Planning Poker for Improved Project Delivery
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Abstract
A project is a temporary formation of people, typically formed in order to create value for a business in the form of a solution, a service, a product or similar.[1] The ability to complete a project successfully relies on a team’s ability to meet the goals of the project, on time and on budget. A key element to delivering a successful project is the accurate estimation of how much work needs to be done to reach the goals of the project, how the work will be broken down so it can be achieved and when each task should be initiated. If teams do not plan accordingly, deadlines will not be met, risking delays and the success of the project.
This article will cover the aspect of effective planning for successful project delivery through the use of an estimation technique known as Planning Poker. Typically used in an Agile approach to project management, Planning Poker helps teams more effectively judge how long tasks will be take to complete, by including different expert opinions from the team when estimating.[2] More accurate completion times for tasks allows for better project planning, better project execution and a more realistic deadline for the project, helping meet business objectives and stakeholder expectations on time and on budget.[1]
The Big Idea
As listed by PMBOK® Guide[1] the completion of a project is reached when all objectives have been achieved, the solution has been created (or cannot be created), resources have run out or if the project is discontinued due to new priorities. From the beginning of a project until its completion, a project goes through different phases, referred to as a project’s Life Cycle and typically including “Starting the Project”, “Organising and Preparing”, “Carrying out the Work” and “Ending the Project”. A successful and valuable project clearly defines what needs to be done, how that work will be done, and when it will be done, and going through a project’s Life Cycle in a timely matter ensures that the right work is delivered at the right time. The importance of successful project management allows stakeholder expectations to be met, business objectives to be delivered by solving the right problems at the right time. To ensure that a plan is effective, it has to be realistic in terms of timeline, and it is therefore critically important for a project to be able to estimate its work effectively.
Planning Poker is a tool used to more accurately measure the sizes of work tasks that need to be completed within a project. It does so through effectively drawing from knowledge throughout the team on how long a task should take, and comparing the teams deviating expectations of the workload within a task, without introducing cognitive biases.[2]
