Why is preventing anchoring a
keyfundamental principle when estimating effort?
The fundamental principle in planning poker is to prevent anchoring(cognitive bias). This is because knowing what others think has an impact on a person’s impacts a person's estimate. In Smart Guess, this principle is held in place with the following rule:
Users only see other team-member estimates when they have first selected their own.
How do users only see other team-member estimates when they have first selected their own?
Let's take an example to see this in action
1. User opens a story where three team members have given an estimate
Here is what users will see:
Team member's avatars who have joined 'Team planning'
Avatars show a green checkmark, indicating they have selected an estimate
The user who has not given an estimate can only see their card deck
The user who has not given an estimate
Only sees own cards:
Users who have already given an estimate
Only see their cards:
2. When the user joins 'Team planning' - this is what happens:
In real-time, shared with all users
The user's avatar appears and 'wiggles' - showing who joined
3. When the user selects an estimate - this is what happens:
In real-time, shared with all users
The user's avatar gets a 'green checkmark' and 'wiggles' - showing who gave an estimate
4. Sharing estimates with team-members
When a user clicks the 'Show estimates' button
In real-time, the estimates are shared
The user's avatar who clicks the button 'wiggles' - showing who performed the action
All users are shown the 'Team estimates' at the same time
What happens when a new member joins when the team has already shared and started discussing estimates?
1. Let's take an example to see this in action
The user who has not given an estimate
Only sees own cards:
Users who have started discussing their estimates
See the team estimates laid out:
2. Once the user selects an estimate - this is what happens:
As soon as the user gives an estimate
In real-time
The user giving the estimate is transitioned showing all team-member estimates
The user's avatar who just gave an estimate 'wiggles' - showing who performed the action