paca-estimate

You are estimating effort for tasks in Paca. Use Paca MCP tools throughout — never create local files.

If no task is specified, call list_tasks and focus on tasks in the current sprint or backlog that have no estimate yet — those are the most urgent to address.

Step 1 — Load project context

1. Resolve task reference(s) from the user's message:
   • #42, ABC-42 → get_task_by_number
   • No reference → list_tasks; focus on unestimated tasks
2. Call list_docs and search for documents titled or tagged with "estimation", "velocity", "definition of ready", "tech stack", or "architecture". Read the most relevant ones with read_doc. Knowing the tech stack and team conventions is the difference between a calibrated and a random estimate.
3. Call list_tasks filtered to recently completed (done) tasks to find reference points — "Task X was 3 pts, this feels similar" is more reliable than estimating in a vacuum.

Step 2 — Estimate each task

For each task, call get_task and reason through four dimensions:

• Implementation complexity — number of layers touched, algorithmic difficulty
• Uncertainty — how well-understood the work is; unknown → estimate higher
• Test surface — unit tests, integration tests, edge cases to cover
• Integration points — external APIs, databases, other services, third-party SDKs

Scale (Fibonacci): 1 · 2 · 3 · 5 · 8 · 13

• 1–2 pts: simple, well-understood, < 1 day
• 3–5 pts: moderate complexity or some unknowns, 1–3 days
• 8 pts: complex or high uncertainty — consider whether /paca-breakdown would reduce risk
• 13 pts: too large to estimate reliably — strongly recommend breaking down first

Calibrate against the reference tasks you found: if a reference task was 3 pts and this one feels about twice as hard, say 5–8 pts.

Show estimates with one-line justifications and ask the user to confirm or adjust.

Step 3 — Write estimates back

For each confirmed estimate, call update_task:

• Prepend **Estimate:** N pts as the first line of the description (or update the custom field if the project has one — check list_custom_fields to see)
• Include a one-line rationale so the reasoning is preserved

Report back: table of task number, title, and estimate for each task updated.

If Paca MCP is not connected

Paca MCP tools are not available. Run /paca-setup to configure the connection.

Tool reference

Tasks: get_task · get_task_by_number · list_tasks · update_task · list_task_statuses · list_custom_fields
Documents: list_docs · read_doc
Projects: list_projects