Planning Poker Estimation Technique

Planning Poker – An Agile Estimating, Planning and Planning Technique
Planning a project schedule is one of the most important steps in project management. It is important to calculate the effort required to complete a development task. This is simple enough for short projects, as it is easier to plan resources. It is more difficult to plan for long-term projects, but it is essential. It is important because it makes long-term tasks more manageable by breaking them down into shorter-term tasks. It is important to be cautious as an error in estimation could cause a disruption in the flow and progress of long-term projects.
This daunting task of calculating an estimate is a constant struggle for project managers, product managers, and software developers. It is crucial to ensure that estimates are accurate. They must determine the best method for estimating and the timing of calculating it. This is where “planning poker” comes in. James Grenning, in 2002, was the first to give structure and explain this technique. Mike Cohn’s book, “Agile estimation and planning” further explained the technique and made it more popular. It is now one of the most popular methods for agile software development estimation.
What is Planning Poker?
The planning poker method, also known by “scrum poker”, and “pointing poker”, is a gamified tool that development teams use for estimating the effort required to manage project tasks. These estimates are based upon the input of all members and consensus. They are more engaging and precise than other methods. Teams use planning poker cards to help determine the number of story points needed for the relevant tasks.
Planning poker estimation is used to estimate the effort required to manage project management tasks. It is a technique that allows the whole group to come together and reach consensus based on their input. This technique uses a variation of poker, a popular playing card game. This technique uses a common card game to reach consensus based upon input. It is engaging and results in an estimate that is consistently more accurate than other methods.
This technique is used to avoid any influence from other participants. It can sound like a suggestion to the other participants and influence their sizing. This should encourage people to think independently and present their numbers simultaneously. This is achieved by requiring all participants to show their cards simultaneously.
These games can be played using planning poker cards. The cards are assigned numbers, which can be arranged in Fibonacci, or another linear progression. The cards are used for assigning difficulty levels to tasks, which is similar to creating a hierarchy of difficulty. This would allow for better estimation of the effort required.

Poker Meeting Planning
It is important to be clear about who will be consulted in every aspect of project management. This is especially important for poker planning, as it can make or destroy a project from the beginning. The client, or product owner, is the first person to be included in the loop. To curate the product according to client expectations, it is important to fully understand the product owner. Any questions about the desired outcome that would guide product planning can be answered by the product owner. It is essential to include the product owner. The scrum master is the next person you should include. The scrum master is the facilitator of the team. Therefore, the scrum master should be present at all scheduled meetings, including the planning poker sessions. The scrum team members must also be present at the meeting. They are responsible to deliver the project’s deliverables and their input is vital.
How to plan poker
The client (product owner), begins the process by describing a user story. The user story is a simplified description of the project’s requirements. This helps to establish the product that will be developed.
Step 1: Dealing with the cards
The members present at the meeting are given the sequenced cards in linear order. Each member is given at least one card. These cards can be used to estimate the task. To make it easy to distinguish between the amount of resources and effort required for the task, the cards are kept simple with significant jumps in the sequence value. To help create t, the planning poker numbers must have significant gaps.