Your team needs to be able to effectively plan the implementation of their work and your processes. In order to do this, first you have to estimate the scope of your individual tasks, and then your team has to work as efficiently as possible. Self-organized Scrum teams are not immune , because there are always customers, stakeholders and/or managers who want to know in advance what a feature will cost and how much time and effort it will take.

Having said that, in the world of modern software development, making accurate cost estimates is no cakewalk.  You have a complex and ever-growing code base, you have to research and integrate new technologies, and you've got diverse processes and teams which have to work in sync in order to deliver high quality features.

Evaluate and plan where you also have your backlog

You can use a variety of different methods and tools to support you as you plan for your team. Some of them integrate playful elements into the process (gamification) and want to promote productive exchanges from within the team. Two such proven methods are Planning Poker and the Estimation Game.

Keeping this in mind, it would be practical if such methods could be integrated directly into Jira. After all, this is the place where teams maintain their backlogs, work through their sprints, and track their work. Agile Poker for Jira is an app that delivers just that.

Agile Poker for Jira: Webinar and demonstration

In this webinar with Jacek Wizmur-Szymczak and Pawel Mazur from Spartez, we stepped through and discussed Agile Poker for Jira. What methodological elements does the tool use? Which functions should support agile teams providing an effective assessment process? What are the advantages of a digital solution in Jira compared to in-person appraisal meetings? We answered these questions and more in this one-hour live session, which you can watch here: