HomeBlog
June 3, 20224 min read

What is the Expected Output of a Planning Poker Meeting?

Planning Poker is a consensus-based estimation technique that requires the contribution of the key team members to make the meeting result in fruitful outputs.Planning Poker is a popular estimation technique used by thousands of Scrum teams to estimate their product backlogs efficiently. Its simple consensus-based estimation approach has attracted many Scrum teams to regularly conduct Planning Poker estimation sessions for their product backlog items…
May 27, 202210 min read

What Makes Planning Poker the Best Estimation Technique?

Planning Poker is an easy and engaging estimation technique that has become a core part of most Scrum teams that regularly use it to do estimates in a fun way.Whether it is a small or large project, there are three common things to know about any project, i.e., the requirements of the tasks, the size of the tasks, and the prioritized tasks. Over the past two decades, software project management and development has experienced a major change with the…
May 20, 202210 min read

Why Product Backlog & Sprint Backlog Should be Estimated as Two Different Units

Product backlog and sprint backlog are two backlogs with different purposes. Estimating them is vital to have a better team understanding of the lined-up work.The software industry is in full swing in the present era. Ever-growing customer demands are urging software firms to adopt smart and fast development approaches for fast releases. Owing to that, most software firms are using Agile for fast and responsive work. Agile teams orient themselves around…
May 13, 20227 min read

9 Common Mistakes with Planning Poker & Their Remedies

Planning Poker is an estimation technique that is easy to learn but difficult to master. By avoiding mistakes linked with it, you can have accurate estimates.Planning Poker is one of the widely used estimation techniques by Scrum teams to estimate the efforts required to complete product backlog items. If done rightly, it can deliver outstanding results and accurate estimates of the work. However, if done wrongly, it can lead to inaccurate estimates…
May 4, 20226 min read

8 Tips to Improve Cross-Functionality Within Your Scrum Team

Scrum-based development relies on a cross-functional Scrum team, as it ensures that the team, as a whole, is capable to deliver the project as per expectations.Scrum methodology relies on three basic pillars to ensure successful outcomes for any given project you may have. These are transparency, inspection, and adaptation. The dynamic and flexible nature of Scrum means you can adopt an incremental approach to optimization and management, allowing your…
April 29, 202210 min read

8 Reasons To Use Scrum Over Waterfall

With the growing competitive software industry, scrum is getting more attention from organizations. Let's discuss some key reasons why to use scrum over waterfall.Scrum and waterfall are both well-known project management methodologies, but both are a lot different from each other. Waterfall has dominated the project management world for decades until the agile manifesto started to gather attention. Today, organizations are actively shifting to scrum-based…
April 27, 20227 min read

7 Common Sprint Planning Mistakes You Should Avoid

Sprint Planning is a crucial part of Scrum-based product development. So, it is important to know what are the common mistakes around it and their remedies.Sprint Planning is one of the crucial events in the Agile world that is meant to set the team's direction for the upcoming Sprint. However, it is also one of the most underappreciated Scrum events owing to the problems and errors it can lead to. As per the Scrum guide, the team should cover the…
April 15, 20225 min read

How Does Planning Poker Encourage Team Collaboration?

Every Agile team heavily relies on effective collaboration. So, can you work on your team’s collaboration while also creating estimates with Planning Poker?The development of Planning Poker, as it is known today, started in 2002. The creation of Planning Poker simplified the Wideband Delphi process from the 1970s to help overcome the complexities that often surface when a team seeks to estimate future work or level of effort. Even though it is not a…
April 12, 20226 min read

How to Make Remote Scrum Master Role Work?

Remote Scrum Master has a crucial role to play in order to ensure that the remote Scrum team works at its highest level, while the projects are delivered timely.Remote scrum teams have been on the rise these last few years. As various corporations have been adjusting to the ongoing global pandemic, the scrum methodology has also seen some changes. This is in keeping with the Agile framework in general since the structure is made to be flexible and adaptive…
April 8, 20227 min read

What is T-Shirt Sizing Agile Estimation Technique, its Pros and Cons, and Best Alternative?

T-shirt sizing is a relative estimation technique where t-shirt sizes, such as XS, S, M, L, and XL, are used to estimate product backlog items in a seamless way.Most agile teams do estimates, as it helps teams to understand, discuss, and plan what they are going to work on next. Estimation also helps in breaking a complex project into smaller parts and fitting them effectively in the next sprint. Moreover, a record of estimates also helps to measure the…
April 1, 20225 min read

Why Does Planning Poker Use Story Points Instead of Time Values?

Oftentimes, people get confused between story points and time values when estimating with Planning Poker. Well, we’re here to clear up the confusion.Without a doubt, estimation is a difficult undertaking. It is one of the most challenging — if not the most difficult — facets of the job for software developers. It must consider various elements to assist product owners in making decisions that influence the entire team and the company. Product…
March 29, 20229 min read

How to Manage a Remote Scrum Team

Remote Scrum teams are a growing concept and gaining more and more popularity thanks to the pandemic and tons of other benefits associated with remote culture.The world of business has changed rapidly over the last couple of years, especially with the pandemic that is forcing corporations to adopt varying work structures. The global workforce has seen a large-scale shift, with most people being forced to work from their homes. As corporations strive to…
March 25, 202210 min read

Estimates from the Viewpoint of Scrum

Estimates help to align priorities, set mutual understanding, and identify dependencies, but there are no rules or standard practices mentioned in Scrum Guide.Estimates are a great resource for teams and organizations to guess what they can achieve, what are the effort requirements, and when they can achieve. When estimates are done rightly, teams get a proper direction path driven by prioritized tasks. In short, estimates are a valuable practice in the…
March 15, 20227 min read

Main Differences Between Agile & Scrum

Agile is a project management approach, while Scrum stands as one of the popular types of Agile methodology. Find out more on Agile vs. Scrum in this article.Agile is a project management approach that focuses on small iteration-based developments to complete a project. Projects that have some level of uncertainty or might require changes use the Agile incremental development approach. On the other hand, Scrum is one of the types of Agile methodology…
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…