Kakao FE Platform Team Estimates Project Schedules Using Planning Poker in a Remote Work Environment

The Kakao FE Platform Team introduced Planning Poker, an Agile methodology, to estimate the schedule for a new project. To address shortcomings from the previous project, the team aimed to create detailed User Stories and a Feature List understandable by both collaboration managers and developers, resulting in the creation of approximately 200 User Stories.

Planning Poker Process

The team set the minimum unit for schedule estimation at 0.5MD and the maximum at 2MD, grouping related Features into approximately 80 units for discussion. The facilitator explained the functional flow based on the specification document, while colleagues presented their estimated time requirements and shared their rationale. Due to the nature of remote work, Google Meet was used. An implicit rule of speaking in turn was formed to prevent overlapping audio when speaking simultaneously, which unexpectedly resulted in higher concentration.

Collaboration Benefits and Limitations

Three participants completed the schedule consensus after discussing for a total of 5 hours and 30 minutes. Participants evaluated that Planning Poker reduced the total time spent on feature definition and communication compared to individually reviewing the specification document. They reflected that it helped objectify subjective schedule estimates and build consensus.

However, it was noted as a limitation that significant resources were required for preparation and discussion. Specifically, due to issues such as audio overlap and long duration, the core principle of Planning Poker, 'simultaneous card reveal,' could not be applied. However, the team stated plans to implement it in the future to ensure fair decision-making.