Question 1

Prepare your stories

Accepted Answer

Before the session, ensure all user stories are well-written with clear acceptance criteria. Vague stories lead to imprecise estimates.

Question 2

Understand the scale

Accepted Answer

Use the Fibonacci sequence (1, 2, 3, 5, 8...) to represent relative effort. Larger numbers indicate increasing complexity, not exact time.

Question 3

Vote independently

Accepted Answer

Each participant should vote based on their own assessment, without influence from others. This avoids bias and promotes productive discussions.

Question 4

Discuss discrepancies

Accepted Answer

When votes differ significantly, discuss the reasons. This reveals different assumptions and leads to better understanding of the story.

Question 5

Reach consensus

Accepted Answer

Continue voting until the team reaches consensus. The goal is not to be right, but to estimate work realistically.

Question 6

What is Agile Planning Poker?

Accepted Answer

Planning Poker is an agile consensus-based technique for estimating effort or relative size of user stories in software development. Team members make estimates by playing numbered cards face-down, then reveal them simultaneously to avoid bias.

Question 7

How does Planning Poker work?

Accepted Answer

1. Product Owner presents a user story. 2. Team discusses requirements and asks questions. 3. Each member selects a card representing their estimate. 4. Cards are revealed at the same time. 5. Discuss differences and re-estimate if needed.

Question 8

What are the benefits of Planning Poker?

Accepted Answer

Promotes team collaboration, reduces anchoring bias, encourages discussion of requirements, provides more accurate estimates, and creates a fun, engaging estimation process.

Question 9

What are the best practices for Planning Poker?

Accepted Answer

Keep sessions short (15-30 minutes per story), use Fibonacci sequence for estimates, include all team members, discuss outliers openly, and use relative sizing rather than absolute time estimates.

Planning Poker

Planning Poker Guidelines

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Planning Poker FAQ