What is Poker Planning?

Poker planning is also called a planning poker and is an agile estimate and planning technique based on consensus. It is mainly used by the agile software development team to estimate the work, but can be applied to any area work. The technique was generalized in 2002 by James Grenning, and later became widely known in the book "Agile Estimating and Planning" by Mike Corn.

In the poker planning, the team members make an estimate on the table instead of speaking aloud. The card will be released at the same time so that the first quote does not affect other quotes. In this way, all participants can think voluntarily, propose and discuss the complexity of tasks, size, and necessary efforts, and discuss them.

The number of the cards usually does not directly indicate the number of days and time, but represents an abstract scale point such as Fibonacci sequence (0, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21). This row promotes consensus on sizes and difficulty, without being caught up in the inconvenience of predicting the accurate time.

Theory Behind Poker Planning

The theory behind planning poker and consensus estimated methods, especially in agile software development, combines several psychological and methodological principles in order to improve the accuracy and efficiency of project tasks. It is a thing. The main theoretical base is as follows:

Wideband Delphi Technique Adaptation

The planning poker is a variation of the Delfi Law, especially the Wide Band Delpai method developed by Barry Boehm and others in the 1970s. The Delfi Law is a structured communication technique and was originally developed as a systematic and interactive prediction method that depends on expert panels. Experts answer the questionnaire twice or more times. After each round, the facilitator summarizes the expert prediction and reason anonymously. The goal is to achieve the convergence of opinions on prediction. Planning poker incorporates such a mechanism that repeats such feedback and consensus, but is a more interactive and attractive method. < SPAN> Poker Planning is also called a planning poker and is a consensu s-based agile estimate and planning technique. It is mainly used by the agile software development team to estimate the work, but can be applied to any area work. The technique was generalized in 2002 by James Grenning, and later became widely known in the book "Agile Estimating and Planning" by Mike Corn.

Anchoring Effect Avoidance

In the poker planning, the team members make an estimate on the table instead of speaking aloud. The card will be released at the same time so that the first quote does not affect other quotes. In this way, all participants can think voluntarily, propose and discuss the complexity of tasks, size, and necessary efforts, and discuss them.

Group Consensus

The number of the cards usually does not directly indicate the number of days and time, but represents an abstract scale point such as Fibonacci sequence (0, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21). This row promotes consensus on sizes and difficulty, without being caught up in the inconvenience of predicting the accurate time.

Fibonacci Sequence and Non-linear Scaling

The theory behind planning poker and consensus estimated methods, especially in agile software development, combines several psychological and methodological principles in order to improve the accuracy and efficiency of project tasks. It is a thing. The main theoretical base is as follows:

Engagement and Team Dynamics

The planning poker is a variation of the Delfi Law, especially the Wide Band Delpai method developed by Barry Boehm and others in the 1970s. The Delfi Law is a structured communication technique and was originally developed as a systematic and interactive prediction method that depends on expert panels. Experts answer the questionnaire twice or more times. After each round, the facilitator summarizes the expert prediction and reason anonymously. The goal is to achieve the convergence of opinions on prediction. Planning poker incorporates such a mechanism that repeats such feedback and consensus, but is a more interactive and attractive method. Poker planning is also called a planning poker, and is an agile estimate and planning technique based on consensus. It is mainly used by the agile software development team to estimate the work, but can be applied to any area work. The technique was generalized in 2002 by James Grenning, and later became widely known in the book "Agile Estimating and Planning" by Mike Corn.

Iterative Re-Estimation

In the poker planning, the team members make an estimate on the table instead of speaking aloud. The card will be released at the same time so that the first quote does not affect other quotes. In this way, all participants can think voluntarily, propose and discuss the complexity of tasks, size, and necessary efforts, and discuss them.

How to play Poker Planning?

The number of the cards usually does not directly indicate the number of days and time, but represents an abstract scale point such as Fibonacci sequence (0, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21). This row promotes consensus on sizes and difficulty, without being caught up in the inconvenience of predicting the accurate time.

Preconditions

The theory behind planning poker and consensus estimated methods, especially in agile software development, combines several psychological and methodological principles to improve the accuracy and efficiency of project tasks. It is a thing. The main theoretical base is as follows:

The planning poker is a variation of the Delfi Law, especially the Wide Band Delfi method developed by Barry Boehm and others in the 1970s. The Delfi Law is a structured communication technique and was originally developed as a systematic and interactive prediction method that depends on expert panels. Experts answer the questionnaire twice or more times. After each round, the facilitator summarizes the expert prediction and reason anonymously. The goal is to achieve the convergence of opinions on prediction. Planning poker incorporates such a mechanism that repeats such feedback and consensus, but is a more interactive and attractive method.

In psychology, the anchoring effect is a cognitive bias that indicates the tendency of a specific reference point or an anchor. In the context of the quote, if one of the team members speaks earlier than the other members, it may be unreasonably affected by the estimates of other members. Planning poker aims to reduce this bias and promote a more independent estimate by team members selecting quotes at the same time.

Inputs

The theory here is based on the idea that the wisdom of the group surpasses the accuracy of individual judgment. The team talks about individual estimates and its grounds not only enlarges their understanding, but also uses various perspectives and knowledge in the team to converge to more accurate quotes.

It is intentional to use the Fibonacci sequence (or other nonlinque number columns) as the point value of the planning portal card. This reflects the understanding that tasks increase as the size and range of tasks increases the uncertainty and complexity of tasks to nonlinears. This no n-linear scaling is a linear estimation that the team is more appropriate for the team to consider the uncertainties i n-house in larg e-scale tasks, and if the size of the task is doubled, the necessary effort will be doubled. Useful to avoid pitfalls.

Step by Step Process

1. Planning poker gamification approach increases the awareness of the team. Change the estimated process from boring work to more dynamic and fun activities. Such a greater awareness of participation leads to a more thoughtful estimate and a strong commitment to the resulting agreement.
2. If there is a process to discuss quotation, especially if there is a large opening between the estimates, the team can deepen the understanding and converge to a more accurate estimate. This repetitive approach is the basis of agile methods that emphasize adaptation and improvement by feedback.
3. Here, we will explain in detail how planning pokers are performed, such as prerequisites, input, step by step processes, output, and pos t-conditions.
4. Definition of user story or tasks: All quotes should be clearly defined and listed. Usually, these are user stories that explain the functions from the user's point of view.
5. Team availability: All team members, such as developers, testers, and sometimes designers, can participate.
6. Knowledge and Understanding: Team members should have a basic understanding of the estimated tasks and potential complexity.
7. Buck log items: List of all user stories, features, and tasks that require an estimate.

Outputs

Planning Poker Card: A number of cards is usually drawn with one set of cards for each participant. The most common order is to reflect the unique uncertainty in quotes for larger items in accordance with the number of Fibonacciweight (eg, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21).

The facilitator (often the scrummaster or project manager) introduces the estimated items.

Post Conditions

The team discusses the item to make sure that everyone understands the estimate. Here, a clear explanation is given, but detailed discussions can be avoided to keep the process efficient.

Each participant selects a card that represents the complexity, effort, or scale estimate of the item. The choice is quietly performed so that it does not affect others.

At the signal of the facilitator, all participants will release the card at the same time.

Variations and Alternatives to Poker Planning

If the estimate has a large variation, the members with the highest estimate and the lowest members will explain why. The purpose is not to persuade others, but to share the viewpoint.

Types of Poker Planning

After the discussion, make an estimate again. Repeat step 3 to 5, until the team reaches consensus or the facilitator decides to converge to the most reasonable estimate.

Once the consensus is obtained, the estimate is recorded, and the team goes on to the following items.

Estimated items: Each discussed item has an agreed estimate, and the team promises it.

Alternatives to Poker Planning in Agile

Understanding: In this process, all team members have the same understanding of the range and complexity of the task.

Priority: All items are estimated, and product owners and project managers can prioritize backlogs more effectively, taking into account the relevant effort.

Planning: Estimated is used for sprint planning and project planning, determining what can be achieved in the next work period.

Reflection and Adjustment: The team can look back on the accuracy of the estimate with retrospective and adjust the estimated process based on what they have learned.

Traditional planning poker approaches have variations, and there are several alternatives that can be feasible for agile estimates and planning. These variations and alternatives correspond to different team power, complexity of projects, and preferences, and provide a flexible way to approach the estimated process.

Online Planning Poker: With the increase in distributed teams, online tools and apps for remotely planning poker sessions have become widespread. These digital platforms often provide additional functions such as automatic average estimation, timer, and agile project management tools.

Poker Planning and Leader/Managers Interpretations

T-shirt size: Instead of numerical values, use the T-shirt size (XS, S, M, L, XL, XXL) to estimate the relative size and complexity of the task. This method is suitable when the granularity is small and requires an estimate of the early stage or a quick and intuitive evaluation.

What They Should Do

Dot voting: Strictly speaking, it is not a type of planning poker, but dot voting can be used for similar consensus. Team members vote for items and features that indicate priority and complexity using a limited number of "dots". This method is to grasp the overall opinion rather than an estimate of ma n-hours.

In this method, sometimes called the estimation of affinity: silent glowing, the items are divided into categories (often based on complexity and effort) without team members first. Discussions and adjustments are performed after all items are placed. This method is convenient for quickly classifying a large number of items in a rough order.

Bucket system: This is a quick and larg e-scale estimate method, and tasks are classified into a "bucket" or category defined in advance based on its estimated scale. Each bucket represents a different level of labor and complexity. This is an effective way to handle larg e-scale backlogs in a relatively short time.

Wide band Delfai: A repeated approach, including a series of rounds that team members submit estimates individually and discuss the estimates as a group. After the discussion, submit an individual estimate again and repeat this process until the consensus is obtained. This method emphasizes the opinions of experts and structured feedback.

Delpi: The method is similar to a wide band Delfai, but is often implemented anonymously, which is managed by a facilitator and has an estimate and feedback round. It is especially effective when the complicated and uncertain task is more important than the entire team's opinion.

Comparative estimate: Rather than estimating tasks individually, we evaluate relative complexity and effort compared to tasks that have been completed in the past. It is especially effective for mature teams with the history of projects documented to reflect the estimates by utilizing past data.

What They Should Not Do

Each of these methods has its own advantages, and may or may not be suitable for project requirements, team composition, specific issues facing during estimates. The agile team often tests a variety of methods to find the most suitable method for the current needs, and sometimes to create a custom approach that maximizes estimation efficiency and accuracy. Sometimes it is also combined.

It is very important for leaders and managers to interpret the results of the planning poker and to act appropriately in order to foster a productive, transparent and cooperative environment.

Understanding quotes: Recognizes that quotes are the best estimates of the team based on the current understanding. Leaders should strive to understand the reasons behind the numbers, especially for items that vary or uncertainty.

Promote discussion: If the estimates are very different, promote a healthy discussion and clarify the reasons behind a different perspective. This allows you to obtain valuable insights for potential risks, dependence, and scope misunderstandings.

Respect the team's expertise: acknowledge that the most suitable for estimating the necessary effort is that you are the team members you do. Leaders should trust the team's judgment, support their decisions, and foster their ownership and accountability.

The Role of Scrum Master or Agile Coach at Poker Planning

Estimation is not a goal setting, but for planning: Estimation must be a guideline for the plan, and it must be useful for prioritizing work. You should not use it as a strict goal or deadline. This leads to hurrying up work, having technical debt, and reducing morale.

Groupthink

Adjusted based on feedback and results: Improve future estimates with completed work as benchmarks. If the task time is always longer or shorter than the estimate, explore the reason and adjust the planning process accordingly.

Anchoring

Support and resource provision: If the estimate is more complicated or more tim e-consuming than the initial consideration, the leader provides additional resources, adjusts the timeline, and ranks work. You should consider attaching.

Over-analysis

Do not reject quotes: Leaders should avoid rejection or arbitrarily reducing quotes. This suggests that you do not respect the trust of the team.

Dominating Participants

Do not use quotes as performance indicators: quotes are planned tools and do not measure personal performance. Such usage promotes underestimation and loses honesty.

Fatigue and Boredom

Do not ignore the discrepancy: If there is a big discrepancy in the estimate, it may show a lack of understanding and views on the complexity of the task. Ignoring these differences will miss clarification and team adjustments.

Estimation Variability

No pressure to lower the estimate: Pressure to the team to lower the estimate according to the schedule and budget that is caught in the prejudice can cause unrealistic planning, quality problems, and burnout syndrome.

Underestimation of Complexity

Do not neglect the process: Estimate processes are as important as the results. This is a chance to identify team involvement, understand scope, and identify risks. Leaders must not rush the process or treat them as mere formal ones.

Disengagement

Scrummasters and agile coaches play an extremely important role as a facilitator for planning poker sessions, guaranteeing smooth, comprehensive, and effective processes. Scrummasters and agile coaches must balance the structured process and maintain an open and cooperative team environment. Paying these points can create a more accurate quote and foster a positive and productive atmosphere that leads to successful agile projects.

Consistency in Estimation

Pay attention to signs that the team may match the estimates of the most loud and oldest members without sufficient discussions. Encourage independent thoughts so that you can hear all voices. The opposition is evaluated and promotes an environment where it is considered. Use anonymous voting as needed to reduce bias.

Feedback Loops

Note that the team tends to fix it to the initial estimate presented. This can distort the estimated process. To avoid anchoring, encourage team members to think independently before announcing their quotes at the same time.

Cultural and Remote Work Challenges

The team spends a lot of time in discussing one user story and tasks, and recognizes that it has fallen into analytical paralysis. Set the time limit for discussions for each item. If it is difficult to obtain a consensus, we propose that the items should be further subdivided or to put the item aside to get additional information.

Training and Education

Note that certain team members can monopolize conversations and have an excessive effect on estimates. By having a quiet team member talk about his thoughts or giving the dominant remarks, we will secure a balanced participation.

Avoiding Burnout

It should be noted that the team's energy level, especially lon g-time estimation sessions, may be in a hurry or careless. Keep the session at an attractive and appropriate pace. Consider dividing long sessions into short sessions in order to maintain concentration and energy.

Tool and Technique Appropriateness

If there is a big difference in the estimate, pay attention because you may be misunderstanding the range of tasks and complexity. By promoting discussions and clarifying the reasons for different estimates, the team will help the team to reach a better understanding and identify information that is lacking.

Emotional Intelligence

Care must be taken if the estimate is consistently low, as it may underestimate complexity or overlook potential risks. Consider the potential risks and unknowns of each task, and encourage them to discuss. Estimate with reference to past data and helpful tasks.

Relationship Between Poker Planning and Sprint Planning

Pay attention to signs of a decrease in Team Members and lack of participation, which can affect the quality of the estimated process. Ask directly, change the role of facilitation, use attractive tools and techniques to make the process more interactive, and all team members participate.

Monitor the understanding and application method of the team members estimated units (such as story points, ideal days, etc.). Contradiction can lead to a lo w-ranging estimate. Perform regular proofreading and remind the team the meaning of the estimated unit used. To ensure a common understanding, use a reference story or establish a base line estimate.

In order to improve and improve the estimation process, the importance of feedback on completed work is recognized. Reflect to discuss the accuracy of the estimate and the reality of the task completion. This feedback is used to adjust the quote session in the future and improve accuracy over time.

Recognize that cultural differences and remote work environments will impact communication and participation in planning poker sessions. Adopt tools and practices that support clear communication and participation across diverse teams. Give remote team members equal opportunity to participate and fully integrate them into the sessions.

Relationship Between Poker Planning and MVP, MMF

Understand that new team members and those unfamiliar with agile practices will not be familiar with the concept and purpose of planning poker. Provide training and education on the value and process of planning poker. Ensure that all team members understand how to participate effectively and why it is beneficial.

Planning poker sessions, especially if they are long or frequent, can lead to team fatigue and burnout. Schedule estimation sessions carefully and make them as efficient as possible. Include breaks and make sessions engaging to minimize fatigue.

Be aware that planning poker is not optimal for every team or every type of estimation. Determine if planning poker is the most effective method for your team. Be open to modifying the process or exploring alternative methods to fit the needs of your team and the complexity of the project.

Facilitators must be sensitive to the team's dynamics, mood, and energy levels and recognize when to push forward, take a break, and address underlying issues. Use emotional intelligence to effectively manage sessions to ensure they remain productive, respectful, and inclusive. Address any signs of dissatisfaction or conflict promptly and constructively.

Planning poker and sprint planning are two distinct but interrelated elements of Agile and Scrum methodologies, each serving a specific purpose in planning and executing work in an Agile team.

Poker Planning and Cultural Change

Sequential: Planning poker is usually performed before sprint planning. The estimates generated from planning poker are used in sprint planning to make informed decisions about what the team can complete in the next sprint.

Promotes Collaboration and Team Cohesion

Informative: Effort estimates derived from planning poker provide critical input to the sprint planning process. Without these estimates, teams have a hard time making realistic commitments to the sprint.

Encourages Transparency and Trust

Enhanced collaboration: Both planning poker and sprint planning are collaborative efforts that involve the entire team. Planning poker brings consensus to estimates that incorporate diverse perspectives and expertise, resulting in more accurate planning during sprint planning sessions.

Facilitates Continuous Improvement

The relationship between planning poker, MVP, and MMF is characterized by a mutual focus on delivering value efficiently and effectively. Planning poker provides a structured approach to estimating and prioritizing work, which is crucial to defining and refining the MVP and MMF. This synergy supports the rapid iterative development that agile teams strive for, allowing them to respond flexibly and precisely to user needs and market demands.

Democratizes Decision-Making

Prioritization and Estimation Planning poker directly supports the development of MVPs and MMFs by providing a mechanism to estimate the effort required for each feature or story. These estimates help determine which features should be prioritized based on their value and the effort required, allowing the team to focus on delivering the MVP or MMF efficiently.

Enhances Focus on Customer Value

Resource Allocation: Planning Poker helps the team make resource allocation decisions by estimating the complexity and effort required for each feature. This ensures that the development of the MVP or MMF is feasible within the given constraints and schedule.

Supports Risk Management and Adaptability

Feedback Loop: The development of an MVP or MMF is iterative, requiring constant feedback and adjustments. Planning Poker estimates improve over time as the team gains a better understanding of the work required and user feedback on the MVP or MMF. This continuous improvement process helps to respond to changes quickly and effectively.

Poker Planning and CXO Suite

Incremental Delivery: Both Planning Poker and the MVP/MMF concepts emphasize incremental delivery. Planning Poker breaks down development tasks into manageable chunks, making them easier to estimate and prioritize, which aligns with the incremental delivery approach of MVPs and MMFs.

When to Use Planning Poker in the CXO Suite

Effective use of planning poker can incorporate agile principles into everyday work, which triggers the culture of the organization. From personal achievements to the cooperation of the team, from the command order to the group decisions, and the focus from fixed planning to adaptive processes. Such a shift will take time to change the culture of the organization over time and turn into an organization that is more agile, resilient, valuable to customers.

In Planning Poker, team members need to open up the way of thinking about their work. Such a cooperative decision process promotes a culture that removes the silo and share responsibility. Eventually, the team will be tied with a stronger bond and will deepen each other's strengths and weaknesses.

By participating in planning poker, team members can show their thinking processes and concerns to other members. Opening in this way will focus on feedback and create an environment that is okay to give different opinions. Such transparency builds trust among team members, and trust is the cornerstone of positive organizational culture. The fact that decisio n-making is made in a group and respect for individual perspectives reassures everyone.

The combination of planning poker repetition and agile retrospective allows the team to continue to look back on estimation accuracy and process efficiency. This look is an opportunity to identify the area to be improved. Culture that emphasizes continuous improvement is a culture with adaptability and recovery. The team becomes efficient and effective over time, promoting the success of the organization.

Where Planning Poker Can Increase Effectiveness and Efficiency

In Planning Poker, all involved team members participate in the estimate process. In this way, democratization of decisio n-making enhances the power of individuals and consider various perspectives. Team members feel that their opinions are being evaluated, and they work more motivated. This can lead to a cultural shift that enhances the comprehensive system and enhancing the entire organization. Effectively using < SPAN> planning poker can incorporate agile principles into everyday work, which triggers the culture of the organization. From personal achievements to the cooperation of the team, from the command order to the group decisions, and the focus from fixed planning to adaptive processes. Such a shift will take time to change the culture of the organization over time and turn into an organization that is more agile, resilient, valuable to customers.

In Planning Poker, team members need to open up the way of thinking about their work. Such a cooperative decision process promotes a culture that removes the silo and share responsibility. Eventually, the team will be tied with a stronger bond and will deepen each other's strengths and weaknesses.

By participating in planning poker, team members can show their thinking processes and concerns to other members. Opening in this way will focus on feedback and create an environment that is okay to give different opinions. Such transparency builds trust among team members, and trust is the cornerstone of positive organizational culture. The fact that decisio n-making is made in a group and respect for individual perspectives reassures everyone.

The combination of planning poker repetition and agile retrospective allows the team to continue to look back on estimation accuracy and process efficiency. This look is an opportunity to identify the area to be improved. Culture that emphasizes continuous improvement is a culture with adaptability and recovery. The team becomes efficient and effective over time, promoting the success of the organization.

Implementation Considerations

In Planning Poker, all involved team members participate in the estimate process. In this way, democratization of decisio n-making enhances the power of individuals and consider various perspectives. Team members feel that their opinions are being evaluated, and they work more motivated. This can lead to a cultural shift that enhances the comprehensive system and enhancing the entire organization. Effective use of planning poker can incorporate agile principles into everyday work, which triggers the culture of the organization. The focus is shifted from individual achievements to the cooperation of the team, from the command order to the group decisions, and from the fixed plan to the adaptive process. Such a shift will take time to change the culture of the organization over time and turn into an organization that is more agile, resilient, valuable to customers.

In Planning Poker, team members need to open up the way of thinking about their work. Such a cooperative decision process promotes a culture that removes the silo and share responsibility. Eventually, the team will be tied with a stronger bond and will deepen each other's strengths and weaknesses.

By participating in planning poker, team members can show their thinking processes and concerns to other members. Opening in this way will focus on feedback and create an environment that is okay to give different opinions. Such transparency builds trust among team members, and trust is the cornerstone of positive organizational culture. The fact that decisio n-making is made in a group and respect for individual perspectives reassures everyone.

The combination of planning poker repetition and agile retrospective allows the team to continue to look back on estimation accuracy and process efficiency. This look is an opportunity to identify the area to be improved. Culture that emphasizes continuous improvement is a culture with adaptability and recovery. The team becomes efficient and effective over time, promoting the success of the organization.

Conclusion

In Planning Poker, all involved team members participate in the estimate process. In this way, democratization of decisio n-making enhances the power of individuals and consider various perspectives. Team members feel that their opinions are being evaluated, and they work more motivated. This may lead to a cultural shift that enhances the comprehensive system and enhancing the entire organization.

The Definitive Guide to Planning Poker - Master Agile Estimation Techniques in 2024

Estimation discussions often consider user needs and how effectively a feature or task meets those needs. This helps keep the focus on delivering customer value. Nurturing a customer-centric culture helps organizations stay responsive to changing user needs, fostering long-term success and adaptability in a competitive marketplace.

1. Introduction to Planning Poker

Planning Poker allows teams to identify complex or poorly understood tasks that may pose risks to the project. Recognizing these risks early allows teams to revise plans or ask for further clarification. Organizational cultures that are proactive about risk management and open to change are better positioned to navigate uncertainty and capitalize on new opportunities.

Incorporating Planning Poker into the CXO suite (Chief Experience Officers and other C-level executives) can significantly enhance decision-making processes, strategy development, and resource allocation. Here is how and when to use Planning Poker effectively at the executive level:

Strategic Planning and Prioritization When setting strategic priorities and goals, Planning Poker can be used to evaluate the relative importance and required resources of various initiatives. This collaborative approach allows for consensus decision-making across the executive team.

2. How Planning Poker Works

Budget Allocation: During budget planning meetings, Planning Poker helps assess the effort and resources required by department and project. This allows for more effective budget allocation and directs budgets to higher-value projects.

1. Innovation and Product Development When deciding on new products, services, and innovative initiatives, Planning Poker can facilitate discussions on the potential impact and effort required. This allows for prioritization of projects that are aligned with the organization's strategic goals and customer needs.
2. Risk Management: During sessions focused on risk identification and mitigation, Planning Poker can be used to measure the severity and likelihood of potential risks, helping executives prioritize risk management and allocate resources to key areas.
3. Cross-functional Alignment: By involving leaders from different departments in planning poker sessions, organizations can ensure alignment across departments. Such alignment is essential to efficiently and effectively execute strategic initiatives.
4. Resource Optimization Planning Poker helps you make decisions to optimally allocate human and financial resources to achieve strategic goals. This is especially useful in environments where resources are limited and their effectiveness must be maximized.
5. Faster Decision-Making: Planning Poker's structured yet flexible nature streamlines the executive-level decision-making process, reducing time spent in meetings and accelerating the speed of strategic decision-making.
6. Increase Strategic Agility: Regular use of Planning Poker to review priorities and resource allocations allows CXO teams to respond nimbly to market shifts, competitive pressures, and internal changes, ensuring the organization stays on track to achieve its strategic goals.

Planning Poker has traditionally been used to estimate agile development teams, but it should be adapted for strategic use in the CXO suite. This may require customizing the methodology to focus on strategic initiatives rather than development tasks.

Having a skilled facilitator (such as an agile coach) ensures that productive discussions are held and that the unique perspectives of all executives are considered.

3. Benefits of Using Planning Poker

Incorporating planning poker into high-level decision-making processes requires a cultural shift in leadership teams to value transparency, collaboration, and agility. This shift takes time and requires commitment from all CXO suite members.

1. Leveraging planning poker in these circumstances can help executive teams increase their effectiveness and efficiency, make more informed decisions that align with organizational goals, and maximize the value delivered from strategic initiatives.
2. Planning poker is a fun and interactive way to involve team members in the estimation process. This method helps build a shared understanding of the work and its complexities among team members.
3. Planning poker has become an essential tool for agile practitioners. Whether you are new to agile methodologies or a seasoned scrum master, understanding and effectively implementing planning poker can significantly improve your team's estimation accuracy, leading to overall project success. This comprehensive guide will show you everything you need to know about planning poker, from basic concepts to advanced techniques and best practices.
4. Planning poker is also called a scrum poker and is an estimate based on consensus used in agile software development. It was first explained by James Grenning in 2002 and later generalized in Agile Estimating and Planning by Mike Cohn.
5. The main purpose of the planning poker is to estimate the relative effort and complexity of user stories and tasks in the project. By gathering the wisdom of the team and promoting discussions, planning poker helps create more accurate quotes while promoting collaboration and common understanding.
6. This technique is particularly valuable because it creates an estimate by combining the opinions of experts, team cooperation, and comparative analysis. Unlike the conventional estimate method, planning poker takes into account different perspectives and specialized fields because all team members participate.

4. Common Variations of Planning Poker

Planning poker processes are simple but effective. The steps are explained below:

1. Product owners or facilitators offer user stories and tasks to the team.
2. Team members discuss the story and ask questions to clarify requirements and scope.
3. Each team member personally selects a card that represents his estimate.
4. All team members release the card at the same time.
5. If there is a big discrepancy in the estimate, the team members discuss the reason.

5. Tools and Software for Planning Poker

Repeat step 3-5 until the team reaches the consensus.

1. In planning poker, the fibonacci sequence is usually used for estimation: 0, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 20, 40, 100, 100, 100, 100. Depending on the team, "?"
2. Fibonacci sequence is preferred because it reflects the i n-house uncertainty. The greater the gap between the numbers, the more the quotation person is forced to distinguish the relative size of the item.
3. By introducing a planning poker in the agile process, you can get many benefits:
4. Improving estimation accuracy: By combining multiple perspectives, planning poker often leads to more accurate quotes than individual estimates. Since this process is a collaborative work, you can understand the tasks in front of you more comprehensively.
5. Team collaboration enhancement: This process encourages open discussions and knowledge between team members. This not only improves estimates, but also enhances the unity of the team and share the understanding of the project.

Reduce cognitive biases: Planning Poker helps reduce common biases such as anchoring, groupthink, and the bandwagon effect. At the same time, making estimates public prevents team members from being overly influenced by others' opinions.

6. Best Practices for Effective Planning Poker Sessions

Increase participation: Team members feel more involved in the estimation process, which leads to higher buy-in and commitment. This ownership leads to increased motivation during the project.

1. Improve understanding of requirements: Planning poker discussions often uncover hidden complexities and assumptions in user stories. The result is more refined, well-understood requirements before the project begins.
2. Improve communication: The technique improves communication between developers, testers, and business stakeholders. It provides a structured format for discussing project details and potential challenges.
3. Although the modified Fibonacci sequence is the most common, there are several variations of planning poker:
4. Traditional Fibonacci sequence: Some teams prefer to use the standard Fibonacci numbers (1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, etc.). This provides a finer scale for smaller items, but can be unwieldy for larger estimates.
5. T-shirt sizes: This method uses sizes like XS, S, M, L, XL for estimating. It is especially useful for high-level initial estimates or when working with business teams that are unfamiliar with story points.
6. Powers of two: Using 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, etc., is useful for teams that prefer a wider range of options. This scale allows for clear distinctions between each level and is useful for teams that work with a wide range of task sizes.
7. Three-point estimates: In this variation, you estimate the best-case, worst-case, and most likely scenarios for each item. This method gives a clearer picture of the potential effort and is especially useful for tasks with high uncertainty.
8. Custom scales: Some teams create their own scales based on their specific needs. For example, the scale 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 20, 40, 100 combines elements of Fibonacci and powers of two.
9. Planning Poker can be played with physical cards, but many teams, especially those working remotely, opt for digital solutions. Popular tools include:

7. Planning Poker for Remote Teams

PlanningPoker. live: A web-based tool that can be integrated with popular project management and video conferencing platforms.

1. JIRA: We provide integrated functions that promote planning poker for teams that already use Atla Sian Suite.
2. Trello Power-UPS: Various Trello add-on provides planning poker functions and can estimate directly on Trello boards.
3. Dedicated mobile app: There are applications for iOS and Android devices, so you can hold a planning poker session on the go.
4. Zoom and Microsoft Teams with integrated apps: Currently, many video conference tools provide apps that integrate planning pokers, promoting remote estimation sessions.
5. When choosing a tool, consider ease of use, integration functions with existing project management tools, correspondence to estimates peculiar to teams, and remote collaboration functions.
6. Let's consider the following best practices to make the most of the planning poker session:
7. Sufficient preparation: All stories are properly defined and prepared for product owners to clarify questions. Send a list of estimated items in advance so that team members get used to the story.
8. Set a clear basic rule setting: Discuss the discussion guidelines, time limit, and consensus formation method. For example, if the estimate fits in two adjacent cards, it is a good idea to decide to use the higher estimate without discussing any more.

8. Integrating Planning Poker with Other Agile Practices

Encourage participation: Make sure all the team members can give their opinions and ask questions. Create an environment where everyone is evaluated, regardless of role or experience level.

1. Emphasis on relative sizing: emphasizes that quotes are relative, not absolute time prediction. Encourage team members to consider them with complexity and effort, not time or days.
2. Use a reference story: Have some wel l-understood stories as a benchmark for comparison. These reference stories help adjust the estimates between different sessions and team members.
3. Time Box Discussion: Prevents the prolonged discussion by setting the time limit on each estimated round. The general practice is to limit the first discussion into 2-3 minutes per item.
4. Prerequisite document: Record the assumptions and explanations held during the session for future reference. This is very valuable when reconsidering quotes or sprint planning.
5. Replacement of the facilitator: Consider changing the facilitator among team members. By doing so, you can maintain your consciousness and provide different perspectives about how to operate sessions.
6. Review and adaptation: Regularly verify the effects of planning poker sessions and adapt to the process. Even if a team goes well, another team may not work.

9. Measuring the Success of Planning Poker

With the increase in distributed teams, it is becoming increasingly important to perform planning poker sessions in a remnant. Let me introduce some hints of virtual planning poker:

1. Use video conferences: By looking at the faces of team members, communication and engagement will be improved. If you use tools such as Zoom, Google Meet, and Microsoft Teams, you can communicate while looking at your face.
2. Use digital tools: Use online planning poker platforms that can be integrated with video conference software. Planning poker sessions can be seen in the video conference app, reducing friction at the time of estimation.
3. Establish a clear communication protocol: When a team member wants to speak, asks questions, decide how to show his intention. Chat function, hand function, oral signal, etc.
4. Use screen sharing: Share backlogs and user stories on the screen and maintain everyone's concentration. This allows you to see that all team members are looking at the same information during discussion.
5. Examination of asynchronous estimate: If you are a team that straddles multiple time zones, consider the use of tools that can vote or discussion. This is particularly useful in the early stages of the estimate.
6. Encourage aggressive participation: In remote areas, it tends to be a passive observer depending on the team member. Let's actively encourage all team members to participate by listening to the first ideas about each item.

Use a breakout room: In the case of a large team, we will consider talking with a breakout room with a small number of people before gathering everyone for the final estimate.

Conclusion

Attach a dedicated facilitator: In the case of a remote session, a skilled facilitator is more important to proceed with sessions, manage time, and listen to everyone's voices.

Planning poker does not exist alone. It is most effective to integrate with other agile practices:

Sprint Planning: Use the planning poker to estimate the next sprint item and determine the copying sprint. This estimate helps to determine which item to include in the sprint backlog.

Try Planning Poker today!

Backlog Refinement: Incorporate Planning Poker into your regular backlog building sessions to keep your estimates up to date. This will keep your product backlog prioritized and estimated, and make sprint planning a smoother experience.