February 22, 20227 min read
Dos & Don'ts of a Scrum Master
Scrum Master is a key to having streamlined project development and timely deliveries. Here's a quick look at some crucial dos & don'ts of a Scrum Master.Scrum is an easy-to-use framework that any corporation can adapt and grow through. As Agile methodology is becoming more popular, more and more organizations have started to implement Scrum. Some organizations that have used traditional approaches in the past might face a few obstacles when trying…February 18, 20227 min read
Common Challenges Faced by Scrum Teams
Scrum is a simple and lightweight Agile methodology but does come with real-life challenges that most of the Scrum teams have to deal with at different stages.Scrum seems simple to set up and a lightweight Agile methodology that organizations can easily get started with, but it's not that straightforward to master. Scrum does promise enhancements in the overall team's speed, problem-solving skills, quality products, and timely deliveries. However, there…February 11, 20229 min read
Why the Whole Team should Participate in Planning Poker Estimation Session
Is whole team participation (including irrelevant skilled members) fruitful during Planning Poker estimation? It's a big "YES" and this article proves why.There is a common perception that those team members who will be part of the project should be the ones involved in its estimation, rather than doing estimation with a whole or different non-contributing group. But the situation is a bit complex in the case of agile teams when they conduct product…February 4, 20225 min read
Are Group Estimates More Accurate Than Individual Estimates?
When it comes to estimating Agile projects, even small increases in accuracy make a big difference. So, are group estimates more accurate than individual ones?The estimation process is a common bottleneck in which project managers, product managers, and software developers must predict the degree of effort required to complete a development assignment. Estimation is a two-edged sword: it is extremely useful for breaking down long-term projects into…February 2, 20220 min read
Do Async stands with the people of Ukraine
Russia launched a war against Ukraine killing more than 2000 people just in one week.To all of Ukraine, we stand with you. To everyone else, we ask you to declare your support for the people of Ukraine as they resist the unprovoked Russian war against Ukraine. We ask for whatever help you can offer, whether that is by peacefully protesting, speaking to your representatives, or…January 28, 20225 min read
Why Agile Teams should do Software Estimates?
Software estimation plays a crucial role to let the teams have a better understanding of the stories, the required efforts, priorities, and expected outcomes.As the world is shifting from the traditional waterfall approach to the agile-based development approach, there is a movement going on "#NoEstimate", which reflects that there is no need to have software estimation sessions now. There is a perception that agile development makes projects proceed in…January 21, 20227 min read
12 Main Changes Made in the Scrum Latest Guide 2020
2020 Scrum Guide is the 6th and the latest version of Scrum Guide, which focuses on simplifying the framework to make it more useful and effective for teams.After every few years, the Scrum creators and update the Scrum Guide to make some changes in it based on the feedback received from the people using it. The latest version of Scrum Guide was dropped at the end of 2020. The main goal of the 2020 Scrum guide is to make…January 14, 202210 min read
Story Points vs. Hours: What Makes Story Points Win
Teams are actively doing estimations in story points owing to the advantages it offers over hours-based estimates. Find out more in this comprehensive guide.Estimation is one of the important elements in the of any agile project. When estimations are done rightly, it helps the product owners and the product team to prioritize things rightly, maximize their efficiency, and ensure quality deliveries. However, when it comes to how to do…January 10, 20226 min read
Agile Trends to Watch in 2022
As the world is evolving digitally, the world of Agile methodologies is also evolving. Let's discuss what are some of the main Agile trends to watch in 2022.Agile is no longer just a buzzword. It has set solid roots in the IT industry today. Agile practices took their inception back in 2001 to shift software development from waterfall model to iterative development using XP, Scrum, and other methodologies. But today, Agile is evolving aggressively in…November 19, 202110 min read
8 Agile Estimation Mistakes that Every Team Should Avoid
Agile estimation is an effective way to determine the effort required to complete a story, but there are a few common mistakes teams often do during sprints.Agile estimation is becoming a core element of software project management. Development teams use estimates to prioritize work and set up achievable schedules, product owners use estimates to set up product roadmaps, and higher management use estimates to track budgets. Overall, agile estimation…November 12, 20216 min read
Team Cost Estimation: Can You Use Planning Poker to Estimate Costs?
Cost estimates are a key aspect of every agile project for deciding whether the project is feasible. Here’s how Planning Poker can help improve your estimates.Estimation is challenging, as product managers, project managers, and software developers all agree. Indeed, many software developers consider it to be one of the most difficult aspects of their jobs. With this in mind, higher management and executive leadership frequently put a lot of pressure on…November 5, 20215 min read
How to Make More Accurate Estimates with Planning Poker
To run an effective Planning Poker session, you need to understand these ten best practices in order to produce high-quality estimates that remain accurate.Planning Poker is largely regarded as one of the most accurate methods of creating estimates for agile teams. So, it’s no surprise that Planning Poker is also one of the most popular estimation techniques. However, Planning Poker sessions can go awry if an agile team does not follow best practices…October 29, 20215 min read
How Long Does a Planning Poker Session Take to Complete?
To know if you’re running your planning poker sessions effectively, you need to know how long it should last. So, how long does a planning poker session last?Effort estimation is an important project activity since it facilitates achieving expected results by completing certain tasks on time. Product managers, project managers, and software developers all agree that estimation is difficult. Many software developers regard it as one of the most…October 22, 202110 min read
Why Estimate with Story Points?
Estimation with story points is becoming more popular among agile teams owing to fast, accurate, adaptable, and realistic estimates of the product backlog.Estimation is a hard but crucial activity that agile teams must go through in order to be efficient in planning, managing, and estimating the project. Estimation requires taking into account different factors to have accurate estimates. Scrum guide mentions that estimates should be done by the team…October 19, 20216 min read
A Beginners Guide to Running Your First Planning Poker Session
Running your first planning poker session can feel overwhelming, so we created a guide just for you to help you run your first session like a seasoned pro!The planning poker technique gets used by agile teams all over the world to estimate their product backlogs. Typically, story points evaluate the complexity of a story, and writers gather various expert opinions for the estimation. This article will walk you through the process of hosting your…October 16, 20215 min read
Asynchronous Estimation in Jira – The Right Way to Estimate Issues for Remote Teams
With the growing trends towards remote working, asynchronous estimation sessions empower remote or distributed teams to conduct accurate estimates remotely.Estimation in agile is crucial during the different phases of the project, i.e., proposal level, release level, sprint level, etc. Practicing estimation makes a team have a shared understanding of the stories and let them collectively outline the estimates and direct their focus accordingly…October 1, 20217 min read
Is Planning Poker Right for Your Agile Development Team?
Planning Poker, also known as Estimation Poker, is a useful method for estimating relative quantities in complex empirical engineering or software development tasks.Top managers frequently put a lot of pressure on product development teams to ensure that estimates are as accurate as possible. However, it is important to remember that an estimate is just that: an estimate, not a hard, concrete number. It is also difficult to figure out when and how to estimate…September 24, 20215 min read
Evolution of Planning Poker into Async Poker and Hybrid Poker
Planning Poker holds a never-ending bond with Agile teams, but its evolution into Async Poker and Hybrid Poker is just game-changing.If we go back in time when the developers and supporters of Agile, Extreme Programming, and Scrum were explaining all the details about their revolutionary framework, they failed to provide instructions about one important aspect, i.e., backlog estimation. Agile teams were aware of the need for…September 15, 20215 min read
The Gamification of Effort Estimation: How Can Planning Poker Benefit Your Agile Development Team?
Effort estimation is an important activity for any project because it aids in reaching the desired results by completing the work on time.Estimation, however, is tough, according to product managers, project managers, and software developers. Indeed, many software developers consider it to be one of the most difficult aspects of their jobs. The good news is that there are various estimation approaches to choose from in agile project…September 9, 202110 min read
Agile Estimation and the 10 Best Estimation Techniques to Consider
Choose a proper agile estimation technique: Planning poker, T-Shirt Size, Dot Voting, and seven more.Estimation is not an easy task but a crucial one. Without accurately estimating the cost and time frame of a project, it can lead to prominent delays, inefficiencies, and other issues. But estimation is not just conducted by one individual in a team, instead, the whole team collaborates to derive…
