Scrum Poker (also called Planning Poker) is an agile estimation technique where team members use numbered cards to estimate the effort of user stories. Each person picks a card privately, then all cards are revealed at once to avoid anchoring bias.

Yes, Scrum Poker Online is completely free. No account, no credit card, no limits. Create a room and start estimating in seconds.

Do I need to create an account?

No. Just enter your name, create or join a room, and start planning. No sign-up or login required.

What estimation scales are supported?

Scrum Poker supports Fibonacci (0, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21...), T-Shirt sizes (XS, S, M, L, XL...), Powers of 2 (1, 2, 4, 8, 16...), and fully custom decks.

How many people can join a room?

Up to 10 people can join a single estimation room. This is ideal for most agile team sizes.

Agile Velocity: How Story Points Predict Your Team's Sprint Capacity

Understanding velocity is the key to reliable sprint planning — here's how to calculate, track, and improve it.

What is Agile Velocity?

Velocity is the average number of story points a team completes per sprint. It's not a performance metric — it's a planning tool. If your team consistently delivers 34 points per sprint, you know roughly how much work to pull into the next sprint. Velocity turns unpredictable estimates into reliable forecasts over time.

How to Calculate Velocity

Add up the story points from all completed user stories at the end of each sprint. Only count stories that meet your team's Definition of Done — partial work counts as zero. After 3–5 sprints, average the totals. That number is your velocity.

Sprint 1: 28 points completed
Sprint 2: 32 points completed
Sprint 3: 30 points completed
Average velocity: (28 + 32 + 30) / 3 = 30 points per sprint

Using Velocity for Sprint Planning

During sprint planning, pull stories from the backlog until the total matches your velocity. If your velocity is 30 points, don't commit to 40 points of work just because the sprint feels empty. Overcommitment is the most common cause of sprint failure and team burnout.

Why Velocity Changes Over Time

Velocity fluctuates naturally. A new team member, a sprint with extra meetings, or a change in how your team writes stories can all shift velocity. This is normal. Use a rolling average of the last 3–5 sprints rather than the most recent sprint to smooth out these fluctuations.

Team composition changes (new members, departures)
Sprint length changes (2-week vs 3-week sprints)
Story size calibration shifting over time
Higher proportion of non-story work (bugs, tech debt)
Team learning curve on new technology

Velocity vs. Individual Productivity

Never compare velocity across teams — story points are relative to the team that estimated them. A team with velocity 60 is not twice as productive as a team with velocity 30. Each team calibrates points differently. Using velocity as a performance comparison destroys estimation honesty and creates gaming behavior.

How Planning Poker Improves Velocity Accuracy

Velocity is only useful if your story points are calibrated consistently. Planning Poker ensures the entire team contributes to estimates, reducing individual bias. When everyone independently votes and then discusses disagreements, you get estimates that reflect collective understanding — which makes velocity a more reliable predictor. Use Scrum Poker Online to run your planning sessions and build a trustworthy velocity baseline.

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