How Do You Play Planning Poker?

Planning poker is a powerful technique used in Agile software development to estimate the effort required to complete a given task. It’s a collaborative approach that involves the entire team, including developers, testers, and project managers. Planning poker is an effective way to ensure that everyone is on the same page regarding the scope of work involved in a project.

To play planning poker, you need a deck of cards with numbers on them. The numbers typically range from 0 to 100, and they are used to represent “story points,” which is a unit of measure for the amount of work required to complete a task. You also need a moderator who will lead the game and facilitate discussions.

Here’s how you can play planning poker:

1. Gather your team
The first step in playing planning poker is to gather your team together in one place. Make sure that everyone has their deck of cards and that they are ready to start estimating.

2. Explain the rules
Before you start playing, it’s important to explain the rules of planning poker so that everyone is on the same page. The moderator should explain how story points work and how they are used to estimate effort.

3. Discuss the task
The moderator should present a task or project that needs to be estimated. The team should discuss the requirements, features, and scope of work involved in completing this task.

4. Vote
Once everyone has discussed the task at hand, each team member should select a card from their deck that represents their estimate for the effort involved in completing this task. They should keep their card hidden until everyone has voted.

5. Reveal
After everyone has voted, all team members reveal their cards simultaneously by turning them over at once. This allows for an unbiased estimation process since people cannot influence each other’s decisions.

6. Discuss discrepancies
If there is a significant discrepancy between estimates (e.g., if one person voted 5 and another person voted 20), the team should discuss why there is a difference in opinion. This ensures that everyone is on the same page and that all aspects of the project are considered.

7. Revote
After the team has discussed any discrepancies, they can vote again. This process continues until there is a consensus among team members regarding the effort required to complete the task.

Planning poker can be an effective way to estimate effort in Agile software development. It allows for collaboration and discussion among team members, ensuring that everyone understands the scope of work involved in a project. With practice and experience, planning poker can become a valuable tool in your development process.

PRO TIP:Planning Poker is a game designed to help teams estimate the amount of effort required for a project. To play Planning Poker, each team member is given a set of cards with values representing the relative amount of effort required for a task. After each team member has selected their card, the cards are revealed and discussed. The team then negotiates an agreement about the effort required before moving on to the next task.