Estimation is a crucial aspect of Agile development, helping teams predict effort, prioritize work, and plan sprints effectively. Planning Poker is one of the most widely used Agile estimation techniques, yet many teams struggle with adopting it smoothly. Whether your team is new to Agile estimation or transitioning from another method, introducing Planning Poker effectively can enhance collaboration, improve accuracy, and build team alignment.
This guide will walk you through the steps to introduce Planning Poker to your team, establish a baseline for relative estimation, and refine estimations over multiple sprints.
What Is Planning Poker?
Planning Poker is a consensus-based Agile estimation technique where team members independently assign story points to backlog items before discussing and finalizing estimates. This process reduces bias, encourages discussion, and helps teams arrive at more accurate estimates.
Why Use Planning Poker?
- Improves estimation accuracy through collaborative input.
- Reduces bias by hiding votes until all participants have estimated.
- Enhances team alignment by encouraging discussion on complexity.
- Works for remote and in-person teams using digital tools like Planning Poker Agility.
Step-by-Step Guide to Introducing Planning Poker
1. Explain the Concept and Benefits
Before diving into an estimation session, ensure your team understands why Planning Poker is beneficial. Highlight how it:
- Helps establish a shared understanding of story complexity.
- Encourages discussion, leading to better refinement of work items.
- Provides relative estimations instead of absolute time-based estimates.
2. Choose an Estimation Scale
Planning Poker typically uses the Fibonacci sequence (1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, etc.) as an estimation scale. However, your team can also use:
- T-Shirt Sizes (S, M, L, XL)
- Powers of 2 (1, 2, 4, 8, 16)
- Custom values tailored to your workflow
The Fibonacci scale is recommended because the increasing gaps between numbers help account for uncertainty in larger tasks.
3. Establish a Baseline for Relative Estimating
A key challenge for teams new to Planning Poker is establishing a reference point for estimation. Here’s how to do it effectively:
- Select a few past completed stories and assign a baseline value (e.g., a simple task as a 2, a medium task as a 5, a complex one as an 8).
- Compare new backlog items against these baselines.
- Over multiple sprints, refine these baselines as your team gains more experience estimating consistently.
4. Run Your First Planning Poker Session
Once your team understands the fundamentals, facilitate an initial Planning Poker session:
- Select a Jira issue and briefly describe it.
- Team members privately choose a story point value.
- Everyone reveals their estimate simultaneously.
- If estimates vary significantly, discuss the reasoning behind each estimate.
- Reach a consensus before moving on to the next issue.
For seamless Jira integration, you can use Planning Poker Agility, which allows your team to estimate directly within Jira.
5. Refine Estimates Over Multiple Sprints
One of the most common questions when introducing Planning Poker is how to determine what a specific story point (e.g., 5 points) actually represents. The best way to refine this is:
- Track velocity over a few sprints to see how much work gets completed.
- Identify patterns in estimates and adjust baselines accordingly.
- Use team retrospectives to reflect on estimation accuracy and improve future sessions.
6. Address Common Team Concerns
When rolling out Planning Poker, teams may have concerns like:
- “Isn’t this just guessing?” → No, it’s about relative estimation, comparing tasks rather than predicting exact effort.
- “Why not estimate in hours?” → Story points focus on effort and complexity rather than exact time, allowing flexibility.
- “What if we don’t agree?” → That’s exactly why Planning Poker works! Discussion resolves discrepancies and aligns expectations.
7. Keep Iterating and Improving
Like any Agile practice, Planning Poker improves over time. Encourage your team to:
- Review past estimations and compare them with actual work completed.
- Refine baselines regularly to improve estimation consistency.
- Use retrospectives to optimize the estimation process.
Final Thoughts
Introducing Planning Poker to your Agile team requires clear communication, structured implementation, and continuous refinement. By establishing a baseline for relative estimating and refining it over several sprints, your team will develop more accurate, consistent, and effective estimations.
To streamline the process, try Planning Poker Agility, which integrates directly into Jira for a seamless estimation experience.