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Why Do Agile Teams Play Poker Planning?
Poker Planning Scrum ScrumMaster Sprint Planning
What are the benefits of Poker Planning in Agile teams?
I’m trying to improve our Agile practices and I hear that Agile teams use Poker Planning during sprint planning but before I try and sell it to my team I’d like to hear from others on their experiences. I’m particularly interested in the key benefits it will bring and if they are any hints and tips for ScrumMasters when introducing this practice.
The purpose of Planning Poker (tends to be described as planning poker rather than poker planning) is to try and get more accurate story estimates.
Agile teams that use Planning Poker are more likely to achieve this because it promotes the team rather than any one individual. It gives all team members a voice, which ensures the more introverted team members are heard. This means the dominant personalities in the team, or those with most experience do not influence others with their sizing opinions.
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I use Planning Poker with my Scrum team, without it there tends to be far less discussion during sprint planning. With Planning Poker the more introverted team members can no longer just agree with the estimates given by the more senior members in the team, everyone needs to understand the story requirements if all team members are to size. This means the Product Owner tends to be asked more questions about the acceptance criteria as every team member strives to understand the story.
ScrumMasters have to ensure that team members don’t inadvertently give their sizing thoughts away to others in the team when discussing the story as this could influence others. Remember, Planning Poker is a private vote, cards are kept face down until all team members (note: the Product Owners and ScrumMaster do not vote as they will not be doing the work!) have selected a card, and then everyone reveals their size.
The biggers benefit of Planning Poker becomes evident now as this is the discussion phase of estimation. ScrumMasters should look for the estimates that are out of line with the majority of the team and ask the team member to explain what their thoughts were when they came up with the estimate. As a ScrumMaster myself I often ask team members to list the tasks they were thinking of when they came up with the estimate. This helps the other team members follow their thought process. You may find that the team member is out of line with the rest of the team because:
After the discussion the team will need to resize, repeat until a consensus if found.
Planning poker makes visible the teams thoughts and assumptions, promoting discussion and bringing the benefit of a more educated team estimate. This really is a great way to estimate as you ensure you get all the team involved. After all, why would you want just one or two people to provide an estimate when you can get a true team estimate through playing planning poker!
If you haven’t got any planning poker cards you can buy special Agile Planning Poker cards by searching online
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