[spatx]

We use story points in our SaaS product startup. In a larger company that I consult at, whose main business is not a software/technology product (but IT/software is a core enabler for their business), we tried story points, but eventually settled with hour-based estimates. I think the difference was in team sizes, nature of business and delivery timelines.

In the startup, we had a small team where everyone was aware of the agile processes, and the delivery timelines were based on the estimates.

In the larger org, agile processes and story points meant a change in the culture from the traditional waterfall-oriented process they followed. And larger team sizes meant it took a longer time to change the culture and thinking. Also, due to the nature of the business, the delivery timelines are stricter, and sometimes already decided before IT was involved. Projects also often involve multiple non-IT teams (sales, marketing, customer service, etc.), and it is easier to communicate in hour-based estimates to them. We still do agile development as much as possible, but settled on hour-based estimates.