Computer science > Agile methodologies > Extreme Programming (XP) >
Poker planning

Last updated on Saturday, April 27, 2024.

Definition:

The audio version of this document is provided by www.studio-coohorte.fr. The Studio Coohorte gives you access to the best audio synthesis on the market in a sleek and powerful interface. If you'd like, you can learn more and test their advanced text-to-speech service yourself.

Poker planning is a technique used in Agile methodologies, particularly in Extreme Programming (XP), where team members estimate the effort required to complete a particular task or user story by assigning it a relative point value based on complexity. This collaborative approach helps teams reach a consensus on time and effort estimates for each task, promoting transparency and alignment within the team.

The Concept of Poker Planning in Extreme Programming (XP)

In Extreme Programming (XP), an Agile software development methodology, poker planning is a collaborative approach used by teams to estimate and plan the development efforts for different tasks or user stories. This technique is also known as Planning Poker.

How Poker Planning Works:

During a poker planning session, the team gathers together and discusses the requirements and details of the user stories or tasks that need to be estimated. Each team member is provided with a deck of cards with values representing the complexity or effort required to complete the task.

The Steps Involved in Poker Planning are:

The team selects a user story or task to be estimated.
Each team member privately selects a card representing their estimate of the effort required.
Once everyone has chosen a card, all team members reveal their cards simultaneously.
If there is a consensus on the estimate, the team moves on to the next task. If not, team members discuss their estimates and reasons for their choices.
The team repeats this process until a consensus is reached on the effort required for the task.

Benefits of Poker Planning:

Poker planning encourages team collaboration, transparency, and communication. It allows team members to share their perspectives and reasoning behind their estimates, leading to a better understanding of the task requirements and potential challenges. By involving everyone in the estimation process, poker planning promotes team engagement and shared ownership of the project's success.

Furthermore, the use of relative estimation in poker planning helps in identifying complex tasks early and allows for better prioritization and planning of the project backlog.

Conclusion:

In conclusion, poker planning is a valuable technique in Extreme Programming (XP) that fosters team collaboration and enables more accurate estimation and planning of software development tasks. By leveraging the diverse expertise within the team and promoting open communication, poker planning contributes to the success of Agile projects.

If you want to learn more about this subject, we recommend these books.