Planning and systematic task discussions are essential components of teamwork within any project. When a team consists of two or three individuals, reaching an agreement on disputed matters is relatively straightforward. However, as the workgroup expands to 10, 20, or more members, opinions often diverge. Team members involved in software product development may assess the effort required for assigned tasks and their complexity differently. Poker Planning comes to the rescue in finding a ‘common denominator’. It’s a Scrum technique aimed at collaboratively resolving various tasks during the software product creation process.
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Planning poker is a technique for assessing the complexity of tasks performed by a team. It was developed by James Grenning, one of the authors of the Agile Manifesto. Further development and popularization of the methodology were facilitated by Mike Cohn, who described it in his work ‘Agile Estimating and Planning.’
Planning poker helps to precisely assess the volume and complexity of tasks. All team members, including developers, testers, engineers, designers, analysts, and other project contributors, are involved in the estimation process. Team-based estimation yields an objective result. For instance, a developer might know how much time a task takes but could exaggerate its complexity to secure more time. Therefore, estimation results are always overseen by a manager who acts as a facilitator. No participants know each other’s opinions until the polling is complete. Their opinions are voiced simultaneously.
In Scrum, planning poker works as follows:
Before starting with the cards, the methodology for estimation is determined. You must decide whether you will assess the task’s complexity or the amount of time required for its completion?
Time | It is estimated how much time is needed to solve the problem. |
Story Points | The complexity of the backlog products is evaluated. |
T-shirt sizes | For task estimation, conditional ‘t-shirt sizes’ are used: XS, S, M, L, and XL. |
In practice, it looks something like this:
Use Cases of Planning Poker:
This technique is used in the development of software products within Scrum teams operating under an Agile methodology. The primary goal of Planning Poker is not to pinpoint an exact deadline for task completion, but to ensure that all team members understand the execution process equally accurately. The method is suitable for teams and tasks that have sufficient time to achieve consensus on disputed matters.
To make the technique more useful for the team, the following rules can be applied:
The Planning Poker technique is suitable for efficiently interacting teams. Different services and programs are used to organize communications between their participants and provide remote management for Scrum-method teams. One of these services is the LeaderTask application, which combines task manager, organizer, planner, and modern project management system functions.
This service replaces several popular planning applications, including Todoist or Trello. It helps efficiently allocate tasks among performers, plan the time for their completion, track the final result and effectiveness of each project participant. The application supports all the necessary functionality of flexible Agile methodologies, including electronic Kanban boards for a visual representation of tasks in the Scrum system.
The program includes a convenient chat for discussing current project matters. It can be used for messaging, exchanging voice messages, and commenting on attached documents. LeaderTask operates on all digital platforms, functions offline without an internet connection. It helps expedite task completion and team projects.
Planning Poker is based on chance, transforming the routine process of setting task deadlines into an engaging showdown among team members. It helps establish realistic deadlines and fosters a shared understanding of project complexity. Through the estimation process, the team finds the best solution for the task that is as close to implementation as possible. This method is best suited for agile teams implementing Scrum in its entirety.