How to plan your scrum sprint using estimation game. it is always about knowing what effort you can do within the sprint timebox as a team together. what you learn from previous sprint and how much you spent on sprint planning. Remember it is a Mindset, it is a LifeStyle. Mohammed Taha Abulhaija

1. Dr. Mohammed Taha Abulhaija
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© All Rights Reserved: The contents of all material available on these slides are copyrighted. You
can always use this content or a part of it by referencing the author name.

2. Sprint Planning
Update
Backlog
Select & Refine
User Stories
Commit to
Sprint Backlog
1 : 9
Duration
Sprint Planning should not exceeds half a day of two-week sprint
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3. Which Backlog User Story to include in the Sprint Backlog
Story
Story
Story
Sprint Planning
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4. Great User Story Writing
Planning Game: Poker
The key to making a good Sprint Planning Work is two-fold
Sprint Planning
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5. Loudest voice in the room wins
There's no timebox or time limit on discussions
There's no way to tell when consensus is reached
There's no way to improve without structure to
improve upon
Sprint Planning should not exceeds half a day of two-week sprint
Sprint Planning
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6. Practical Agile

7. The Race – Knowing The Effort
Target
Training
Efficiency Test
KPI
Result
Why
• 400m Race in 1:13 minute by
maintaining a Sustainable Pace
• Daily for one year
• Every two weeks
• Time the whole team needs
to finish the 400m race
• Efficiency Increased
• Keep Training & Lessons
Learning
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8. NOW WE
KNOW THAT
Our Team can
finish the
race in 1
minute & 13
seconds
1
1.25
1.5
1.75
2
2.25
2.5
2.75
3
1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19 21 23 25
Time
Each number represent two weeks
Time to finish 400m race
The Race
By daily training: The team improve his time through the year from
3 to 1:13 minutes. ONE CONDITION applied – Sustainable Pace
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9. The Race – Another Point View
They have a FIXED PACE every day of training, How they
improve their time?
The team learns to:
 Work Together
 Trust & Support each other
 Be Self Organized: remember no TRAINER
 Review their Improvement every two weeks
and CHANGED according to what they LEARN
 Improved Frequently
 Sustainable Improvement: after 6 months they
reach SATISFACTION – an acceptable time
 Always focus on their Target
 They Enjoy their time and keep the training Simple
NOW WE
KNOW THAT
The team now
knows what
EFFORT they
should made to
finish the 400m
race in 1:13
minute, and
HOW they can
do that.
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10. The Race – Another Point View
 What The Team Do?
They were being an AGILE Team. They Apply Agile 12
Principles to reach their target.
 What Was The Team Learning Result?
They knows what EFFORT they should made to reach their
target.
© mabulhaija
The Team knows
What they can do (Size of Work) in 01:13 minutes to
PASS 400M Race

11. The Race – Summary
© mabulhaija
Pass
400m RaceEffort
Effort
01:13
Minute
TheTeamTogether
01:13
Minute
01:13
Minute
Pass
400m Race
Pass
400m Race
Effort
ThisisWhattheteamneedstoknowto
PLANtheirSPRINTBACKLOG

12. The Race – Sustainable Pace
What is the Sustainable Pace?
 The Effort the team made Today
Should not affect their
performance Tomorrow.
 The team should BALANCE
their work, family and
social life.
i.e. is one at which the team can perform for very
long periods of time – forever basically.
 You can’t work all weekends in your life
 You can’t have overtime forever
 You can’t work tomorrow if you kill yourself today
Sustainable
Development
Improvement
Quality
Delivery
© Agile Gnostic
© Bob Hartman
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13. Planning Poker
In Sprint Planning the team select stories from the Backlog to be in the
Sprint Backlog, which means these Stories can be done (Implemented &
Tested) within the Sprint Timebox, which mostly be Two Weeks and some
times Four Weeks.
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Sprint Backlog
??
?
?
How the team knows
which Stories can be
done within sprint

14. Planning Poker
Facts
 The Team is an Agile Team – Applies Agile 12 Principles
 The Team works on Sustainable Pace = No Overtime, No Weekends
Work, . . .
 Two-Week = 10 Working Days, and the working time is 8 Hours. i.e. Two-
Week = 80 Working Hours.
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 The team by Experience & Continuous Learning knows TOGETHER what
Size of Work they can do in Two Weeks (80 Hours). f.g. let’s say 27
The Team
Effort Value
27
Known by experience

15. Planning Poker – Definition
Planning Poker also called Scrum Poker, is a technique
for ESTIMATING, mostly used to estimate Effort or Size of
Work in Software Development.
In Agile it used to estimate the Effort needed for each
User Story in the Backlog.
Note That: Stories in the Backlog are sorted by Product
Owner based on its VALUE from the Customer point view.
You don’t need to do estimation for all stories, just do it for
stories you need in your Release.
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16. Planning Poker – How
In Planning Poker we use Fibonacci Cards
It is a Playing Card of 6 sets, each set has its own color
and each set (Color) has a cards with values following the
Fibonacci Series (1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21) and the (?) card means
I’m Not Sure, also a (Coffee Break) card for when it all gets a
bit much!
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17. Planning Poker – How
Now the team use the cards to estimate the EFFORT (NOT
Days or Hours) required by them as a Team Together, to
implement Each Story, following this procedure:
1. Team BRIEFLY discuss a story
2. Everyone SILENTLY select a point card
3. Team reveals ALL selected cards in unison
4. If OUTLIERS exists, BRIEFLY discuss and Re-Vote
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18. Planning Poker – How
Now all User Stories has an Effort Value (Rate)
and The Team knows what their Effort Value for Two-week
Sprint. So, by basic Sum Calculations they choose which
stories to be in the Sprint Backlog
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© Jeff Dalton
The Team
Effort Value
27
Known by experience

19. Planning Poker – Team Effort
Team Effort enhanced by Experience, so its Effort Value
also increased by Experience, until it reach its best.
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15
56
21 27 32 40
Enjoy The Estimation Game
Good Luck!