Poker Planning: Have The Right Estimation Discussions
Poker Planning: Have The Right Estimation Discussions
What is poker planning?
Poker Planning, also known as Scrum Poker, is an estimation and facilitation method for aligning a team on a user story. The practice is most commonly used in software development, where an estimation of the work has to be done.
Why use poker planning estimation?
I use planning poker for the following benefits. Usually, within the team, you have strong characters that could take the stage at any time. This is not a bad thing but it is when we are discussing user stories that are clear, it can become annoying to stop the person to move on with the refinement session.
With poker planning estimation, it is immediately clear where the team is aligned regarding the size and complexitiy of the work and where the team is not aligned.
How to run an online poker planning?
Preparation
Choose the tool you want to use:
The list of user stories
- A list of the user stories you want to refine or estimate.
During
1. Present the user story to the team
Share your screen or add the user stories to the tool you are using. Give the team some time to read on their own or present the user story yourself.
2. Clarify any questions related to the user story
Use some time to clarify any questions that arise in the team. Don't spend too long on the clarifying questions. Try to do a voting as fast as you can.
Imagine spending an hour claifying a user story that is already clear to the whole team. What a waste! 😱
3. Vote
In the tool the team is presented with a series of numbers. The most favorite list of numbers are the fibonaci numbers.
0, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21
The goal is to rate the user story in regards of size and complexity. In the beginning this is a hard thing for the team as they have no reference yet. Tell them it's normal to be lost in the beginning and that later in the session they will start to get a better grasp what to estimate the user story.
In the tool you can see when erveryone is ready. You can then reveal their votes.
4a. We have no consensus in the team
When the votes look something like this you have no agreement in the team regards of estimation. We should keep a discussion here:
| Name | Estimation |
|---|---|
| Jelmar | 3 |
| Margaux | 8 |
| Tim | 8 |
| Levi | 5 |
| Yassir | 13 |
| Emeline | 13 |
We see that Jelmar, Yassir and Emeline are outliers. Let's give them the floor as they have opposing views to see what each party maybe missed.
After we gave them to floor we do another round of voting. If we still have serious outliers give them the floor again and then another round of voting.
If there is still no consensus ask them how we can move forward with this user story. Does it need splitting? Is a Spike needed to learn something more?
4b. We have found a consensus in the team
Where we have 2 different votes we can speak of a consensus within the team. Let's look at an example:
| Name | Estimation |
|---|---|
| Jelmar | 3 |
| Margaux | 3 |
| Tim | 3 |
| Levi | 3 |
| Yassir | 5 |
| Emeline | 5 |
We clearly have alignment within the team. Looking at these votes I would ask the team if they would have an objection for a 3. If they have an objection, give them the floor.
Watch out for an estimation that looks like the following:
| Name | Estimation |
|---|---|
| Jelmar | 3 |
| Margaux | 3 |
| Tim | 8 |
| Levi | 8 |
| Yassir | 5 |
| Emeline | 5 |
Here we don't have a consensus. It looks like it but it isn't. Ask everyone to explain their choice to see if other team members missed.
How to run an in person poker planning?
Preparation
Choose your facilitation material
When running an in person poker planning you will need some materials. Most of the time poker planning cards are used.
You can create your own cards by printing the fibonaci series or t-shirt sizes onto paper and use your creative skills to make your own set of cards.
The list of user stories
- A list of the user stories you want to refine or estimate.
During
There are not that big differences running in person or online. Instead of clicking buttons we will give the signals to the participants when to reveal their votes.
1. Present the user story to the team
You can use a beamer to present the user story to the team or you can print them out. I would go for the beamer option as it gives you the most flexibility when changes need to happen.
2. Clarify any questions related to the user story
Also here give some time to the team to clarify some questions but don't spend too long on it as you could be discussing a user story that is already clear to the team.
3. Vote
Every team member now has a set of cards in front of them. Those cards contain the fibonaci numbers (0, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21)
Give them a minute to think about their vote. After that minute count down from 3, 2, 1, and reveal your votes!
Everyone shows their card towards each other.
You can check out the online steps on what to do with a consensus or when there is no consensus.
When to use planning poker?
Planning poker is most often used during the refinement of the work. It can also be done during Sprint Planning but I recommend to have a fluent Sprint Planning the biggest part of the estimation has already happened.
Who should participate in a poker planning session?
All the team members that will do the work should be in the session. It is also handy when you have someone present that can explain the user stories that will be estimated.
FAQ
What are the poker planning fibonaci numbers?
0, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55. These numbers are used to reflect the size and complexity of a user story.
What are the poker planning t-shirt sizes?
Extra small, small, medium, large, extra large or xs, s, m, l, xl are used to reflect the size and complexity of a user story.
What is the planning poker ideal hours estimation?
Ideal hours is an estimation in hours that it would ideally take to finish a user story.