team sprint velocity

The important factor is to point stories based on complexity. A common pitfall is associating some sort of mapping of time to points (e.g. 3 pts = 1 day, 5 pts = 2, etc.). This defeats the whole purpose of story pointing.

Your first sprint will most likely be a calibration period. You'll point user stories and make a estimate of how much can be done in Sprint 1. Usually you will be over or under what was estimated. For Sprint 2, so long as you story point the same way as you did for Sprint 1, you can then make a calibration to project your velocity based on Sprint 1's performance.

For example, let's say you story pointed all of your user stories and made a conservative guess for Sprint 1 that your team can complete 45 pts. Let's say at the end of Sprint 1, your team performed really well and ended up pulling additional stories in and got you to 60 pts of total work complete. For Sprint 2 you can update your team velocity to 60 and pull in 60 points worth of work. You then take a look at the outcome of Sprint 2 and calibrate your velocity estimate as needed for Sprint 3. Eventually, if your team remains consistent and points consistently, your velocity number will stabilize and you can build more confidence in determining your team's velocity for future sprints.

The important factor is to point stories based on complexity. A common pitfall is associating some sort of mapping of time to points (e.g. 3 pts = 1 day, 5 pts = 2, etc.). This defeats the whole purpose of story pointing.

Your first sprint will most likely be a calibration period. You'll point user stories and make a estimate of how much can be done in Sprint 1. Usually you will be over or under what was estimated. For Sprint 2, so long as you story point the same way as you did for Sprint 1, you can then make a calibration to project your velocity based on Sprint 1's performance.

For example, let's say you story pointed all of your user stories and made a conservative guess for Sprint 1 that your team can complete 45 pts. Let's say at the end of Sprint 1, your team performed really well and ended up pulling additional stories in and got you to 60 pts of total work complete. For Sprint 2 you can update your team velocity to 60 and pull in 60 points worth of work. You then take a look at the outcome of Sprint 2 and calibrate your velocity estimate as needed for Sprint 3. Eventually, if your team remains consistent and points consistently, your velocity number will stabilize and you can build more confidence in determining your team's velocity for future sprints.