What is Planning Poker?
Planning Poker — also known as Scrum Poker — is a technique agile teams use to estimate the effort of backlog items together, without anchoring bias. Invented by James Grenning in 2002, popularised by Mike Cohn.
Try it freeHow a Planning Poker Session Works
Six steps from backlog item to agreed estimate — runs in minutes once your team knows the flow.
A user story is read aloud
The Product Owner presents a backlog item and answers any clarifying questions from the team.
Everyone picks a card — privately
Each team member silently selects the card that represents their estimate. No one reveals yet.
All cards revealed simultaneously
On the count of three, everyone flips their card at the same time. This prevents anchoring bias.
Discuss the outliers
If estimates differ significantly, the highest and lowest estimators explain their reasoning.
Re-vote if needed
After discussion, the team votes again. Repeat until consensus is reached.
Lock in the estimate
The final agreed number is recorded for the story. Move on to the next item.
Why Teams Use Planning Poker
It's not just about getting a number — the process itself makes teams better at understanding their work.
Eliminates anchoring bias
Simultaneous reveal means no one is influenced by what others think before making their choice.
Surfaces hidden complexity
An outlier estimate means someone knows something the others don't. That discussion is the real value.
Builds shared understanding
The estimation process itself forces everyone to think through the work — improving team knowledge.
Choosing Your Card Deck
Different scales for different contexts. All decks include a ? and a ☕ card.
Fibonacci
Most popularGrowing gaps reflect that large tasks carry more uncertainty. The go-to choice for most teams.
T-shirt sizes
High-level planningUseful when numeric precision isn't meaningful — great for roadmap and release planning.
Powers of 2
Steeper scaleEmphasises exponential growth in complexity. Preferred by teams who want a sharper distinction.
Special Cards
"I need more information"
The story isn't clear enough to estimate. The team needs clarification before voting.
"This is too big"
The story is too large or complex to estimate meaningfully. It needs to be split into smaller items first.
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Start a free sessionAbout the author
Zeljko Kvesic · Scrum Master & agile practitioner
Zeljko is a Scrum Master and agile practitioner who has facilitated estimation and planning sessions for software teams. He built planning-poker.info to make those sessions faster and friction-free. More about this site.
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