Planning poker glossary

Plain-English definitions of the terms you will hear in planning poker and agile estimation, in alphabetical order.

Terms

Anchoring

Being swayed by the first number you hear. Planning poker avoids it by keeping votes hidden until everyone has voted and revealing them together.

Backlog

The ordered list of work a team might do, usually stories, features and epics, with the most important at the top.

Backlog refinement

A regular session where the team makes upcoming items clear enough to start, often estimating them with planning poker. Also called backlog grooming.

Consensus

The number the team agrees on after discussing the votes. It doesn’t have to be anyone’s original card.

Definition of done

The team’s shared checklist for when work is finished, such as tested, reviewed and released. Estimates should cover everything on it.

Epic

A large piece of work made up of several features or stories, often too big to estimate precisely. T-shirt sizes suit epics well.

Estimate

A team’s best judgement of how big a piece of work is. It isn’t a promise or a deadline.

Facilitator

The person who runs the session: reads out items, reveals the votes and helps the team agree, without pushing a number. Usually the Scrum Master.

Feature

A piece of functionality that delivers value to users, usually split into several stories.

Fibonacci sequence

The numbers 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13 and so on, where each is the sum of the two before. Planning poker decks use a version of it (0, ½, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 20, 40, 100) because the gaps grow with the size of the work.

Planning poker

A way for a team to estimate work together. Everyone chooses a card in secret, the cards are revealed at once, and the team discusses big differences before agreeing.

Product owner

The person responsible for what the team builds and in what order. In planning poker they explain the items and answer questions, and usually don’t vote.

Relative estimation

Sizing work by comparing it with other work (“about twice as big as that story”) instead of guessing hours. Story points and T-shirt sizes are both relative.

Reveal

The moment every vote is shown at the same time. In EstimateIt only the facilitator can reveal.

Scrum Master

The person who helps a Scrum team work well together. They often facilitate planning poker.

Spike

A short, timeboxed piece of research to answer a question, used when an item can’t be estimated because too much is unknown.

Sprint

A fixed period, usually one to four weeks, in which a Scrum team completes a set of work.

Story point

A unit for the relative size of a piece of work, combining effort, complexity and uncertainty. Points are only comparable within one team.

T-shirt sizing

Estimating with sizes (XS, S, M, L, XL, XXL) instead of numbers. Quick and easy to understand, and good for early or large items.

Timebox

A fixed amount of time for an activity. Timeboxing the discussion of each item keeps a planning poker session moving.

User story

A short description of something a user needs, often written as “As a… I want… so that…”. The usual item estimated in planning poker.

Velocity

How many story points a team usually completes in a sprint, used to plan how much work to take on next time.

Wideband Delphi

An older estimation method in which experts estimate in private and then discuss. Planning poker is a quick, card-based version of it.

Common questions

What is the difference between story points and hours?

Story points measure the relative size of work compared with other work, including complexity and uncertainty. Hours try to measure time directly, which is harder to agree on and varies from person to person.

What does a ? card mean in planning poker?

It means the voter doesn't know enough to estimate the item yet. It is a signal that the item needs more detail or a spike.

Try it with your team

EstimateIt is free planning poker for agile teams, with nothing to install and no sign-up.

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