What is planning poker?
Planning poker (also called scrum poker) is a collaborative estimation technique. Each team member privately picks a story-point value for a backlog item, then everyone reveals at once. If estimates differ, the team discusses why — surfacing hidden assumptions before committing.
How to run a session
- Read the ticket aloud. Cover acceptance criteria.
- Each team member picks a card from a Fibonacci deck (1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, ?).
- Reveal simultaneously.
- If estimates spread more than two values, the lowest and highest explain their reasoning.
- Re-vote. Usually the spread tightens after one discussion round.
- If still split, split the ticket — it's probably hiding two pieces of work.
When planning poker helps
- New teams — calibrates a shared sense of "small," "medium," "huge."
- Cross-functional work — surfaces work the loudest voice forgot about.
- Politically charged tickets — private votes prevent anchoring on the senior person's number.
When to skip it
Mature teams often consensus-estimate in 30 seconds per ticket without playing cards. The signal you actually want is disagreement, not the number. If the team agrees instantly, move on.
Common planning poker mistakes
- Anchoring — someone says "I think it's a 5" before reveal. Re-vote silently.
- Too long — capping discussion to 2-3 minutes per ticket. If longer, the ticket isn't groomed.
- Estimating without acceptance criteria — you're guessing scope, not effort.