Showing posts with label PMI-ACP Book. Show all posts
Showing posts with label PMI-ACP Book. Show all posts

Thursday, May 04, 2023

ACP Success Story: If You Have Prepared Well for Your PMP Exam, The ACP Exam Will Be A Cakewalk

 By Sandip Kumar Nath, ACP, PMP


Introduction
During my PMP certification preparation, I have already done a good amount of study in Agile concepts. So, I was already in a mindset to get an Agile certification. I’ve been a certified PMP since June, 2021.

Before taking any decision, I had reached out to my mentor, Satya Sir and shared my thoughts.  His first advice to me was to take a break, enjoy the moment of my PMP success, and then go for PMI-ACP. He also informed me that other Agile certificates will explain only about a specific Agile methodology whereas ACP will help me to understand Agile concept as a whole. 

So, I have set my mind to go for PMI-ACP certification to understand Agile deeper and better.

ACP 21 Contact Hours
Every action item should have an owner and estimated time (ETA) associated with it. After completing my 21-hour training, the first thing I did was to fill the ACP exam form and submit.

A week later my application was approved and on the same day I paid the exam fee and scheduled a target date. I targeted for exactly 12 weeks.  

Now my actual preparation has started.

Resources Used
You can use any material you feel comfortable and available to you. But refer to the Agile Practice guide read at least once. This book is very basic and doesn't elaborate much on agile specific methods but gives good clarity on the differences between Traditional Project Management and Agile Project Management.

My primary resources were these: 

As I am a PMP, it helped me a lot in my preparation for the ACP exam. I have again gone back and studied the book, I Want to be a PMP by Satya Sir, but this time I have read only the topics which were relevant for Agile concepts.

As mentioned earlier, I passed PMP on 19th June 2021. And I felt 70% of the questions asked in the PMP exam were based on agile concepts. My personal experience in PMI-ACP was, if you have prepared really well for your PMP exam, your ACP exam will be a cakewalk. I was mentally prepared that I will not get any direct questions and the same happened in the real exam.

You can read my PMP Success Story here:
PMP Success Story: Focus, Consistent Practice and Self-Belief Will Make You A PMP

Own Study
I had a simple plan and as per this plan, I wanted to put around 400 to 450 hours of study. It includes the Books, Blogs, Articles, available Questions and Answers. There were enough. So, I had planned for 4-5 hours per day for the next 12 weeks.

In addition, I followed this free course from scrum alliance.
Name of the course: Introduction to Scrum (https://scrumalliance.learnupon.com/store/804338-introduction-to-scrum) and PM Prepcast Simulator

My preparation was smooth and I faced no difficulty in preparing or submitting the application form.  

ACP Exam Experience
My exam was scheduled center based on 10th March 2023 but Pearson canceled it. So, I again booked the slot in Pearson Shivaji Nagar Branch, Bangalore on 19th April 2023, 8am.

I had taken my PMP exam from home but this time I have decided to take my ACP exam from Pearson. Though I did not face difficulties by taking the exam from home last time, I still encourage you all to go to the center and give the exam.

Both taking the ACP exam from home and center have their pros and cons. For example, while taking the exam from home: 

  • You have your own known and comfortable environment; at the same time, you must make sure that you have a reliable internet connection.
  • Ensure to find a quiet place so that you can concentrate on the exam.

If you are taking the ACP exam from center:

  • Please do not carry anything except a valid ID (Aadhar ID is not accepted).

I reached around 7:20am to the center and after all formality I hope I have started my exam around 8 am.

 
ACP Exam Taking Strategy

I followed the below ones while taking the exam.

  • My first and foremost strategy was to make myself as calm as possible. 
  • I was mentally prepared that this exam will NOT be easy with a positive note that I WILL PASS.
  • I always read the question first so that I will NOT miss key words like NOT, LEAST, MOST, EXCEPT, ALL, ALWAYS, NEVER etc. This is crucial, otherwise I will choose the wrong answer. 
  • Then I read the scenario or the problem statement to understand which context the question was asked. 
  • Final step to read all given answers choices and choose the correct option(s). 
  • Time management was a big factor.  My plan was to take 60 min per 40 questions.

Type of Questions Faced in the ACP Exam
Below is my experience with the types of questions faced. 

  • I had NO direct questions, NO key words. All questions were scenario-based.
  • Around 80% of questions were one or two liners. Very few questions had three to four sentences or more. 
  • I faced NO mathematical questions. Hence, I did not use calculator.
  • For your exam, you need to be very clear about roles/responsibilities of Stakeholders (Internal and External).
  • Many ACP exam questions were from Agile events, Stakeholders, Agile Team. These will be related to ACP Exam Domains.

During the exam, there will be some interruptions due to candidate movements and mouse click sounds! But I used the headset given me which helped a lot. This you can’t use at home if you opt to take an exam from home.   

In addition, as per exam rule you have to report 30 minutes before your scheduled time. So, it is always better if you reach a little early.

Suggestions for ACP Aspirants
Dos

  • Fix the exam date ASAP. Until you do not have the exam date, you will NOT be able to plan and execute your preparation.
  • Focus is the key. Focus on your study plan, focus on the topic you are studying now, focus while answering questions. 
  • Try to understand each topic you read and make your own notes while reading. 
  • During the exam usually, you can eliminate two answers easily but if you have difficulty in choosing between two, re-read the QUESTION first.
  • If the above step is not working for you, re-read the problem statement which has a lot of distractions and unnecessary information, considering the real question.

Don’ts 

  • During the exam, never think about the previous question(s) you already answered or the performance of your previous section. 
  • Avoid brain dump if possible. Please do not take unnecessary tension before the exam and brain dump will NOT help you in the exam.

Conclusion
It's a pleasure and privilege to write my experience and share with you readers. I believe, it will help you in your endeavor to be a PMI-ACP.

Wish you all the best for your ACP exam.

Brief Profile: Sandip Kumar Nath, PMP, ACP
Senior Manager – Delivery, Datamatics.
 



ACP Live Lessons - Guaranteed Pass:

ACP 21 Contact Hours Course:



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Sunday, May 08, 2022

Earned Value Management (EVM) in Agile Development


In this article, we are going to explore Earned Value Management (EVM), a widely used traditional management technique, but we are going to look at it within the context of an Agile domain.

Let’s consider an example scenario. A product manager, who works for a large aircraft manufacturing organization in the United States, follows a hybrid model of development and, with his team, releases a new version of aircraft handling software every couple of weeks. At the start of each iteration, he may be unsure about the applicability of earned value analysis, measurement, and management within Agile. His main questions may be:

  • How can we apply EVM while following an Agile approach? Is it natural?
  • With frequent scope changes, how does one determine what to measure against?
  • Scope change is also frequent on the iteration level! How can we incorporate EVM metrics in such cases?

To understand EVM, one needs to understand the concept of baseline, first and foremost. In EVM terminology, baseline is further defined as the performance measurement baseline (PMB). Let’s first define PMB, because, as I’ve seen, the lack of clarity regarding EVM is typically due to lack of PMB understanding. 

Performance Measurement Baseline (PMB)

The PMB is a virtual (not physical) baseline integrating scope, schedule, and cost baselines. In other words, PMB is the time-phased budget of authorized work for a project or program.

EVM is fundamentally based on this baseline–irrespective of chosen life cycle, be it predictive (Traditional), adaptive (Agile), or any other. It doesn’t matter how many iterations (or sprints, if in Scrum) you have or how frequently the scope changes. For EVM, it matters where and how you are setting your baseline. We will see shortly where the baseline is an Agile context. As EVM integrates scope, schedule, and cost, it’s quite a powerful technique. This is shown in the below figure.

 

Another issue occurs when management practitioners incorrectly interpret earned value as being business value. Earned value is not business value, rather it’s the value that you have earned in terms of money after completing the work. Hence, it’s actually a measure of work performance or performance against the set baseline or PMB.

With these fundamentals in mind, let’s now consider the foundational metrics in EVM. 

Foundational Metrics in EVM

The foundational metrics in traditional EVM are noted in the below table. I call them the foundational (or basic) metrics, because, based on these metrics, current and future performance metrics are derived.

As you go through the metrics in EVM, one key thing is to remember is this: everything is in terms of money. The budget, of course, will be in terms of money, and the work planned and work performed or executed, will also be in terms of money in this case.


We will look at the usage of these foundational metrics for Agile development shortly. Note that with these foundational metrics in place, we derive performance metrics of EVM.  

Current Performance Metrics in EVM

The current performance metrics used to calculate EVM are noted in the below table for a Traditional environment. I call these metrics current performance metrics, because the measurement happens on the status date, data date, or record date. The good news is, that these foundational metrics remain the same for Agile projects and/or programs.  Keep reading, as we are going to reuse these performance metrics in the next section.

It’s pertinent to note the behavior of SV and CV. If they are positive or negative, then the project or program is ahead of or behind schedule and cost, respectively. Similarly, if SPI and CPI are above or below 1.0, then the project or program is ahead of or behind schedule and cost, respectively. 

Using EVM in Agile Approaches

When using EVM in an Agile approach or environment, we circle back to the concept of baseline. In Agile projects, the baseline at the release level, not at an iteration level must be considered.

You may be wondering why. In Agile approaches, work is considered “done” at the end of each iteration (or sprint). While it’s true that story points are used to relatively estimate work items being taken-up, work is not considered to be fully “done” until the end of the iteration. If an item is not done, then it’s usually pushed into the next iteration. Hence, measurement during an iteration adds no value. This is because the work can’t be complete/done (or incomplete/not-done) mid- iteration.

If a story is complete, only then is it considered “done.” If a story is partially complete, (say only transition testing is remaining, then it’s not considered to be “done” at all). As you can see, it’s futile to have a baseline at an iteration level.

Are you wondering now how to calculate the performance measurement baseline (PMB) at a release level?

Simply add up the number of story points that you have planned for the release. While the PMB is at the level of the release, we do the measurement at the end of every iteration. In other words, our status date or data date is set for the end of the iteration. This is because, at the end of the iteration, we know the amount of work completed or “done.” And, this work counts towards velocity. Velocity, as explained in this article, also can inform the number of iterations in a release. You can decide to have measurement at the end of any iteration – iteration 1, iteration 2, and/or iteration-N.

A (product) backlog-based representation with earned value related calculations is depicted in the figure below.


As shown, the EV, PV, and AC values are calculated on the status/data date, which occurs at the completion of the iteration. The PMB is set for the release, and this also informs the budget at completion (BAC) for the release.

Next, we will consider the metrics associated with EVM in an Agile environment. 

EVM Metrics in Agile Approaches

The foundational EVM metrics used in Agile are noted in the below table with explanations. As you can see, the traditional metrics of EV, PV, AC, and BAC are also taken-up in Agile development; however, the explanation and understanding with respect to Agile contexts are different.


The values for PV, EV, and AC are calculated at the end of every iteration (you can set the status date as of the end of the concerned or considered iteration), whereas the BAC is determined at the release level. This is in sync with the backlog-based representation that we saw earlier.

The budget at completion (BAC) at the release level will be calculated as follows:

Budget at Completion (BAC)

= Total budget for the release

= Number of Items in the Release * Cost per backlog items (or cost per PBI)

For every item in the backlog (PBIs), cost is usually considered, which is one of the key product prioritization factors.

Now that we have the BAC, we can easily calculate the EV and PV, respectively with the below formulas:

First taking PV, the formula will be:

Planned Value (PV)

= Percentage of planned complete * BAC

= % of planned complete * BAC.

Earlier I said, PV, EV, and AC, etc. are calculated as of the status/data date or the iteration completion date. Considering an scenario where you have five iterations in a release and you are measuring at the end of the 2nd iteration, we’d see the following: case:

Percentage (%) of planned complete

= Iteration number / Number of iterations

= 2/5

= 40%

The formula for earned value (EV) will come out as shown below.

Earned Value (EV)

= Percentage of actual complete * BAC

= % of actual complete * BAC.

Why are we considering percentage of percentage of actual complete for EV? It’s because earned value is the value that you have earned by completing the work or having “done” the work.

To determine the percentage of actual completed work, you have to consider the stories that have been completed at the end of an iteration. Let’s say you have completed 40 story points worth of work out of 200 in a release, and you’re at the end of 2nd iteration. The percentage is calculated as follows:

Percentage (%) of actual complete

= Story points completed (or done) / Total story points

= 40/200

= 20%

I’ve summarized the calculations in the below table. 

So far, we have shown small examples with respect to BAC, PV, EV, and AC. Based on these metrics, we can easily calculate the current performance metrics of SV, CV, SPI, and CPI using the formulas mentioned in Table – 2.

For this purpose, let’s take an example from the course, ACP Live Lessons, Guaranteed Pass, to compute the associated metrics. A dedicated set of videos are available in the Live Lessons course.

An Example – EVM In Agile

A project is being released in an Agile mode. Below are the details for the project:

  • Product Backlog = 500 story points
  • In the first release = 200 story points
  • Velocity = 25 points per iteration
  • Cost per point = $1600
  • At the end of 1st iteration, actual cost incurred was $30,000.
  • At the end of 1st iteration, story points completed were 20 story points.

With this, we can determine the following.

  • Budget at Completion (BAC)
  • Number of Iterations
  • Planned value per iteration (PV) and Earned Value (EV) for the first iteration
  • Schedule Variance (SV) and Cost Variance (CV)
  • Schedule Performance Index (SPI) and Cost Performance Index (CPI)

If you have understood so far, you can try it on your own and determine the values being asked in the above questions.

To confirm your understanding and reaffirm your answer, the solution is noted below.

Budget at Completion (BAC)

= Cost per point * Number of story points

= $1600 * 200

= $320,000

Total number of Iterations

= Story points in a release / Velocity

= 200 / 25

= 8

Percentage (%) of planned complete at the end of first iteration

= Iteration number / Total number of iterations 

= 1 / 8

= 12.5%

Percentage (%) of actual complete at the end of first iteration

= Total number of story points completed / Total number story points planned

= 20 / 200

= 10%

Now that we have the needed values, let’s calculate the other associated metrics of PV, EV, and AC.

Planned Value (PV) for the iteration

= % of planned complete * BAC

= 12.5% * $320,000

= $40,000

Earned Value (EV) for the iteration

= % of actual complete * BAC  

= 10% * $320,000

= $32,000

The actual cost (AC), as mentioned in the question

= $30,000.

With these calculations, we can now determine the current performance metrics of the project at the end of the first iteration.

Schedule Variance (SV)

= EV – PV

= $32,000 – $40,000

= – $8,000

Cost Variance (CV)

= EV – AC

= $32,000 – $30,000

= + $2,000

Look at Table – 2. One could say the release is behind schedule and under budget by looking at the performance metrics of SV and CV, respectively. This is because SV is negative (bad), whereas CV is positive (good).

Next, let’s determine the values for SPI and CPI.

Schedule Performance Index (SPI)

= EV / PV

= $32,000 / $40,000

= 0.8 

Cost Performance Index (CPI)

= EV / AC

= $32,000 / $30,000

= 1.07

Again, referring to Table – 2, you could say the release is behind schedule and under budget by looking at the performance metrics of SPI and CPI, respectively. This is because SPI is below one (bad), whereas CPI is above one (good). 

Representation in S-Curve

Like a traditional EVM, in Agile context, you can also depict the various EVM metrics in an S-curve. These curves are frequently used in many projects to depict the progress and status reporting. However, your perspective has to change/adapt for the Agile context.

An S-curve showing BAC, EV, PV, AC, SV, and CV is shown in the below figure. 

The BAC is at the release level. The PMB line is along the EV curve. Our status date or data date is at the completion of Iteration – 3, and, on this date, we are measuring the foundational metrics of PV, EV and AC, as well as the current performance metrics of SV, SV, and hence, associated SPI and CPI. When you combine this representation with estimated story points in the product backlog, you can have the release burn-up chart. 

Video – EVM in Agile

As we close, I want to summarize the foundations of EVM in Agile in the below video, taken from the course, ACP Live Lessons [duration: 13m:06s]. This video notes certain key points you should keep in mind when calculating earned value in an Agile domain. It also further explains the above S-curve. For the best experience, you may want to go full-screen in HD mode and plug-in your earphones.


With this, I believe, I leave you with the fundamentals of earned value management executed in Agile environments.

If you have comments, suggestions, or new ideas, please do share them below.

--

This article was first published by MPUG.com on 22nd September, 2020. This is a refined version.


References

[1] Course: ACP Live Lessons, Guaranteed Pass or Your Money Back, by Satya Narayan Dash

[2] Book: I Want To Be A PMI-ACP: The Plain and Simple Way, 2nd Edition, by Satya Narayan Dash

[3] Course: ACP 21 Contact Hours, with Money Back Guarantee, by Satya Narayan Dash



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Friday, January 15, 2021

PMI-ACP Success Story: Agile is Essential for Delivering Customer Value and ROI – Early and Continuously

By John P S Oliver, ACP, PMP, PBA, RMP



Introduction

Being in the financial services industry which is highly regulated, my organization started to increasingly embrace the agile way of approach in its projects to achieve customer satisfaction and realize benefits early. Being a functional owner with a high focus on improving process efficiencies and effectiveness, we started following the agile approach for the implementation of various improvement initiatives like automation of manual processes, improving compliance etc.

While I had touched upon agile practices during my preparation for PMP® certification, with the continued emphasis on agile approach for our projects, I believed that gaining a deeper knowledge and practice of the agile values, principles and approaches will help me in my quest to become a successful agile practitioner and hence I decided to pursue the PMI-ACP® certification.

First Preparation

Once I decided to pursue the PMI-ACP certification, I reached out to Satya Sir for his inputs on getting the mandatory 21 hours of training in agile practices. Satya Sir advised me to go through the PMI®’s Agile Practice Guide which was one of the primary reference books for the PMI-ACP certification exam. I also came to know about his recently updated book: I Want To Be An ACP, Second Edition.

I started my preparation for the PMI-ACP certification with reading PMI’s Agile Practice Guide. I completed reading the Agile Practice Guide and enrolled with a service provider for an online course of PMI-ACP training. 

Once I completed the online course and received the mandatory PDUs, I submitted my application for PMI-ACP certification.

Upon receiving approval from PMI, I reached out to Satya Sir and decided to use his book “I Want To Be An ACP, Second Edition” for my certification exam preparation.

Own Study

I started my preparation for the exam with creating a plan to complete one chapter with the corresponding chapter end questions from Satya Sir’s book: I Want To Be An ACP, Second Edition.

I had applied for 2 weeks of leave and dedicated 8 hours a day for preparation.

The only books I referred were Satya Sir’s book, I Want To Be An ACP, Second Edition, PMI’s Agile Practice Guide and PMI-ACP exam content outline.

For the sample questions, Satya Sir’s book has 3 complete full set questions in addition to the chapter end questions. I also used the sample questions that came with the online training course that I enrolled for the mandatory PDUs.

I completed the chapters of Satya Sir’s book twice (Initial reading and Revision) and completed the 3 complete full set of questions once.

Book Review - I Want To Be An ACP

The reason for going with Satya Sir’s book - I Want To Be An ACP, Second Edition as the primary reference book was the confidence due to the fact that I had already used his books and study materials in my preparation for PMP® and RMP® certifications and they were instrumental in passing the exams.

My PMP exam experience:
PMP Live Lessons Was Instrumental in Getting My PMP Credential

My RMP exam experience:
Risk Management - Essential for Professional and Personal Success 

The book encompasses knowledge from all the reference books listed by PMI for ACP certification. In fact, in my opinion, this book is a one stop reference book for the PMI-ACP certification exam.

The book follows the pattern of the PMI-ACP exam content outline (ECO), aligned with PMI's Agile Practice Guide and so is easy to follow and cross reference. 

The vision and revision tips in the book helped me to immediately refer relevant topics for revision. The chapter end questions helped me to gauge my understanding of the topics. I used them to revise the portions in relation to the questions where I went wrong.

The 3 complete full set of questions were of high quality and the explanations for the answers helped me immensely in understanding the reasoning behind the correct choice. I was able to improve my performance with each mock exam.

ACP Exam Experience

I completed the initial reading of Satya Sir’s book completely with the chapter end questions and scheduled my exam for 7-January-2021, 8:00 AM slot at the Pearson Vue centre, Chennai. I used the remaining days to complete the revision and the mock exams.

I reached the centre by 7:30 AM on the exam date and completed the formalities. I started my exam at around 8 AM. As I progressed through the exam, I noticed that I was taking more time for each question compared to the time taken in mock exams and hence kept a track of the remaining time. I completed the exam without any break and with 6 minutes to spare. I submitted my responses and competed the survey. I was happy to see the congratulatory message on successfully obtaining the PMI-ACP certification.

Types of Questions Faced

  • The majority of the questions were situational in nature.
  • Very few graphical questions.
  • Very few mathematical questions. 
  • More questions on Value Driven Delivery, Agile Principles and Mindset and Stakeholder Engagement domains.

Suggestions for ACP Aspirants

Dos

  • Plan and schedule the exam well in advance.
  • Prepare a realistic schedule and follow it.
  • Prepare a short list of reference books and use them for your preparation.
    (Ideally not more than 2 if you go for Satya Sir’s book)
  • Schedule enough time for taking up mock questions and revision.

Don’ts

  • Do not use more than 2 or 3 study resources as you can spend the extra time available on attempting more mock questions.
  • Do not attempt questions before you completely study the resources at least once.
  • Don’t panic during the exam if you do not know the answer for a particular question, Mark it for review and proceed with the next one – You can always come back to the marked question later.

Conclusion

I would like to thank the Almighty for his blessings, my reporting manager for approving my leaves for preparation and Satya Sir for his book: I Want To Be An ACP, Second Edition.


Brief Profile:

Name: John P S Oliver

Current Role: Supply Chain Manager

Experience: 23+ years of experience in ITES operations and project management across BFSI, Healthcare, Telecom and Retail verticals.



Book Available for ACP Exam Prep:

Book Excerpts:

PMI-ACP Success Stories:



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Wednesday, July 01, 2020

Book Review - I Want to Be An ACP: Important Not Only for The Exam, But Also A Treasure of Knowledge To Apply in The Real-World

By Suresh Juturu, PMP, ACP, CSM
The book written by Satya Narayan Dash – I Want To Be An ACP, the plain and simple way to be a PMI-ACP - is particularly written for candidates aspiring to clear the Agile Certified Practitioner (ACP®) examination. This certification examination is from Project Management Institute (PMI®).  

Chapters Covered

The book covers all the important topics of Agile in nine chapters. 
The chapters covered are:
  • Welcome and Introduction, which covers the fundamentals on how to read the book and take the ACP exam. 
  • The next seven chapters covers the seven domains of PMI-ACP exam, i.e., Agile Principles and Mindset, Value Driven Delivery, Stakeholder Engagement, Team Performance, Adaptive Planning, Problem Detection and Resolution, and Continuous Improvement.
  • The final chapter covers a presentation on how to be a PMI-ACP.

 You can know more on the chapters from the book index:

Key Areas
This book gives immense knowledge on these agile topics:

  • What is Agile: It covers all basics on agile framework.
  • How Agile works: All types of agile approaches such as Scrum, Kanban, Lean, XP, BDD, TDD etc. are covered.
  • How Agile teams are to be managed: You will learn various conflict management techniques for your agile team. You will learn how to do performance management for your team.
  • When to use Agile: You will learn when and how to choose the right agile approach. 
  • Where and how to focus when Agile deployment is not going well: For example, you will learn a number of innovation games.

Another aspect of the book is extensive coverage of Agile Earned Value Management (AgileEVM). It’s not an easy concept to grasp. But dedicated videos for this section covers the concepts of EVM, along with all the needed formulae.

 In particular, I'll mention the Chapter 6: Adaptive Planning, where it is illustrated with various techniques on how to do cost baseline for agile projects and how different when compared with the normal waterfall projects. It also provides the extensive details on deltas of EVMs while following agile vs waterfall.
Conclusion
Most importantly, I would like to mention that the book reading is important not only for passing the exam, it is a great treasure for revising the knowledge on the agile concepts while you deploy these practices over time in the real world.


Brief Profile:
Suresh Juturu, PMP, ACP, CSM, CMMI V2 Associate
https://www.linkedin.com/in/suresh-juturu-pmp®-acp®-csm®

Book Available for ACP Exam Prep:

Book Excerpts:

PMI-ACP Success Stories:


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Wednesday, May 13, 2020

Illustration of Planning Poker Game Usage in Agile

By Suresh Juturu, PMP, ACP, CSM

Planning Poker is a consensus-based technique for estimating, mostly used to estimate effort or relative size of user stories in Scrum.

 Planning Poker combines three estimation techniques − Wideband Delphi Technique, Analogous Estimation, and Disaggregation. Next, we will understand what these techniques are.
Three Techniques Used 
  • Expert Opinion − In expert opinion-based estimation approach, an expert is asked how long something will take or how big it will be. The expert provides an estimate relying on his or her experience or intuition or gut feel. 
  • Analogy − Analogy estimation uses comparison of user stories. The user story under estimation is compared with similar user stories implemented in the past sprints by the same team.
  • Disaggregation − Disaggregation estimation is done by splitting a user story into smaller, easier-to-estimate user stories. 

Step By Step – Planning Poker Game
  • In Planning Poker Estimation Technique, estimates for the user stories are derived by playing planning poker. The entire Scrum team is involved.
  • Planning Poker is played with a deck of cards. As modified Fibonacci sequence is used, the cards have numbers - 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 20, 40, 100 etc. These numbers represent the “Story Points”. Each estimator has a deck of cards.
  • One of the team members is selected as the Moderator. The moderator reads the description of the user story for which estimation is being made. If the estimators have any questions, product owner answers them.
  • Each estimator privately selects a card representing his or her estimate. Cards are not shown until all the estimators have made a selection. At that time, all cards are simultaneously turned over and held up so that all team members can see each estimate.
  • In the first round, it is very likely that the estimations vary. The high and low estimators explain the reason for their estimates. The team can discuss the story and their estimates for a few more minutes.
  • After the discussion, each estimator re-estimates by again selecting a card. Repeat the process till the estimates converge to a single estimate that can be used for the story. 
  • Despite relative estimating being easier than absolute estimating, there will still be times when someone will not be able to estimate a particular product backlog item. This might be because the person’s skills aren’t needed on that item. But that person may still be able to contribute to the discussion.
A representation figure of cards is depicted below. 
Image Source: Book: I Want To Be An ACP, 2nd Edition

 In the above figure, you would have noticed cards with marks such as “0”, or “½” or a question mark. You would be wondering what are these cards? In planning poker, these are special cards, e.g., the card marked with "0" can be for “this story is already done,” or “this story is almost nothing, just a few minutes of work".

 Various Questions on Planning Poker Estimation
Question – 1: The purpose of the planning poker?
Answer: The purpose is to get each team member's input on how difficult the story is from their point of view and estimate.

 Question – 2: Agile teams uses scrum but may be having the difficulty in using the right estimation technique and try with planning poker once/twice and stop using it. Why?
Answer: Some of the teams start with planning poker estimation, without sufficient background work on understanding the concept and thinks this estimation technique takes too long for an agile team to adapt as they tend to see lot of debates for a given user story estimation which may vary from 5mins to 60mins! in the beginning, due to which many will stop using this technique.

 Question – 3: What is the key to succeed with planning poker? 
Answer: There are two key points to note here.
  • Apply T-Shirt sizing technique first and categorize the user stories based on its size. Your team needs to get this done before sprint planning meeting.
  • Once the relative size is known(done with T-shirt sizing in the first key point), team can easily go for estimating the story points with their analogy and comparing from the past Sprint’s sample user stories.
Example: If the user story “JIRA-1234” (considering you are using JIRA tool for your Agile development work) took 3 story points, your team can now compare that with the current story point value (arrived viaT-Shirt size technique) and say that the current user story takes either more than 3 story points or less or may be equal and gets into the estimation. 

 Question – 4: What if there are technical and/or product uncertainties and product owner needs more time to provide clarity? What if the product owner needs to get end users input to provide clarity to answer’s team’s questions? Or what if the team is unable to fold the cards to the same number and has large differences?
Answer: Best thing is to put back into the product backlog so that product owner gets more clarity for next sprint and move to next highest priority or go with a range of estimates.

 Question – 5: Teams may have a situation where there will be dedicated testers will be there, but during planning meeting do they need to participate and estimate the user stories for other developers using planning poker?
Answer: I would say the answer is Yes. Because all the scrum team members need to participate in the planning meeting, of course a given person may not be a subject matter expert for the given story, but he/she can still pay attention and understand the discussion about the user story which will benefit the team in long run by having more product knowledge and also providing their estimates with their understanding. 

 Your team can decide whether to consider their number or not for a given sprint. But over a period, everyone in the team will need to be capable of sharing every task. Hence it is important to participate and estimate for all members.

 Useful Videos to Watch - Learn with fun
Right Way - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MrIZMuvjTws
Wrong Way - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8RX4rtnRogE
Why to use Fibonacci - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=umF-_Y70U8Y
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