Poker Planning
1. Introduction (For Clients & Partners)
Our Poker Planning session is a collaborative estimation exercise held after prioritization. During this session, our cross-functional teams discuss each prioritized feature in detail, estimate its complexity and required effort, and build consensus on story points. This transparent process ensures that technical and business expectations are aligned and that sprint goals are set realistically.
2. Who Is Involved
| Role | Involvement | Benefit for You |
|---|---|---|
| Product Manager | Clarifies feature requirements and acceptance criteria during the estimation discussion. | Ensures that business priorities are clearly communicated and understood. |
| Scrum Master / Facilitator | Organizes and moderates the session, ensuring that discussions remain focused and time is managed efficiently. | Promotes a smooth and effective estimation process. |
| Development Team | Actively participates by revealing individual estimates and discussing technical challenges. | Provides realistic insights into effort and resource requirements. |
| QA / Testing Team | Contributes by assessing testing effort and quality implications for each feature. | Helps integrate quality assurance into planning for reliable deliverables. |
| Stakeholders | May occasionally join to provide additional business context or clarify priorities. | Ensures that the estimates reflect both technical feasibility and business value. |
3. Process Flow / Diagram
Below is an overview of the Poker Planning process, using double quotes for Mermaid labels:
- Start with Prioritized Items: The session begins with a review of the prioritized backlog.
- Discuss Details: The team discusses each feature to clarify requirements and potential challenges.
- Reveal Estimates: Using Planning Poker cards, team members independently reveal their estimates.
- Consensus Check: If estimates are consistent, the final estimate is recorded.
- Resolve Discrepancies: If estimates differ, further discussion helps the team reach consensus before moving on.
- Iterate: The process repeats until all prioritized features are estimated.
4. FAQ
Q1: What is the purpose of Poker Planning?
A1: It facilitates collaborative effort estimation for prioritized features, ensuring that both technical and business perspectives are aligned before sprint planning.
Q2: Who participates in the Poker Planning session?
A2: The session involves Product Managers, Scrum Masters, Development Teams, QA/Testing teams, and occasionally Stakeholders.
Q3: How does Poker Planning improve our planning process?
A3: It fosters transparency, clarifies uncertainties, and results in realistic effort estimates that guide sprint planning and resource allocation.
Q4: What happens if consensus is not reached on an estimate?
A4: The team discusses any discrepancies until consensus is reached, or the feature may be broken down into smaller, more manageable tasks for clearer estimation.
5. Next Steps and Additional Resources
- PI Planning Ceremony: Once estimates are finalized, they are integrated into the overall PI Planning session. See our PI Planning Ceremony page for more details.
- Feature Lifecycle Overview: Learn how features progress from estimation to deployment on our Feature Lifecycle page.
- Backlog Prioritization: Review our Prioritization Ceremony page for details on how features are initially prioritized.
- Contact Us: For further questions or urgent concerns, please reach out via contact support or chat with our team on the website.