This is important on an agile project because the user stories being estimated are often intentionally vague. If all estimators all selected the same value, that becomes the estimate. The https://www.globalcloudteam.com/ high and low estimators, especially, should share their reasons. After further discussion, each estimator reselects an estimate card, and all cards are again revealed at the same time.

It is most commonly used in agile software development, in particular in Scrum and Extreme Programming. We’ve ensured the Planning Poker Online web app is compatible on all devices. Now, you and your agile development team can vote on any issue, anytime, anywhere. Olga Iermolcheva capped off an impressive summer at the 2023 WSOP with a third-place finish on the final table after some amazing play to ladder up. The final elimination would happen when Jaka called the river jam of Michael Finstein and won with a straight, eliminating Finstein and earning Jaka the coveted WSOP gold bracelet. Second, despite the egalitarian spirit of Poker tool, it’s still possible for an aggressive, dominating person to take control of the process.

Plan your sprint with a work management tool

A simple and fun way to discuss and estimate remotely during sprint planning. When played online, members are together in a real-time estimation “room” or “session” and their cards are displayed on the screen. The same rules apply, but everything is more convenient and automated. If team members have a high or low estimate compared to other team members, they need to explain their reasoning. The agile team can ask more questions for clarification.

• Story pointing allows the team to focus on the complexity and time involved in delivering a piece of work.
• Planning Poker can be used with story points, ideal days, or any other estimating unit.
• To start a poker planning session, the product owner or customer reads an agile user story or describes a feature to the estimators.
• Planning Poker® is proven to be one of the most effective sprint planning tools for agile teams.
• Research suggests a group estimate tends to be more optimistic than the forecast that the group’s members would come up with in isolation.
• The product owner or the Scrum master will act as a moderator and read a specific user story from the product or sprint backlog.

Once a game organizer – typically a scrum master or project manager – creates an account, your team can start planning. While our Basic version is free for teams smaller than 10 people, our paid monthly and annual accounts provide powerful features to improve sprint planning and team productivity. Planning poker is an estimation method that helps your Agile team project the amount of effort one user story in a product backlog could take to complete.

Key Features

Usually, teams arrange a session after creating the initial backlog. Although sessions can sometimes take more than one day, it leads to the development of initial estimates that are helpful in sizing or scoping the project. According to one study, estimates from planning poker are statistically higher than individual ones. It was also noted that for the same tasks, planning poker estimates were more accurate than individual ones.

The team can discuss the active story, and everyone chooses a card. Let’s explore the ins and outs of the poker session and how to play the game. Insights and faster play times, making the entire process more productive. Not only will the numbers on the cards depend on what your team deems appropriate, but what the numbers represent will also be up to your group.

What Is Program Increment Planning (PI Planning)?

First, the consensus may still lack crucial information, resulting in people putting too much confidence in a flawed plan from the start. By hiding the Poker tool values and showing them simultaneously, the team is more likely to get honest estimates. Team members can say what’s on their minds and offer unbiased opinions, rather than just saying what the customer wants to hear. This practice ensures an accurate and realistic assessment. If the estimators all chose the same value, that’s the accepted estimate. If not, the team talks about their estimates, why they chose that number, etc.

They could be something vague, such as “story points”, or something more concrete, like man-hours. When participants disclose their estimates, they will have to back them up with reasoning on why they are high or low. This can open up questions on the requirement and implementation – a feedback loop that can detect the gaps.

Scrum Foundations Video Series

The team is given an opportunity to ask questions and discuss to clarify assumptions and risks. A summary of the discussion is recorded, e.g. by the Moderator. While this is certainly the most valuable benefit, there are other collateral benefits as well. Planning poker is an accurate, collaborative, team-building method of estimating the work for each user story. Agreement is frequently reached on the second or third draw of the playing cards for each work item. Other project estimation techniques use time to determine how long a task will take.

Next, let your team members have a discussion about this story. This is an opportunity for the various stakeholders in this story to offer up their input. For example, if this will require debugging, have the people who will be completing this task provide their insight. It can encourage newer employees to speak up by playing a card and explaining their logic.

Vote on each user story

Comparison of scrum software, which generally has support for planning poker, either included or as an optional add-on. We engage with companies to find and engage new customers or markets; pioneer new ventures; and/or create new products, services & business models. 352’s new platform has made estimating more effective and enjoyable for all of them.- Mike Cohn, Founding Member and Owner of Mountain Goat Software.

This is a free, open-source application developed as a hobby project. The app is free to use, with additional Premium features what is planning poker available for SCRUM masters. By subscribing to Premium, you also support the ongoing development of this open-source project.

How Does Planning Poker Work?

In 2002, Mike Cohn developed mountain goat software and stepped in with a deck of digital cards to use in planning poker. Scrum teams can use these digital playing cards from remote locations to improve agile estimating and planning and have some fun along the way. Duringsprint planning, teams work together to estimate the level of effort required for development of each upcoming backlog item through a process calledeffort pointing.