Thrivve Partners Monte Carlo 'When' Forecasting
Forecast when a specific number of stories or tasks will be completed using Monte Carlo simulation based on historical throughput data.
When to Use
Use this skill when the user provides:
- •Historical throughput data (daily counts for at least 10 days)
- •Number of stories/tasks remaining to complete
- •A desired confidence level (optional, defaults to 85%)
- •A start date (optional, defaults to today)
Common trigger patterns:
- •"In the last X days, the throughput has been [counts] - when will I complete [N] stories with [confidence]% confidence?"
- •"Based on throughput of [counts], when will we finish [N] stories if we start [date / 'today']?"
- •"Run Monte Carlo simulation for [counts] to complete [N] stories"
- •"I have [N] stories left, when will I be done?"
Quick Start
Execute the Monte Carlo simulation script:
python scripts/thrivve-mc-when.py "<comma-separated-throughput>" <stories-remaining> <confidence-level> "<start-date>"
Example:
python scripts/thrivve-mc-when.py "3,5,4,2,6,4,5,3,7,4,5,6,3,4,5" 100 85 "2025-10-27"
Input Requirements
- •
Throughput data: Minimum 10 days of daily completion counts
- •Format: Comma-separated integers (e.g., "3,5,4,2,6,4,5,3,7,4")
- •More data = better predictions (15-30 days recommended)
- •
Stories remaining: Integer count of items to complete
- •Must be greater than 0
- •Typical range: 10-500 (larger numbers may take longer)
- •
Confidence level: Percentage between 0-99 (default: 85)
- •25%: Optimistic outcome (earlier date, lower certainty)
- •50%: Median outcome (equal chance of earlier or later)
- •70%: Balanced outcome
- •85%: Conservative (commonly used in agile forecasting)
- •95%: Very conservative (high certainty, later date)
- •99%: Maximum practical confidence (extremely conservative)
- •Note: 100% confidence is not possible in probabilistic forecasting
- •
Start date: A date in any common format (default: today)
- •Supported formats: YYYY-MM-DD, DD/MM/YYYY, MM/DD/YYYY, "Month DD, YYYY", etc.
Output Format
The script provides:
- •Primary answer: Completion date at specified confidence level
- •Percentile forecasts: P25, P50, P70, P85, P95, P99 (dates)
- •Statistical summary: Mean, min, max dates across all simulations
- •Days analysis: Days required at different confidence levels
- •Throughput analysis: Statistics about historical data
- •JSON output: Structured data for further processing
Workflow
- •Parse user's throughput data from their message
- •Extract stories remaining and confidence level
- •Run the Monte Carlo script with parsed parameters
- •Present results in clear, actionable format
- •Explain what the confidence level means in context
Interpreting Results
- •At X% confidence: "There's an X% chance you'll be done ON OR BEFORE this date" (uses the percentile: X)
- •P50 (median): Half of simulations finished earlier, half later
- •P85: 85% of simulations finished on or before this date
- •P95: 95% of simulations finished on or before this date
- •Range: Shows fastest and slowest completion from all simulations
Example: At 85% confidence, you'll complete the work on or before December 15th (P85), meaning there's an 85% chance of finishing on or before that date (and only a 15% chance it will take longer).
Advanced Usage
Optional parameters:
- •
num_simulations: Number of Monte Carlo runs (default: 10,000)- •Higher values increase accuracy but take longer
- •10,000 is typically sufficient for reliable results
Methodology
For detailed explanation of Monte Carlo simulation methodology, assumptions, and limitations, see references/methodology.md.
Key points:
- •Uses random sampling from historical throughput
- •Runs thousands of simulations to build probability distribution
- •Assumes past patterns continue into the future
- •Does not account for trends or changing conditions
Example Interaction
User: "In the last 15 days, the throughput has been 3,5,4,2,6,4,5,3,7,4,5,6,3,4,5 - when will I complete 100 stories with 85% confidence, if I start today?"
Response steps:
- •Parse throughput: [3,5,4,2,6,4,5,3,7,4,5,6,3,4,5]
- •Parse stories remaining: 100
- •Parse confidence: 85%
- •Parse start date: today (2025-10-27)
- •Run simulation
- •Present results: "Given your start date of today (October 27, 2025), at 85% confidence you will complete 100 stories on or before November 19, 2025 (there's only a 15% chance it will take longer)"
- •Provide percentile context and explain the forecast