Planning Poker: An Interactive Technique in Project Estimation
In the realm of project management, particularly within the Agile Scrum methodology, a commonly used technique to estimate effort or relative size of tasks is known as planning poker. The planning poker meaning in Scrum revolves around iterative and collaborative exercises that aim to streamline project timelines and foster better team communication.
The Origin and Structure of Planning Poker
The concept of planning poker, also called “Scrum poker”, was introduced by James Grenning in 2002. It gained widespread recognition after being described in detail by Mike Cohn’s book ‘Agile Estimating and Planning’. Planning poker operates based on a consensus-based estimating technique which aims to eliminate any influences that could prompt biased estimates and ensure input from all team members.
- Deck of Cards: In planning poker, each participant gets a deck of cards with predetermined values. These usually represent the Fibonacci sequence (1, 2, 3, 5, 8…), signifying the exponential uncertainty associated with larger projects. Some decks include items like ‘?’ for uncertain tasks or coffee cup image indicating it’s time for a break.
- Estimate Task Size: The product owner or customer reads out a user story or describes a feature representing the task at hand. Each member contemplates the task independently then selects a card representing its predicted complexity or execution time.
- Reveal and Discuss: All participants reveal their estimates simultaneously. Any significantly differing opinions undergo discussion where contributors clarify assumptions or understandings influencing their judgment.
- Rerun Estimate: Post-discussion, team members select an estimation card again. This process repeats until there’s convergence towards a unanimous decision.
The Utility of Planning Poker in Agile Methodology
A key element embedded within planning poker meaning lies in effectively communicating divergent thought processes among agile teams through constructive dialogues spurred during this exercise. Below are some benefits this model brings:
- Promotes Equality: Every voice counts equally, reducing dominance by senior members often observed in traditional project estimation techniques.
- Eradicates Cognitive Biases: People may have natural biases towards underestimating tasks they prefer doing versus overestimating ones they dread- such subjectivity gets eradicated when each person has to justify their votes post-revelation.
- Cultivates Better Understanding: Through discussions triggered upon differing estimations; nuances around task complexities get clarified improving collective understanding.
In Conclusion
To sum up, capturing the essence of planning poker meaning implies more than just an innovative approach to product backlog refinement – it is about spreading democracy in decision making while honing collective wisdom.
This tool aids in optimizing the balance between precision and wasted efforts typical during detailed up-front specifications characteristic in Waterfall methodologies says scrum master Neal Ford co-founder at ThoughtWorks hence high esteem by scrum followers borrowing principles from Lean system’s strengths: less waste & continuous improvement.
