What is the Planning Poker template?
Eliminate common roadblocks you face during the estimation process and stop bending your mind to predict the level of effort you need to finish a task. Implement a simplified poker game for your team meetings to gauge the number of story points for relevant tasks and break long-term projects into smaller, manageable assignments. Improve the accuracy of your predictions, basing them on your entire team’s input and consensus.
Select the estimation method that could work for your team, choosing between story points, time estimates, or t-shirt sizes. Distribute an identical deck of cards to everybody and start reading and discussing the stories. Allow participants to cast their votes accordingly to their experience and estimates. Keep in mind the final results may vary a lot. Use the Voting feature to let participants cast their votes on appropriate cards according to their experience. Keep in mind the final results may vary.
Invite teammates to further discussions when the estimates differ too much and ask about the reasoning and logic behind their votes. After deliberation ends, estimate again. Repeat the process until your team reaches a consensus and agrees on a single estimate.
What are the benefits of the Planning Poker template?
Thanks to the Planning Poker template, you can:
- Estimate tasks relative to each other through the voting option and build a series of assignments that act as a reference for the upcoming Sprint.
- Lend an equal voice for every person on your team by allowing them to speak up by playing the game and explaining their logic.
- Identify gaps in requirements and take appropriate steps to implement new solutions.
- Allow equal contribution for all team members to feel more committed to the plan and have actual input on it.
- Initiate discussions about how team members estimate tasks and reach a consensus.
How to use the Planning Poker template in a few steps?
- Open the Planning Poker template on a new board or add it to an already existing one.
- Hop on the video call to see and hear everyone during the Planning Poker game.
- Ask the participants of the estimation session to disable the option to show others’ cursors. This action will support you in unbiased voting so that you won’t get influenced by your teams’ votes. Go to User settings to switch off the visibility of the cursors.
- Place the Import zone in the To be estimated column to pull Jira issues directly onto your board. Set the Jira site from which you want to import Jira issues, JQL filter, import limit, and view (random, horizontal, or vertical). Save your changes and click Refresh.
- Agree on your voting method — Fibonacci sequence or t-shirt sizes before casting the votes.
- Start placing Jira issues in the “Estimating” column to conduct the estimation session. Do it one by one. Estimate the issues by enabling the Voting session. Reach a consensus each time the votes differ too much by voting again.
- Place as many Update zones as needed in the “Estimated” column where you can drag and drop your Jira issues. Select the Jira site and action type — adding assignees, updating a field, changing status, or creating a new issue. Save your settings. Any time you drop a Jira ticket to a chosen zone, it will automatically update, both on Whiteboards and Jira.
