Welcome to Planning Poker for Jira – your potent tool for efficient project estimation and team collaboration. This guide will help you quickly get started with the essential steps.

Before you begin, we recommend reviewing this document, which provides an overview of estimation values, users roles, and more.

Planning Poker is designed to transcend project boundaries, operating globally rather than being tied to a specific project or board. With two easy entry points, you can access the same collaborative platform, the Dashboard, no matter how you initiate the game.

Once installed, Planning Poker will add a new menu item in the following locations:

(blue star) Index

Jira top menu Apps > Planning Poker

Project sidebar

Jira navigation bar

Project sidebar

1. Starting/Joining a Game

Before diving into Planning Poker, let's acquaint you with the Dashboard β€” an essential hub for navigating and managing your estimation sessions. The Dashboard provides a comprehensive overview of ongoing and finished games, allowing you to swiftly access and orchestrate your estimation process. It can be accessed by clicking the entry points above.

On the Dashboard, you can use filters or the search feature to easily locate a game, and perform actions like copying an existing session with all its settings.

For Admins:

  • Your role is to configure the game and manage the estimation process.

  • Begin by creating a new game and inviting participants using an invitation link. You can start a game even without any configuration, but it would be better to make sure that some basic settings are in place. To learn how to configure and start a game, check out these documents: Cloud & Data Center.

For Participants:

  • Your role is to estimate project tasks accurately.

  • Join a Planning Poker game by following the invitation link sent to you by the game administrator or through the Planning Poker Dashboard.

2. Estimation Process

Planning Poker involves organized rounds, each focusing on estimating an issue. These rounds consist of three phases: Backlog, Discussion, Voting, and Final Estimate Submission.

In summary, the Backlog phase marks the beginning of the game, initiated by the game administrator. After the admin chooses an issue, the Discussion phase begins, during which the Product Owner presents the details of the issue, and participants ask questions to clarify. Once everyone is clear about the issue, the Voting phase starts. After voting, the Final Estimate Submission phase begins, where the Scrum master analyzes the results and ensures a consensus on the estimation value. This phase concludes when the Scrum master saves the estimation value. Subsequently, the game either reverts to the Backlog phase or proceeds directly to the Voting phase if the round auto-start feature (Cloud, DC) is enabled.

a. Backlog Phase

For Admins:

  • Once everyone's in, start the session by clicking on the Estimate now button of the issue you'd like to start with.

  • As needed, tweak the backlog and game settings to suit your team's needs.

For Participants:

  • As the admin selects an issue for estimation, participants wait for instructions.

b. Discussion Phase

For Admins:

  • Present the details of the issue with clarity and precision. Your comprehensive presentation sets the stage for an informed discussion and facilitates a more accurate estimation.

  • When everyone is clear about the issue, move the team to the Voting phase.

For Participants:

  • This phase requires your engagement and curiosity.

  • Ask questions to the admin regarding any aspect of the issue that requires clarification.

c. Voting Phase

For Admins:

  • Vote, reveal cards, and manage the estimation process.

For Participants:

  • Choose a card that represents your estimation for the specific issue.

d. Final Estimate Submission

For Admins:

  • Guide the discussion to ensure consensus.

For Participants:

  • Engage in discussions to reach a consensus on the estimation.

For a detailed description of the game flow and the controls used by participants and the admin, check out these documents: Game Flow, Game Controls.

3. Ending the Game

A game concludes when all issues are estimated, or the admin chooses to finish it. Finished games can be reopened if needed.

For distributed teams that cannot conduct an β€œon-line” session, Planning Poker offers an Async mode to estimate each Jira issue individually. This mode doesn't follow a unified "session" concept, but participants can estimate in the issues directly through the Async mode tab. To learn more about it, click here.

Effective communication and collaboration are pivotal for successful estimations in Planning Poker. Let's kick off your first game!

Game Configuration (Cloud)

Game Configuration (DC)