Feature
Planning poker: estimate together, vote in private
Live estimation rounds: hidden votes, a shared reveal, and the conversation about the spread. Included in the Developer plan.
Planning poker in Zuuna is a live session, not a form. The moderator starts a round, everyone votes on the same card behind a hidden ballot, and only the shared reveal shows the spread.
Why hidden
Because the first number said out loud anchors everyone else. The moment somebody says "that's a 3", the rest estimate around that 3. Hidden votes prevent exactly that — and expose the only interesting part: that a 2 and a 13 landed on the same card.
The spread is the output
Not the average. Two votes far apart almost always mean two people are picturing different work — usually because the acceptance criteria are missing, or a dependency is known to one person only. The conversation that follows is the reason to hold the session at all; the story points are a by-product.
Where it belongs
In the flow, poker sits between refinement and sprint planning: the backlog is ordered, the top entries are clarified, and whatever gets a number now can be pulled into the sprint next.
Plan
Developer plan, together with sprints and backlog — poker without a sprint is a number with nowhere to go.
FAQ
How many people should estimate?
Everyone who could do the work. People who are only listening skew the spread, and anyone not doing the work should not be voting.
What if the team cannot agree?
Then the card is usually not small enough or not clear enough. Splitting it, or sharpening the acceptance criteria, beats a third round of voting.
Do I need poker to estimate?
No. You can size cards directly during refinement. Poker earns its keep when several people know different amounts about the same task.