How to Play Scrum Planning Poker in 4 Simple Steps

Scrum card game

Planning Poker is a way for Scrum & Agile Development teams to estimate the effort to reach their goals.

It is a fun game in which each participant uses cards to give his estimation about the time to complete a certain task. The main advantage of using cards is that the first person to provide an estimation will not influence the estimation provided by the next person. This eliminates bias and ensures every persons opinion is heard.

Here are 4 steps to help you playing planning poker in a fun and effective way.

1. Put the participants at ease.

If it is the first time to use the planning poker, have a little Chat. How are you doing today? Engage in a small talk. Ask if anyone already had played planning poker before. If not, ask if they are willing to try something new this time. If the majority is willing to try, then you can introduce the playing cards. It is important to create an relaxed environment where people can allow themselfs to try and make mistakes. Remove the pressure for results and introduce the game in a joyful way.

2. Explain the rules.

After everyone agreed to play the planning poker, hand out the cards and start explaining the rules. It is important that each person thinks for himself on how long a certain task will take. Choose the appropriate card and place it face down on the desk. Only when all the players placed their cards on the desk, these can be turned. If the estimations are close to each other, it means that the subject is well known. If the range of estimation is high, that means there is still a lot of uncertainty related to the task.

3. Find consensus

Wherever differences in the estimation exist, allow the player to explain the reason for the estimation. Through this dialogue try to reach consensus. If no consensus is found, write down the range of estimation and move on. Use a timer to keep track of the time spend for discussing the estimations.

The question mark is ment for those who can not provide an estimation. Alternatively, small, medium and large can also be given as estimate.

4. Experiment and adapt

As you move along, find out what works for you. Adapt the rules and content to fit your needs and your team. Find creative ways to keep the game engaging.

Here is a nice video from Mountain Goat Software explanaining how to play the planning poker. This gives all the details on how to proceed.

https://www.mountaingoatsoftware.com/agile/scrum

And here you can get some cool cards if you are willing to try this approach.