What Is Playing Poker in Scrum?

If you are a project manager or a team lead, you might have come across the term ‘Playing Poker in Scrum’. But what exactly is it and how does it work? In this article, we will dive deep into the concept of Playing Poker in Scrum, its benefits, and how to implement it in your team.

Firstly, let’s understand what Scrum is. Scrum is an Agile framework that helps teams collaborate and deliver complex projects by breaking them down into small manageable chunks. It emphasizes on regular feedback, continuous improvement, and transparency.

Now let’s move on to Playing Poker in Scrum. It is also known as Planning Poker or Agile Estimation.

It is a technique used by teams to estimate the effort required to complete a task or user story in Scrum. The team members use a deck of cards with values such as 0, 1/2, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 20, 40 along with an infinity card and a ‘?’ card.

The process of Playing Poker in Scrum involves the following steps:

1. The Product Owner presents the User Story to the team. 2. The team discusses the User Story and asks any clarifying questions. 3. Each team member selects a card from their deck that represents their estimate of effort required for the User Story.

4. The cards are revealed simultaneously. 5. If there are different estimates from different members then they discuss their reasoning behind their estimates. 6. The process repeats until there is consensus among all members on an estimate.

Now let’s look at some benefits of Playing Poker in Scrum:

PRO TIP:Playing Poker in Scrum is a technique used to prioritize tasks. It is a simple and effective way of estimating the size of tasks, relative to one another. During a session, each task is assigned a “poker card” (number or suit) and the whole team then tries to come to an agreement on which tasks are more important than others. This allows teams to make better decisions about time and resource allocation.

1. It encourages collaborative decision-making among team members. It brings transparency to the estimation process as everyone’s estimates are visible to others.

3. It helps identify potential roadblocks early on by discussing different perspectives and assumptions. 4. It saves time by avoiding lengthy discussions and debates on estimates.

Here are some tips for implementing Playing Poker in Scrum:

1. Ensure that all team members are familiar with the process and the values of the cards. Use a timer to limit discussion time for each round. Encourage participation from all team members and avoid dominant personalities from taking over. Use the consensus of the team as the final estimate rather than individual estimates.

In conclusion, Playing Poker in Scrum is an effective technique for estimating effort required for User Stories in Scrum. It encourages collaboration, transparency, and consensus among team members. By following some simple guidelines, you can implement this technique successfully in your team and enjoy its benefits.