Planning poker: The all-in strategy for Agile estimation
Mofassel Hosain
December 19th, 2022 • 4 min read
Summary
While it sounds like a popular card game, planning poker is actually an Agile estimation method. Agile teams use planning poker to estimate the amount of effort it takes to complete a user story. Learn more about the planning poker process and how this technique can help your Agile team create more accurate estimations.
What is planning poker?
Planning poker is an estimation method that helps your Agile team project the amount of effort one user story in a product backlog could take to complete. Often used in Agile project management methodologies, it’s sometimes referred to as “Scrum poker” or “pointing poker.” The “poker” aspect of the name refers to the cards that each team member uses during the process.
When to have a planning poker session
Planning poker typically occurs right before the sprint planning process, so the product manager or Scrum master can get an accurate sense of work before scheduling out a sprint. You can use this estimation method once per sprint—since items are continually added to a product or sprint backlog, you should have a constant supply of backlog items to pull into each sprint.If you only have a small amount of user stories to discuss in your product backlog, you can combine this session onto the end of a daily standup meeting since all team members are already present.
Plan your sprint with a work management tool
Keep your Agile team on the same page by using a work management tool. Asana helps you plan and organize your Agile projects in a tool that’s flexible and collaborative. Whether your team works in a Kanban board or a more linear timeline, Asana has the features to help your Agile team build quickly.
