What Is Planning Poker?
Planning Poker, also known as Scrum Poker, is a collaborative estimation technique used by Agile and Scrum teams. It helps teams estimate the effort, complexity, and uncertainty of user stories in a simple and engaging way.
Why teams use Planning Poker
Instead of one person deciding estimates alone, Planning Poker gives everyone a voice. Developers, testers, designers and product owners all participate, which leads to:
- Shared understanding of what needs to be delivered
- More accurate estimates based on different perspectives
- Better identification of risks and unknowns
- More engagement from the whole team
How a Planning Poker session works
- The product owner presents a user story to the team.
- Team members ask questions to clarify requirements, scope and acceptance criteria.
- Each participant secretly selects a card representing their estimate (for example using the Fibonacci sequence).
- All cards are revealed at the same time.
- The team discusses any large differences between estimates to uncover assumptions and missing details.
- A new round of voting is held if needed, until the team reaches a shared estimate.
Why use the Fibonacci scale?
Most Planning Poker decks use a Fibonacci-like sequence such as 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21…. The numbers grow quickly to reflect increasing uncertainty on larger pieces of work. The goal is not to be perfect, but to compare stories relative to each other.
Who should participate?
Everyone involved in delivering the work can take part in Planning Poker:
- Developers and engineers
- Testers and QA engineers
- Designers
- Product owners and product managers
- Scrum masters
Planning Poker in remote and hybrid teams
Planning Poker works well for in-person teams using physical cards, but it is also very effective for remote and hybrid teams using an online tool. With Poker-Planning.org, you can run the exact same process in a browser, without installing anything.
Planning Poker FAQ
Here are answers to common questions about Planning Poker and how to use it effectively in Agile and Scrum teams.
What problem does Planning Poker solve?
Planning Poker helps teams avoid top-down estimates and endless debates. By letting everyone estimate at the same time, it reduces bias, exposes different perspectives and makes it easier to reach a shared, realistic estimate.
When should we run a Planning Poker session?
Most teams use Planning Poker during backlog refinement or sprint planning. It works best when stories are already written but still need a story point estimate before being added to a sprint.
Do we have to use story points?
No, Planning Poker can be used with story points, T-shirt sizes or any relative scale your team agrees on. The important part is comparing items to each other, not guessing exact hours.
How long does a Planning Poker session take?
It depends on the size of your backlog, but many teams spend 30–90 minutes estimating stories for the next one or two sprints. Short, focused sessions usually produce the best results.
Is Planning Poker only for Scrum teams?
No. Planning Poker is popular in Scrum, but Kanban and other Agile teams also use it to estimate work, discuss complexity and plan releases.
Is Planning Poker a form of gambling?
No. Planning Poker is not gambling and does not involve real money. It simply borrows the metaphor of cards to make estimation more engaging and to allow everyone to vote at the same time.
Ready to try it with your team? Start a free session →