DEV Community

Alexander Voloshyn
Alexander Voloshyn

Posted on AI-assisted

Discuss the Estimate Before Changing the Card

Team discussing Planning Poker estimates

Imagine a Planning Poker round: 3, 3, 3, 13.

Before anyone asks about the 13, that person clicks 3 instead. The cards match, and the team moves on.

But what happened to the concern behind the original estimate?

Maybe the ticket says “save search filters.” Most people picture saving one filter in the browser. The person who picked 13 is thinking about syncing filters across devices and sharing them with teammates.

That difference is worth a conversation. A quick card change can make it disappear before anyone hears it.

Keep the votes in place

planning poker has an optional room setting called Disable Voting After Reveal.

Turn it on, and voting is disabled once the cards are revealed. Participants can't click a different card to match the rest of the team.

The original spread stays visible while you ask: “What did you include that we might have missed?”

Private voting gives everyone space to choose independently. Keeping the cards fixed after reveal gives the team a chance to discuss those choices.

Changing your mind still makes sense

After hearing the missing context, a different estimate might be exactly right.

The sequence is simple:

  1. Reveal the cards.
  2. Discuss the difference and clarify the ticket.
  3. Start a new round so everyone can vote again.

If the conversation leaves a key question unanswered, give it an owner before trying another vote.

How does your team handle a changed estimate after reveal?

Top comments (0)