In the dynamic world of software development, accurate estimations are crucial for successful project delivery. But how do you effectively gauge the effort required for complex tasks when perspectives differ within a team? Enter Planning Poker, also known as Scrum Poker, a powerful and engaging technique that brings consensus and accuracy to your agile estimations.
Jump ahead to
What exactly is Planning Poker?
Planning Poker is a consensus-based estimation technique used in Agile software development, particularly within Scrum. It’s a fun, interactive way for teams to estimate the relative size or effort required for user stories, features, or other work items. The method leverages expert opinion, encourages discussion, and minimizes biases that can skew traditional estimation methods.
How does Planning Poker work?
The process is straightforward and typically involves the following steps:
- Select a User Story: Teams select a user story or task to estimate. The product owner or a business representative provides a brief explanation and answers any clarifying questions.
- Card Distribution: Each team member receives a set of Planning Poker cards. These cards usually numbered using the Fibonacci sequence (0, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, etc.) or a modified Fibonacci sequence that includes values like 1/2, 100, or infinity (∞). Fibonacci sequence is used because it reflects increasing uncertainty associated with larger estimations.
- Individual Estimation: Each team member independently and privately selects a card that they believe represents the effort required for the user story. They keep their chosen card hidden.
- Simultaneous Reveal: Once everyone has made their selection, all team members reveal their cards simultaneously. This simultaneous reveal prevents anchoring bias, where earlier estimates influence later ones.
- Discussion and Justification: If there is a significant difference in estimates (e.g., someone plays a 2 and other plays a 13), the team discusses reasons behind their choices. Team members with the highest and lowest estimates are typically asked to explain their reasoning.
- Repeat Estimation: After discussion, teams repeat the estimation process. They again individually select cards and reveal them simultaneously. This process continues until the team reaches a consensus or a reasonable level of agreement.
- Record Estimates: Once a consensus is reached, an agreed-upon estimate is recorded. This estimate is typically used in sprint planning to determine how many user stories can be included in a sprint.
Benefits of Using Planning Poker
- Improved Accuracy: By incorporating multiple perspectives and encouraging discussion, Planning Poker leads to more accurate and reliable estimates.
- Enhanced Team Collaboration: Interactive nature of technique fosters communication, collaboration, and a shared understanding within teams.
- Reduced Bias: The simultaneous reveal of cards minimizes anchoring bias and other cognitive biases that can distort estimations.
- Increased Engagement: The game-like format makes estimation more engaging and enjoyable for the team.
- Better Understanding of Requirements: The discussions during the estimation process help clarify requirements and uncover potential issues early on.
- Shared Ownership: When teams estimate together, they develop a shared understanding of work and take ownership of estimates.
When to Use Planning Poker?
Planning Poker shines in situations where collaborative estimation and shared understanding are paramount. Here’s a deeper dive into when it’s most effective:
Estimating User Stories
This is Planning Poker’s bread and butter. During sprint planning, the team uses it to estimate the efforts required for each user story selected for the upcoming sprint. This helps determine sprint capacity and ensures a realistic workload. It’s also invaluable during backlog refinement sessions (sometimes called backlog grooming) to estimate stories further out in the product backlog, ensuring the backlog is appropriately sized and prioritized. This allows for better long-term planning.
Early Project Planning
When kicking off a new project or planning a major release, Planning Poker can be used to get a high-level estimate of the overall effort involved. While estimates at this stage might be less precise due to the higher level of uncertainty, they provide a valuable starting point for budgeting, resource allocation, and setting realistic timelines. This high-level estimation can also help identify potential bottlenecks or areas that require further investigation.
Estimating Complex Tasks
For tasks involving significant technical challenges, research, or experimentation (often called ‘spikes’ in Scrum), Planning Poker can be particularly useful. These tasks often have a high degree of uncertainty, and leveraging diverse perspectives of teams can lead to more accurate estimations. The discussions during the estimation process can also help uncover potential risks and identify necessary research or prototyping activities.
When Team Input is Important
Planning Poker is more than just an estimation technique; it’s a team-building exercise. When team input is crucial for understanding the scope and complexity of a task, Planning Poker facilitates valuable discussions, fosters shared ownership, and promotes a sense of collective responsibility for the estimates. This is especially important when dealing with cross-functional teams or when knowledge is distributed across different team members.
When Dealing with Uncertainty or Ambiguity
If the requirements are not fully clear or there’s a lack of detailed information about a task, Planning Poker can help teams explore different interpretations and identify areas that require further clarification. The discussions during the estimation process can help surface assumptions and highlight potential risks associated with the uncertainty.
Tips for Effective Planning Poker
To maximize the benefits of Planning Poker, consider these expanded tips:
Ensure Everyone Understands Process
Before starting a Planning Poker session, take time to clearly explain rules, purpose of technique, and the meaning of estimation units (e.g., story points). Provide examples of how to estimate different types of tasks and answer any questions team members may have. This is especially important for new team members or teams new to Agile.
Use Consistent Estimation Units
Consistency is key. Choose a consistent estimation unit (story points are most common) and stick to it throughout the project. Using different units can lead to confusion and inaccurate comparisons. If using story points, establish a baseline story to which all other stories are compared. If using ideal days, ensure everyone understands what an “ideal day” represents (uninterrupted work).
Encourage Open Communication
Create a safe and respectful environment where team members feel comfortable expressing their opinions, even if they differ from others. Encourage open communication and active listening. Remind the team that the goal is to reach a shared understanding, not to win an argument. Facilitation is key here – the facilitator should ensure everyone has a chance to speak.
Focus on Relative Estimation
Emphasize the importance of relative estimation. Instead of trying to estimate in absolute time (e.g., hours or days), focus on comparing stories to each other. For example, “Is this story twice as complex as the previous one we estimated?” This approach helps reduce the impact of individual biases and leads to more consistent estimations.
Don’t Get Bogged Down in Endless Discussions
While discussion is crucial, it’s important to avoid getting bogged down in endless debates. Timebox the discussions for each story. If a consensus cannot be reached after a few rounds of estimation and a reasonable discussion, consider breaking down the user story into smaller, more manageable pieces. This often clarifies complexities and makes estimation easier.
Use Online Tools
Several excellent online tools are available that can facilitate Planning Poker sessions, especially for remote or distributed teams. These tools often provide features like built-in card decks, timers, and reporting capabilities. They also help track estimates and maintain a history of estimations. Examples include Planning Poker online, Scrum Poker online, and tools integrated within project management software like Jira.
Regularly Review and Calibrate Estimates
Over time, the team’s understanding of story points or other estimation units can drift. Regularly review and calibrate estimates to ensure a consistent understanding and prevent estimation inflation or deflation. This can be done by revisiting previously estimated stories and comparing them to newly estimated ones.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Planning Poker, or Scrum Poker, offers a dynamic and collaborative approach to estimation, significantly improving accuracy and team cohesion within Agile environments. By leveraging collective wisdom, minimizing biases, and fostering open communication, this technique empowers teams to make informed decisions and deliver projects more effectively. To further enhance your understanding and practical application of this valuable method, consider enrolling in specialized Scrum Master Training. This training program provides in-depth instruction on Planning Poker, along with other essential Agile practices, equipping one with skills and knowledge to effectively implement and facilitate estimation sessions, ultimately contributing to more successful project outcomes and a more efficient development process.
FAQs
What is the main purpose of Planning Poker?
The primary purpose of Planning Poker is to collaboratively estimate the effort or size of user stories or other work items in Agile development. It aims to create shared understanding, improve estimation accuracy, and foster team collaboration.
Why is the Fibonacci sequence (or a modified version) used in Planning Poker cards?
Fibonacci sequence (0, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, etc.) is used because it reflects increasing uncertainty associated with estimating larger tasks. As tasks become larger, it becomes harder to be precise, and the Fibonacci sequence’s increasing gaps between numbers reflect this.
What happens if teams can’t reach a consensus during Planning Poker?
If teams can’t reach a consensus after a few rounds of discussion, the following options can be considered:
- Further Discussion
- Break Down Story
- Assign a Default Value
- Defer the Story
Is Planning Poker only for estimating user stories?
While Planning Poker is most commonly used for estimating user stories in Scrum, it can be used to estimate other work items as well, such as technical tasks, bugs, spikes (research or exploration tasks), features, and even entire projects at a very high level.
How does Planning Poker help reduce bias in estimations?
Planning Poker helps reduce biases, particularly anchoring bias, through simultaneous card reveal. Anchoring bias occurs when initial estimates unduly influence subsequent estimates. By revealing cards simultaneously, everyone forms their own independent estimate before being influenced by others.
What are story points, and how are they related to Planning Poker?
Story points are a relative unit of estimation used in Agile. They represent effort, complexity, and risk associated with a user story. Planning Poker is a common technique used to assign story points to user stories. The team uses cards to agree on a relative size for each story, expressed in story points.
Can Planning Poker be used with remote teams?
Yes, Planning Poker can be effectively used with remote teams using online tools specifically designed for this purpose. These tools provide virtual card decks, timers, and other features that facilitate remote collaboration.
What is the role of the facilitator in Planning Poker session?
The facilitator’s role is to:
- Explain rules of Planning Poker
- Ensure everyone understands user story being estimated
- Moderate discussion and keep it focused
- Ensure everyone has a chance to contribute
- Keep the session moving and prevent it from getting bogged down in endless debate
- Record final estimates
