Best practices for Agile Poker session moderators

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To ensure successful Agile Poker sessions, it is important to follow best practices that foster accurate estimations and promote collaboration among team members. In this article, we will explore the key best practices for conducting estimation sessions using Agile Poker for Jira Cloud.

1. Prepare and Set Expectations: Before starting an estimation session, it's crucial to set the stage and establish clear expectations. Make sure team members understand the purpose, objectives, and rules of the session. Each flow page in our documentation should give the moderators, participants, and observers an idea of their key responsibilities. Check out the Interactive Session page as an example.

2. Include Relevant Team Members: To ensure comprehensive estimations, involve team members who possess knowledge or expertise related to the items being estimated. If your team members are in different time zone, you can use the Asynchronous Session to eliminate geographical barriers.

3. Choose the Appropriate Session Type: Different Agile Poker session types cater to various team dynamics and estimation needs. Assess your team's characteristics and project requirements to select the most suitable session type — Interactive, Asynchronous, Relative, or Bucket Sizing. If you need guidance, refer to the Choosing the Best Session Type for You article.

4. Establish a Moderator: Decide whether you want one moderator or everyone to be moderators. The moderator ensures the smooth progress of the session, manages the process, and keeps everyone engaged. Consider rotating the moderator role among team members to foster participation and shared responsibility.

5. Provide Clear Estimation Criteria: Define and communicate the estimation criteria clearly to ensure a common understanding among team members. Establish consistent estimation fields such as story points or t-shirt sizes based on your team's preference and familiarity. Agile Poker enables easy configuration of custom estimation fields.

6. Encourage Active Participation: Create an environment that encourages active participation, where team members feel comfortable expressing their opinions. Agile Poker facilitates collaboration with features like comments or chat, allowing for open dialogue and transparent communication.

7. Promote Discussion and Consensus: Encourage constructive discussions during the estimation process. Emphasize the importance of achieving consensus-based estimations through collaborative decision-making.

8. Manage Time Effectively: Set time limits for each estimation to maintain focus and ensure efficient sessions. Agile Poker for Jira Cloud includes a built-in timer feature, enabling teams to manage their time effectively and keep the estimation process on track.

9. Continuously Improve: Regularly review and reflect on the outcomes of your Agile Poker sessions. Seek feedback from team members and identify areas for improvement, such as refining estimation criteria, optimizing session formats, or enhancing team dynamics.

By following these best practices, teams can conduct effective estimation sessions. Embrace these practices to foster accurate estimations, promote team collaboration, and drive successful agile projects with Agile Poker for Jira Cloud.