| name | estimate-work-item |
| description | Performs codebase reconnaissance and produces a structured effort estimate in hours with confidence level. Use when given an Azure DevOps work item ID or free-text task description that needs effort estimation before planning or sprinting. |
| disable-model-invocation | true |
Estimate Work Item
Given an Azure DevOps work item ID (or a free-text task description), perform codebase reconnaissance and produce a structured effort estimate in hours with a confidence level.
Steps
0. Enter Plan mode
Require Plan mode following the mode-gate skill. The estimation (steps 1--3) is read-only analysis -- Plan mode keeps the focus on the assessment. If the user approves follow-up actions (step 4), they will switch back to Agent mode.
1. Resolve the work item
Determine the work item using one of the following, in priority order:
- Explicit ADO ID -- the user provided a work item ID directly. Fetch it with full details and relations.
- Free-text description -- the user described a task. Use
search_workitem to find a matching ADO item. If a match is found, fetch it. If not, proceed using the description alone.
When fetching from ADO, extract and note:
- Title and Type (Bug, Task, User Story, etc.)
- Description and Acceptance Criteria
- State, Assigned To, Iteration Path
- Child work items (if any -- fetch them in batch)
- Parent work item (for broader context)
- Linked PRs or commits (for context on prior work)
If neither input path yields a starting point, ask the user and stop.
2. Estimate
Follow the estimation skill, passing the resolved work item details (or free-text description) as input.
3. Present the report
Output the estimate in this format:
## Estimate: #<ID> -- <Title>
(or "## Estimate: <task description>" if no ADO item)
**Type**: <type> | **Hours**: <N> | **Band**: <band> | **Confidence**: <level>
### Summary
<1–3 sentence summary of the task and why the estimate lands where it does>
### Calibration Note
<which size band the estimate falls into, what the empirical data says about that band, and any adjustment applied>
### Affected Areas
| Area | Files / Modules | Impact |
|------|----------------|--------|
| <area> | `src/...` | <what changes> |
### Complexity Breakdown
| Dimension | Severity | Notes |
|-----------|----------|-------|
| File-touch overhead | <low/moderate/high> | <detail> |
| Coupling | <low/moderate/high> | <detail> |
| Test burden | <low/moderate/high> | <detail> |
| Schema / API changes | <low/moderate/high> | <detail> |
| Technical debt | <low/moderate/high> | <detail> |
| Unknowns / risks | <low/moderate/high> | <detail> |
### Sprint Fit
<whether the work fits in one 2-week sprint, or how to split it>
### Risks and Open Questions
- <risk or question>
- <risk or question>
### Recommendation
<whether to proceed as-is, split the item, or address prerequisites first>
4. Offer follow-up
If appropriate, offer to:
- Update the ADO work item with the estimate (
OriginalEstimate and EstimationConfidenceLevel).
- Split the work item into smaller child items if estimated at 31+ hours.
- Run the plan skill to produce a detailed commit plan.
Wait for user approval before taking any write action (read and apply the external-communications skill).
5. Evolve
Follow the continuous-improvement skill.
