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Planning poker, also called Scrum poker, is a consensus-based, gamified technique for estimating, mostly used for timeboxing in Agile principles. In planning poker, members of the group make estimates by playing numbered cards face-down to the table, instead of speaking them aloud. The cards are revealed, and the estimates are then discussed. By hiding the figures in this way, the group can avoid the cognitive bias of anchoring, where the first number spoken aloud sets a precedent for subsequent estimates.
Planning poker is a variation of the Wideband delphi method. It is most commonly used in agile software development, in particular in Scrum and Extreme Programming. Agile software development methods recommend the use of Planning Poker for estimating the size of user stories and developing release and iteration plans. [1]
The method was first defined and named by James Grenning in 2002[2] and later popularized by Mike Cohn in the book Agile Estimating and Planning,[3] whose company trade marked the term[4] and a digital online tool.[5]