Planning Poker is a technique often used in Scrum teams for estimation.
Equipment
Each team member is given a copy of a set of cards, typically the set of cards show the Fibonacci Sequence starting with a zero (0, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, 89) or a sequence with a similar progression such as binary numbers (1, 2, 4, 8). Sequences such as these can help the team understand that as the complexity of a task grows, the ability to assign a precise number is reduced. To further emphasise the lack of precision with higher complexity tasks, some Planning Poker decks round the higher values so that they visibly appear less specific, such as by replacing 21, 34, 55, 89 with 20, 40, 60, 100.
The team may also have a timer to set a timebox for each estimation, ensuring that the process can be completed within a defined time.
Process
For each task or story that needs estimating:
- The Product Owner gives a short overview and answers any questions from the team.
- Within the short timebox, if given, the team members select, secretly to avoid bias, from their set of cards, a value that reflects the complexity of work to be done, this could be in terms of whichever metric that the team has chosen to base their estimates, usually in ‘Story Points’ or days to complete.
- At the same time, all team members show their chosen card to the rest of the team.
- Team members with comparatively high or low estimates are given an opportunity to justify their decision and the team then re-estimate. This can be repeated until a consensus is achieved or negotiated.