stakeholders.   An Agile team must estimate product backlog items (e.g., stories) accurately to know its capacity for work. Without consistent and accurate estimates, the team’s past accomplishments cannot serve as a basis for velocity, which helps the team commit to whatever it can reasonably accomplish in the future. According to the Scrum Guide™, “Only what has happened may be used for forward-looking decision-making.”  Read more (Dynanet Blog Story Points) to uncover the best practices for estimating using Story Points.