Agile Estimation Cards

agile estimation cards

Our Agile Estimation Cards are ideal for planning poker, or as it’s also known, relative estimating and are used by Agile practitioners for estimating development goals in software development.

Get consensus at the start of the planning stage, when the cost is trivial.

The principle behind their use relies on exposing the risks of the cognitive basis of anchoring. Thus, in a meeting, should one person lead with an estimate that is made known to the others it doesn’t affect the estimates made by others.

Each member starts by using an estimation card laid face down. All revealed together and discussions can start on what is a level playing field.

Our Agile Estimation Cards are FREE to qualifying organisations and made from quality materials and will prove an invaluable aid for all Agile teams.

Benefits of Agile Planning and Estimation

  • Estimating by playing planning poker, using Storm’s Agile estimation cards, helps Agile teams:
  • Prioritise a backlog of work
  • Avoid wasting effort and money by quickly spotting incorrect assumptions
  • Give more accurate estimates to managers and customers
  • Raise transparency and increase accountability
  • Benefit from the team’s collective wisdom
  • Provide a clear vision of each feature for team members
  • Clarify customer requirements before development begins

 

True Story of Estimation Cards in Action

Recently, The Agiliser was demonstrating Storm’s Agile Estimation cards to a CEO and his COO. Using items in the office as examples, they had established that the LCD world clock hanging on the wall was a reference point representing 5 units of effort to make.

Then they chose a shiny VW “Combi” model on a shelf in front of the window and individually estimated the effort it would take to make it, by selecting one of the Agile estimation cards, but keeping the value secret until everyone was ready.

“Everybody ready?” asked The Agiliser. The “C”s nodded in affirmation so he counted “1, 2, 3” then showed his card to demonstrate how the game worked. The Agiliser’s estimate was a 3, the COO’s an 8, and the CEO’s a 21. The COO was intrigued by this and CEO was invited to explain why his estimate was so different to the others.

Looking over in the direction of the window to the car park beyond, he patiently explained that “cars were a lot more difficult to make than wall clocks!”

In a matter of just a few moments the group had surfaced the type of misunderstanding that all too easily gets “baked-into” projects. Especially between people who don’t work together regularly, such as C-level customers and developers, or accountants and analysts.