Developing a User-Friendly Scrum Poker Application to Enhance Agile Team Collaboration

In today’s fast-paced development environments, agile methodologies such as Scrum have become the standard for managing project workflows efficiently. A crucial component of Scrum practices is the use of estimation techniques like Planning Poker, which facilitates team consensus on story point estimations for user stories. Recognizing the need for a streamlined, accessible tool for this purpose, I embarked on developing a dedicated Scrum Poker application aimed at addressing common pain points associated with existing solutions.

Identifying the Need for a Better Tool

Many existing Scrum Poker applications, while feature-rich, often come with drawbacks that can hinder usability. These include intrusive advertisements, restrictive licensing, or limited access due to browser compatibility issues. For instance, some tools heavily rely on ads to sustain free versions, which can be distracting during planning sessions. Others restrict usage across certain browsers or platforms, such as Brave, due to compatibility concerns. These limitations prompted me to create an alternative that offers a smoother, restriction-free experience.

Features of the Custom Scrum Poker App

The application I developed is straightforward yet effective. It allows team members to log in as guests and cast their votes on user story estimations anonymously. The focus was on simplicity and accessibility, ensuring that teams can quickly adopt the tool without unnecessary complexity or barriers. By maintaining a lightweight interface and minimizing dependencies, the app provides a seamless experience during planning meetings.

Technical Insights and Learning Outcomes

Building this tool also served as an opportunity to deepen my understanding of real-time communication protocols like Mercure. Integrating Mercure enabled instant updates across team members’ devices, facilitating smooth voting sessions and real-time result display. This hands-on experience with the protocol not only improved my technical skills but also contributed to creating a more responsive user experience.

Objectives and Future Plans

My overarching goal is to develop niche yet practical tools that simplify common workflows, reducing reliance on subscription-based or feature-heavy software. By contributing to a more open and accessible internet ecosystem, I hope to make basic yet essential tools free from the typical restrictions and ads that often clutter the user experience.

Conclusion

The Scrum Poker app I built is a testament to the value of tailored, minimalistic solutions that prioritize user experience and accessibility. Whether you’re part of an agile team seeking a distraction-free estimation tool or simply interested in leveraging open protocols like Mercure, I invite you to try out the application.

**Explore the tool here: [https://scrum-poker.space/](https://