Async Mode

Owned by Alex Smith
Last updated: Oct 05, 2023 by Derya Özdemir
3 min read

This page is applicable to both Planning Poker for Jira Cloud and Jira Data Center.

It's possible to estimate each Jira issue in the Async mode, which is useful for distributed teams that can't have an "on-line" session. Currently, there is no unified "session" concept, as in the classical game version. Instead, all participants are invited to estimate directly in the issues directly through the Async mode tab.

The only thing the “admin” needs to do is simply share the JQL filter with the participants. Then, they can go over the issues and estimate them one by one. After voting, the participants refresh the page and the estimates appear. Then, everyone can see who voted for which, and the estimate is saved before moving on to the next issue.

Below is a brief overview of the available functionality, as well as how to configure the game.

Configure the Async Game

  1. Navigate to Apps > Manage apps.
    For Data Center, click the Jira cog icon, then Manage apps > OTHER > Planning Poker Configuration.

  2. Find Planning Poker in the apps list, and click Configure.

  3. Select the deck type and the estimation field you want to save the estimates to. For more details, refer to this documentation (Cloud, DC).

  4. Click Save.

Then, you can continue creating the game itself. Here is how:

  1. Create a JQL (Jira Query Language) filter that includes the issues you want to estimate. Consult Jira documentation to learn more about JQL.

  2. Share the JQL filter with team members.

  3. To get the estimation process started, open the first issue.

  4. Open the Activity dropdown or directly click the Estimate (async mode) tab.

This will reveal the card deck and start the initial voting phase.

On Data Center, this process is exactly the same. Estimate (async mode) tab appears directly in the Activity section of the issue. Simply click the tab and start estimating.

Initial voting phase

  1. In the Async Mode tab, participants vote using a deck of cards to estimate the issue.

  2. To view results, refresh the page and click Show all estimates.

Summary phase

  1. The summary of all estimates from all users will be grouped by the Story Points values. You can click Cancel my estimate to remove your card.

  2. Reach a consensus and click the suggested card to assign the estimation value.

  3. To start fresh, you can use the Reset all estimates button, which clears previous estimates and restarts the estimation.

That’s it! This provides a flexible and convenient way for teams who want to keep things at the issue level. However, if you don’t need this feature, you can remove the Async mode tab from your issue view by opening the app’s global settings, as described above, and checking the Hide "Async mode" tab on issue details page box.