Planning Poker
Planning Poker is an Agile estimation technique in which team members independently estimate the effort required for user stories before discussing differences and reaching consensus.
“A consensus-based estimation technique, mostly used to estimate effort or relative size of user stories in Agile software development. It is a variation of the Wideband Delphi method using a deck of cards with values representing the units in which the team estimates.”
(Definition reproduced from the ISTQB Glossary. Copyright belongs to ISTQB.)
View the complete ISTQB GlossaryWhat is Planning Poker?
The technique encourages collaboration and reduces bias by allowing everyone to contribute estimates simultaneously.
Consensus-based: Team members discuss differing estimates.
Relative estimation: Story points are commonly used instead of hours.
Collaboration: Encourages participation from the whole team.
Real World Example
A regulated product team is preparing a release where Planning poker appears in reviews, test design conversations, or defect triage rather than as an isolated glossary word.
The risk is that the team treats Planning poker as interchangeable with nearby ISTQB terms. That makes test scope blurry and can lead to weak evidence for the release decision.
The tester anchors the discussion in the official definition, asks where the concept appears in the product, and designs examples that show the difference between Planning poker and similar ideas.
The page becomes useful in practice because Planning poker is connected to a specific testing decision, not memorized as a detached definition.
Practice Questions
Question 1
Which statement BEST describes Planning poker in the context of ISTQB terminology?
Question 2
A tester needs to explain Planning poker to a non‑technical stakeholder. Which approach is MOST appropriate?
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