If you’re a software development team, chances are that you’ve come across the concept of Planning Poker. This technique is used to estimate the effort required to complete a task or user story. The process involves the team members discussing and voting on the estimated effort required for each task using a series of cards with numbers or story points.
Jira is an incredibly popular project management tool used by many software development teams. One question that often comes up is whether it’s possible to do Planning Poker in Jira. The answer is yes, and in this article, we’ll explore how.
Before we begin, let’s take a quick look at what Planning Poker involves. Each team member receives a deck of cards with numbers or story points on them. A user story or task is then presented to the team, and each member selects a card that represents their estimate of the effort required to complete the task.
Once everyone has selected their card, they reveal them simultaneously. If there’s a significant difference in estimates between team members, they discuss why they chose their particular card and come to an agreement on the final estimate.
So how can we do this in Jira? There are two main ways:
1. Using add-ons
Jira has several plugins available that enable you to do Planning Poker within the tool. Some examples include AgilePoker, Planning Poker for Jira, and Scrum Poker for Jira. These add-ons allow you to create and manage your planning sessions within Jira and provide features such as live voting and real-time updates.
2. Using custom fields
Another option is to create custom fields within Jira that represent each card in your deck. You can then use these fields when estimating tasks or user stories by selecting the appropriate value from a dropdown menu.
While using add-ons might be more convenient, creating custom fields can be a more flexible solution as it allows you to tailor your estimation process to your team’s specific needs.
Now that we’ve covered the basics of how to do Planning Poker in Jira, let’s take a look at some best practices for making it work effectively:
– Ensure that all team members are present for the estimation session. This will help to ensure that everyone has a common understanding of the task or user story being estimated. – Use a consistent deck of cards. This will help to ensure that everyone is using the same values and prevent confusion during the estimation process.
– Encourage open and honest discussions during estimation. If there’s a significant difference in estimates, encourage team members to explain their reasoning and come to an agreement on the final estimate. – Keep track of your estimates. Use Jira’s reporting features to monitor your team’s velocity and track progress towards your sprint goals.
In conclusion, Planning Poker is an effective technique for estimating software development tasks, and it’s entirely possible to do it within Jira using add-ons or custom fields. By following best practices such as ensuring all team members are present, using a consistent deck of cards, encouraging open discussions, and tracking progress, you can make your estimation process more accurate and effective.
