Introducing Automated Planning Poker Schedules with Slack and Teams Integration - Set Once, Run Forever

Estimation sessions should happen on your calendar, not because someone remembered to create them. Our new automated schedules feature transforms planning poker from a manual ceremony into a seamless, recurring part of your team's workflow. Set your preferred schedule once, connect Slack or Microsoft Teams, and watch estimation sessions appear automatically with zero ongoing effort.

The Manual Planning Poker Problem

Most teams run estimation sessions at regular intervals. Weekly backlog refinement on Tuesdays at 2pm. Daily morning planning for quick triage. Bi-weekly sprint planning on alternating Mondays. The pattern is consistent, but the execution is anything but automated.

The typical manual workflow looks like this:

1. Remember that today is planning poker day
2. Open your issue tracker (Linear, Jira) to find unestimated issues
3. Create a new planning poker session
4. Manually add issues one by one
5. Generate the session link
6. Post the link in Slack/Teams: "Hey team, planning poker time!"
7. Chase down participants who missed the notification
8. Start the session 5-10 minutes late because people trickle in
9. Estimate the issues
10. Repeat next week

This workflow has several failure points:

• Someone forgets to create the session (meeting happens without estimation)
• Issues aren't prepared beforehand (session starts with "wait, what are we estimating?")
• Notification gets buried in busy Slack channels
• Time zone confusion for distributed teams
• Inconsistent session timing creates scheduling friction

Automating this workflow eliminates every failure point. Your team gets consistent, reliable estimation sessions without anyone having to remember, prepare, or coordinate.

What Automated Schedules Actually Do

Automated schedules handle the entire planning poker session lifecycle:

1. Recurring Session Creation

Set your schedule frequency:

• Daily: Every day at your specified time
• Weekdays: Monday through Friday only (skip weekends)
• Specific Days: Custom day selection (e.g., every Tuesday and Thursday)
• Custom Intervals: Every N days on your chosen pattern

Sessions are created automatically at your specified time in your local timezone. No more manual session creation before meetings.

2. Automatic Issue Import

Connect your issue tracker (Linear or Jira), and every scheduled session automatically imports:

• All unestimated issues from your selected projects/teams
• Issues filtered by your saved criteria (labels, priorities, status)
• Only actionable issues (excludes completed/canceled items)
• Fresh data pulled at session creation time

Your team arrives at the meeting with issues already loaded and ready to estimate.

3. Slack Channel Notifications

Connect a Slack channel, and the automation posts:

• Session announcement with direct link
• List of issues to be estimated (with count)
• Scheduled time in each team member's local timezone
• "Join Session" button for one-click access

The notification appears exactly when the session is created, giving your team immediate awareness.

4. Microsoft Teams Channel Notifications

Prefer Teams? The automation posts adaptive cards with:

• Eye-catching session announcement
• Issue count and session details
• Direct join link
• Professional formatting that matches Teams' design language

Just like Slack, notifications appear instantly when sessions are created.

5. Zero Maintenance Required

Once configured, schedules run indefinitely:

• No reminders needed
• No manual intervention required
• Handles holidays and weekends (based on your frequency settings)
• Automatically adjusts for daylight saving time changes
• Works even if the original creator is on vacation

Set it once, forget it forever.

Why Automation Transforms Estimation Practices

Consistency Breeds Better Estimates

Regular, predictable estimation sessions lead to calibrated estimates. When your team knows planning poker happens every Tuesday at 2pm without fail, they:

• Come prepared mentally for estimation discussions
• Develop shared understanding of complexity through repeated practice
• Build muscle memory for estimation patterns
• Trust the process because it never misses a beat

Teams that estimate sporadically struggle with calibration. Weeks pass between sessions, context fades, and estimation accuracy suffers. Automated schedules ensure consistent practice, which drives improved accuracy over time.

Reduced Cognitive Load for Leaders

Scrum Masters, Product Managers, and Engineering Leads carry heavy coordination burdens. Every manual ceremony they can automate frees mental energy for higher-value work.

Automating planning poker means:

• One less recurring task to remember
• No context switching to prepare sessions
• No "did we do planning poker this week?" uncertainty
• Reduced decision fatigue about scheduling

Leaders report that automated schedules eliminate 15-30 minutes of weekly coordination work. That might sound modest, but multiply it across 52 weeks and you're recovering 13-26 hours annually per leader.

Better Participation Through Predictability

Team members are more likely to participate when sessions happen consistently:

• They can block time on their calendars proactively
• No surprise "planning poker in 5 minutes" announcements
• Distributed teams can plan around timezone-appropriate slots
• Part-time team members know when to be available

Predictable schedules increase average participation by 20-30% based on early user data. Higher participation means more voices in estimation discussions and better collective intelligence.

Faster Session Starts

Manual sessions typically start 5-10 minutes late. Issues aren't loaded, the facilitator is still setting up, and participants trickle in. Automated schedules eliminate setup time entirely:

• Issues are already imported when the meeting starts
• Session link is already in Slack/Teams
• Participants can join early and review issues
• Facilitator can start immediately at the scheduled time

Saving 5-10 minutes per session might seem trivial, but it compounds. A team running 4 estimation sessions per month saves 20-40 minutes monthly, or 4-8 hours annually. Multiply by team size for total time savings.

How It Works: Step-by-Step Setup

Step 1: Create Your Schedule

Navigate to your Planning Poker workspace and click "Create Schedule". You'll see the schedule configuration interface:

Name Your Schedule

Give your schedule a descriptive name like "Weekly Backlog Refinement" or "Daily Standup Estimates". This name appears in Slack/Teams notifications, so make it clear and recognizable.

Select Frequency

Choose from:

• Daily: Every day at your specified time
• Weekdays: Monday-Friday only (automatically skips weekends)
• Custom Days: Select specific weekdays (e.g., every Tuesday and Thursday)

Most teams choose either "Weekdays" for daily triage or "Custom Days" for weekly/bi-weekly ceremonies.

Set Time

Pick the time for session creation. The interface shows your local timezone automatically. If your team is distributed, choose a time that works across timezones (typically mid-morning in the earliest timezone).

Important timezone note: Schedules run in the timezone of the schedule creator. If you're in Pacific Time and set 2pm, the schedule runs at 2pm Pacific (5pm Eastern, 10pm UTC). Team members in other timezones see the notification at their local equivalent time.

Step 2: Connect Issue Tracker (Optional but Recommended)

Click "Connect Issue Tracker" and choose Linear or Jira:

For Linear:

1. Click "Connect Linear"
2. Authorize Planning Poker to access your Linear workspace
3. Select which team's issues to import
4. Optionally apply filters (projects, labels, priorities)
5. Choose "Unestimated Only" to skip already-estimated issues

For Jira:

1. Click "Connect Jira"
2. Authorize Planning Poker to access your Jira instance
3. Select which project(s) to import from
4. Configure JQL filters for precise issue selection
5. Map Jira estimate fields to Planning Poker votes

The integration is optional. If you skip this step, scheduled sessions are created empty, and you can manually add issues as needed.

Step 3: Connect Slack or Microsoft Teams

This step is where automation truly shines.

For Slack:

1. Click "Connect Slack Channel"
2. Authorize Planning Poker to access your Slack workspace
3. Select which channel should receive notifications (typically #engineering, #planning, or #agile)
4. Configure notification content:
   • Include issue count
   • Show issue titles preview
   • Customize message format
5. Test the connection (sends a sample notification)

For Microsoft Teams:

1. Click "Connect Teams Channel"
2. Authorize Planning Poker to access your Teams workspace
3. Select which team and channel should receive notifications
4. Configure adaptive card content:
   • Include issue list
   • Show session metadata
   • Add custom message
5. Test the connection (sends a sample adaptive card)

You can connect both Slack AND Teams if your organization uses both tools. Notifications will be sent to both platforms simultaneously.

Why channel notifications matter:

Email notifications get buried. Direct messages feel intrusive. Channel notifications strike the perfect balance:

• Visible to all team members
• Not lost in individual inboxes
• Encourage public discussion and preparation
• Create searchable history of estimation sessions
• Allow asynchronous questions before the meeting

Step 4: Review and Activate

The summary screen shows:

• Schedule frequency and time
• Connected issue tracker (if any)
• Connected Slack/Teams channels
• Estimated issue count per session (based on current backlog)
• Preview of the notification message

Review everything, then click "Activate Schedule". The automation starts immediately.

Your first scheduled session will be created at the next occurrence of your chosen time/day. For example:

• If it's Monday and you set "Weekdays at 9am", the first session creates Tuesday at 9am
• If it's Wednesday and you set "Tuesday at 2pm", the first session creates next Tuesday at 2pm
• If it's Friday 3pm and you set "Weekdays at 10am", the first session creates Monday at 10am

Step 5: Set It and Forget It

Your schedule is now running. No further action required.

Every scheduled time:

1. Planning Poker creates a new session automatically
2. Imports unestimated issues from your connected tracker (if configured)
3. Generates a unique session link
4. Posts notification to your Slack/Teams channel
5. Waits for your team to join and estimate

You'll receive confirmation emails when schedules run (configurable in settings). Otherwise, the automation is invisible - it just works.

Slack Integration Deep Dive

The Slack integration transforms how teams engage with planning poker.

Rich Notification Format

Slack notifications include:

Header

• Scheduled session icon
• Session name (e.g., "Weekly Backlog Refinement")
• Creation timestamp

Body

• Number of issues loaded (e.g., "12 unestimated issues ready for estimation")
• Optional: Preview of first 5 issue titles
• Session time in the viewer's local timezone
• Estimated duration (based on issue count and your team's historical velocity)

Call-to-Action

• Prominent "Join Session" button with direct link
• Secondary "View All Issues" link for pre-meeting review

Example Notification:

🎯 Weekly Backlog Refinement

12 unestimated issues are ready for estimation:
• ENG-234: Add authentication flow
• ENG-235: Implement search filters
• ENG-236: Fix mobile layout bug
• ENG-237: Add export functionality
• ENG-238: Optimize database queries
... and 7 more

📅 Tuesday, Oct 15 at 2:00 PM PDT
⏱️ Estimated duration: 30-45 minutes

[Join Session] [View All Issues]

The notification appears in your channel immediately when the session is created. Team members can click "Join Session" to enter directly, no additional navigation required.

Slack Workflow Integration

Advanced Slack users can chain Planning Poker notifications into custom workflows:

Example 1: Automatic Calendar Invites

Use Slack workflows to detect Planning Poker notifications and automatically send calendar invites to participants. This ensures the session appears on everyone's calendar without manual event creation.

Example 2: Reminder DMs

Configure workflows to send direct message reminders to specific team members 5 minutes before scheduled sessions. Useful for ensuring critical participants don't miss the meeting.

Example 3: Issue Pre-Review

Set up workflows that fetch the Planning Poker session link from the notification, retrieve the issue list, and post a threaded summary with context from Linear/Jira. Team members can review and discuss issues before the live estimation session.

Slack Thread Discussions

Notifications are posted as regular Slack messages, which means teams can use threaded replies for asynchronous preparation:

• Ask clarifying questions about issues
• Flag blockers or dependencies
• Propose rough estimates before the meeting
• Discuss scope or acceptance criteria

These threaded discussions reduce synchronous meeting time. Teams arrive at the session with shared context and can focus on resolving disagreements rather than basic understanding.

Slack Permissions and Security

The Slack integration requires minimal permissions:

• channels:read: View public channels for selection
• chat:write: Post notifications to selected channels
• chat:write.public: Post to public channels without joining

We do NOT request or store:

• Access to private channels (unless explicitly granted)
• Message history or content
• User information beyond what's needed for OAuth
• Workspace-wide permissions

You can revoke Planning Poker's Slack access anytime from Slack's App Management settings. Revocation stops future notifications immediately but doesn't delete past messages.

Microsoft Teams Integration Deep Dive

The Teams integration brings professional, visually rich notifications to Microsoft 365 environments.

Adaptive Card Format

Teams notifications use Adaptive Cards, Microsoft's native rich message format:

Card Header

• Planning Poker logo and branding
• Session name in large, bold text
• Subtle background color for visual distinction

Card Body

• Issue count badge
• Collapsible issue list (expand to see all titles)
• Metadata (session time, duration estimate, facilitator)
• Optional: Connection to your connected issue tracker

Action Buttons

• Primary: "Join Session" (opens session in new browser tab)
• Secondary: "View Issues" (opens issue list detail view)

Example Adaptive Card:

╔═══════════════════════════════════════════╗
║ 🎯 Planning Poker                         ║
║ Daily Morning Estimation                  ║
╠═══════════════════════════════════════════╣
║                                           ║
║ 📊 8 issues ready for estimation          ║
║                                           ║
║ Issues to Estimate                        ║
║ ▼ Show issues (click to expand)          ║
║                                           ║
║ 📅 Wednesday, Oct 16 at 9:00 AM PST       ║
║ ⏱️ ~25 minutes estimated                  ║
║ 👤 Facilitated by Alex Chen               ║
║                                           ║
║ [Join Session]  [View Issues]             ║
╚═══════════════════════════════════════════╝

Adaptive Cards render beautifully on all platforms:

• Desktop Teams app
• Teams web client
• Teams mobile apps (iOS, Android)
• Outlook (when Teams messages sync to email)

Teams Activity Feed Integration

When schedules post to Teams, they also trigger activity feed notifications for:

• Users who have the channel favorited
• Users who have @mentioned themselves in advance
• Team owners and channel moderators

This ensures visibility even if team members aren't actively monitoring the channel.

Teams Meeting Integration (Coming Soon)

We're developing deeper Teams integration that automatically creates Teams meetings when schedules run. This will enable:

• Video conferencing directly in the Teams app
• Screen sharing for issue review
• Meeting recordings for absent team members
• Automatic meeting summaries with estimation results

This feature is currently in beta with select Enterprise customers.

Teams Permissions and Security

The Teams integration requires:

• ChannelMessage.Send: Post messages to selected channels
• Team.ReadBasic.All: View teams and channels for selection
• User.Read: Identify the user authorizing the connection

We do NOT request:

• Access to meeting content or recordings
• Message history or editing permissions
• Files or SharePoint access
• Organization-wide administrative permissions

Revoke access anytime from Microsoft 365 admin center or directly from Planning Poker settings.

Issue Tracker Auto-Import: How It Works

Automatic issue import eliminates manual session preparation entirely.

Linear Auto-Import

When you connect Linear to a schedule:

What Gets Imported

• All unestimated issues from your selected team(s)
• Issues in active states (excludes completed, canceled, duplicate)
• Issue identifier, title, description, and acceptance criteria
• Priority level and project assignment
• Labels and assignees

Filtering Options

Configure precise filters to narrow the import:

• Projects: Only issues from specific projects
• Labels: Must have (or must not have) specific labels
• Priority: Only P0/P1, or exclude low-priority items
• Cycles: Only issues in current or upcoming cycle
• Custom Filters: Use Linear's filter syntax for advanced scenarios

Import Timing

Issues are imported at the moment the scheduled session is created. This means:

• Fresh data every session (reflects latest backlog state)
• New issues added to Linear between sessions are automatically included
• Estimated issues from previous sessions are automatically excluded
• The import reflects your Linear filters at run-time, not creation-time

Example Import Flow:

1. Monday 9am: Your schedule triggers
2. Planning Poker queries Linear: "Get all unestimated issues from Team A, filtered by Project X, with label 'ready-for-estimation'"
3. Linear returns 15 issues matching criteria
4. Planning Poker creates session with these 15 issues pre-loaded
5. Notification posts to Slack/Teams: "15 issues ready for estimation"
6. Team joins session and estimates
7. Estimates sync back to Linear automatically
8. Next Monday: Process repeats, importing only issues still unestimated

Jira Auto-Import

When you connect Jira to a schedule:

What Gets Imported

• Issues matching your JQL filter
• Issue key, summary, description, and custom fields
• Story points field (configurable which field to use)
• Priority, status, and assignee
• Epic link and parent relationships

JQL Filter Configuration

Use Jira's powerful JQL query language for precise control:

project = ENG AND
status in ("To Do", "In Progress") AND
"Story Points" is EMPTY AND
labels = "sprint-ready" AND
created >= -30d
ORDER BY priority DESC

This example imports:

• Issues from the ENG project
• In "To Do" or "In Progress" status
• Without story points assigned
• Tagged with "sprint-ready" label
• Created in the last 30 days
• Ordered by priority (highest first)

Import Performance

Jira imports can be slower than Linear due to API differences:

• Linear: ~2 seconds for 50 issues
• Jira: ~5-8 seconds for 50 issues

Schedules account for this timing difference. Notifications are only sent after imports complete successfully.

Field Mapping

Configure which Jira fields map to Planning Poker properties:

• Estimate Field: Which Jira field stores story points (default: "Story Points")
• Description Field: Primary description field (default: "Description")
• Identifier Format: How to display issue keys (e.g., "ENG-234" vs "234")

This ensures estimates sync back to the correct fields in Jira.

No Issue Tracker? Manual Mode Works Too

Not ready to connect Linear or Jira? Schedules work in manual mode:

1. Schedule creates empty session at scheduled time
2. Notification posts to Slack/Teams (without issue count)
3. Facilitator manually adds issues during the meeting
4. Team estimates as usual

Manual mode still saves coordination time even without auto-import. The session is ready to go, the team is notified, and you just need to add issues on-the-fly.

Best Practices for Automated Schedules

1. Choose the Right Frequency

Match frequency to your team's cadence:

Daily Schedules (9am every weekday)

Best for:

• Fast-moving teams with continuous delivery
• Quick triage estimation (5-10 issues)
• Teams using Kanban (no fixed sprints)
• Startups with rapidly changing priorities

Weekly Schedules (Tuesday 2pm)

Best for:

• Sprint-based teams (Scrum)
• Backlog refinement ceremonies
• Teams with 20-40 issues to estimate per session
• More deliberate estimation discussions

Bi-Weekly Schedules (Every other Monday)

Best for:

• Slower-moving projects
• Teams with smaller backlogs
• Combined sprint planning + estimation sessions
• Distributed teams with limited overlap time

Custom Schedules (Tuesday and Thursday 10am)

Best for:

• Teams that want multiple short sessions per week
• Splitting front-end and back-end estimation
• Aligning with other ceremonies (standup, retro)

2. Set Appropriate Times

Consider timezone distribution:

Single-Timezone Teams

Pick a time that works locally:

• Avoid early morning (people aren't fully engaged)
• Avoid end of day (energy is low)
• Mid-morning (10am-11am) or mid-afternoon (2pm-3pm) work best

Distributed Teams Across 2-3 Timezones

Choose a compromise time:

• If spanning US East/West: 1pm Eastern (10am Pacific) works
• If spanning US/Europe: Early morning US = late afternoon Europe
• Consider alternating times to share the burden fairly

Globally Distributed Teams

Split into regional schedules:

• APAC schedule at APAC-friendly time
• EMEA schedule at EMEA-friendly time
• Americas schedule at Americas-friendly time
• Use async estimation features for issues that need full team input

3. Configure Issue Filters Wisely

Import the right issues:

Start Broad, Refine Over Time

First schedule: Import all unestimated issues from your project After a few sessions: Refine filters to exclude:

• Issues not ready for estimation (missing acceptance criteria)
• Issues blocked by external dependencies
• Issues that need more discovery first
• Low-priority backlog items unlikely to be worked soon

Use Labels to Control Flow

In Linear or Jira, create a label like "ready-for-estimation" Add this label to issues when they're prepared for estimation Configure your schedule to import only issues with this label Result: Only properly groomed issues appear in sessions

Balance Quantity

Too few issues (< 5): Session ends early, feels wasteful Too many issues (> 30): Session drags on, team fatigues Sweet spot: 10-20 issues per session for 30-45 minute meetings

4. Prepare Your Team

Communicate the change:

Announce the Automation

Before activating your first schedule, tell your team:

• "We're automating planning poker to happen every Tuesday at 2pm"
• "Sessions will appear in #engineering with issues pre-loaded"
• "Just click the link and join - no setup needed"
• "If you can't make it, we'll handle estimation without you (or consider async methods)"

Add to Team Calendar

Even though sessions are automated, add a recurring calendar event:

• Ensures time is blocked
• Shows up in calendar views
• Enables out-of-office detection
• Can include meeting prep instructions

Set Participation Expectations

Clarify:

• Is attendance required or optional?
• How many sessions can team members miss?
• What happens if key people are absent?
• Should people review issues before the session?

5. Monitor and Adjust

After your first few automated sessions:

Check Participation Rates

• Are people actually joining?
• If attendance is low, the time might not work
• Consider surveying team for better scheduling

Review Issue Counts

• Consistently too many or too few issues?
• Adjust your import filters
• Refine your backlog grooming process

Gather Feedback

Ask your team:

• Is the frequency right?
• Are notifications helpful or noise?
• Should we change the time?
• Are the right issues being imported?

Iterate on Notification Content

Experiment with:

• More or less detail in Slack/Teams messages
• Including or excluding issue previews
• Adding custom reminders or instructions
• Linking to relevant documentation

6. Combine with Other Automations

Automated schedules work beautifully with other tools:

Calendar Sync

Use Zapier or Power Automate to:

• Detect Planning Poker notifications in Slack/Teams
• Automatically create Google Calendar or Outlook events
• Invite team members based on project assignment

Pre-Session Reminders

Set up 15-minute-before reminders:

• Slack workflow sends DMs to team members
• Teams bot posts reminder in channel
• Email reminder for people who prefer inbox notifications

Post-Session Reports

Automate follow-up:

• Export estimation results automatically
• Post summary to Slack/Teams after session ends
• Update Linear/Jira with session metadata (who participated, how long it took)
• Generate velocity reports for leadership

Troubleshooting Common Issues

Schedule Didn't Run

Possible Causes:

1. Schedule is paused: Check schedule settings - did someone pause it?
2. Timezone confusion: Schedule runs in creator's timezone - verify the time conversion
3. Slack/Teams connection expired: Re-authorize the integration
4. Issue tracker connection failed: Check Linear/Jira connection status

Solution:

• Review schedule status in settings
• Check email for failure notifications (we send these automatically)
• Re-authorize any expired integrations
• Manually create the session as a one-time workaround
• Contact support if issue persists

Notification Not Appearing in Slack/Teams

Possible Causes:

1. Bot not invited to channel: Planning Poker bot needs to be in the channel
2. Channel permissions: Private channels require explicit bot invitation
3. Workspace app disabled: Admin might have disabled the app
4. Notification settings muted: Check if channel notifications are muted for you

Solution:

• For Slack: Type /invite @PlanningPoker in the channel
• For Teams: Go to channel settings > Apps > Add Planning Poker
• Ask workspace admin to verify app is enabled
• Check your personal notification settings

Wrong Issues Imported

Possible Causes:

1. Filters too broad: Import is pulling issues you didn't intend
2. Stale filter configuration: Saved filters don't reflect current backlog structure
3. Already-estimated issues appearing: The "unestimated only" toggle might be off

Solution:

• Review and refine your import filters in schedule settings
• Test filters in Linear/Jira directly before configuring in Planning Poker
• Enable "Unestimated Only" option if you only want fresh issues
• Use labels or status filters to narrow scope

Too Many or Too Few Issues

Issue Count Problems:

• Consistently importing 50+ issues (overwhelming)
• Consistently importing < 5 issues (underwhelming)

Solution:

• Adjust your backlog grooming process
• Refine import filters to match realistic estimation capacity
• Split into multiple schedules (daily for small batches, weekly for larger batches)
• Consider changing schedule frequency

Team Members Not Participating

Low attendance despite automation:

Possible Causes:

1. Time doesn't work for people
2. Notification getting lost in busy channels
3. Team doesn't see value in estimation
4. People don't realize they're expected to join

Solution:

• Survey team about preferred timing
• Post notifications to a dedicated channel (e.g., #agile-ceremonies)
• Clearly communicate participation expectations
• Add recurring calendar event in addition to Slack/Teams notifications
• Consider required vs. optional participation models

Real-World Usage Scenarios

Scenario 1: Daily Standup Estimation for Fast-Moving Startup

Challenge: 12-person engineering team ships continuously. New issues created daily. Manual planning poker coordination takes 20 minutes daily (finding issues, creating session, notifying team). Team wants to estimate everything within 24 hours of creation.

Solution with Automated Schedules:

1. Create daily schedule: Weekdays at 9:15am (right after standup)
2. Connect Linear with filter: created >= -1d AND "Story Points" is EMPTY
3. Connect Slack channel: #engineering
4. Issues from yesterday automatically appear in today's session
5. Team joins directly from Slack notification
6. 10-15 minute estimation session
7. Estimates sync to Linear
8. Product Manager uses fresh estimates for prioritization by 10am

Result: Zero coordination time. Team estimates everything same-day. Product decisions informed by fresh estimates.

Scenario 2: Weekly Sprint Planning for Remote-First Scrum Team

Challenge: Distributed team across US and Europe. Sprint planning on Mondays is painful - facilitator spends 30 minutes preparing issue list from Jira, half the team forgets to join, session starts late, and runs long.

Solution with Automated Schedules:

1. Create weekly schedule: Every Monday at 1pm Eastern (10am Pacific, 6pm London)
2. Connect Jira with JQL: project = PROD AND sprint = EMPTY AND status = "Ready for Estimation"
3. Connect Teams channel: Product Team - General
4. Friday afternoon: Team reviews issues in Jira, marks ready ones with status
5. Monday 1pm: Session auto-creates with ready issues
6. Teams notification includes issue count and estimated duration
7. Team joins on time (it's predictable)
8. Estimation completes in 45 minutes
9. Facilitator moves estimated issues into sprint

Result: 30 minutes saved on preparation. 5-10 minutes saved on late starts. More consistent attendance due to predictability.

Scenario 3: Bi-Weekly Backlog Refinement for Enterprise Team

Challenge: Large backlog (200+ issues). Monthly refinement sessions are overwhelming (4+ hours). Team wants to estimate in smaller, more frequent batches.

Solution with Automated Schedules:

1. Create custom schedule: Every Tuesday and Thursday at 2pm
2. Connect Jira with JQL: project = PLATFORM AND priority in (P0, P1, P2) AND "Story Points" is EMPTY ORDER BY priority DESC LIMIT 15
3. Limit import to 15 highest-priority issues per session
4. Connect Slack: #platform-team
5. Tuesday: Estimate 15 issues (30-40 minutes)
6. Thursday: Estimate next 15 issues (30-40 minutes)
7. Repeat bi-weekly pattern

Result: Overwhelming 4-hour sessions become manageable 40-minute sessions. Team stays focused. High-priority issues estimated first. Backlog gradually refined without marathon sessions.

Scenario 4: Cross-Functional Estimation for Product Team

Challenge: Product team includes designers, engineers, and QA. Everyone should weigh in on estimates, but coordinating across functions is difficult. Manual session creation happens at engineering's convenience, missing other perspectives.

Solution with Automated Schedules:

1. Create weekly schedule: Wednesday at 3pm (after design sync, before engineering planning)
2. Connect Linear: Import from "Product Team" with label "cross-functional"
3. Connect Slack: #product-team-all (includes all functions)
4. Issues needing cross-functional input get labeled "cross-functional" in Linear
5. Wednesday 3pm: Session auto-creates
6. Slack notification reaches all team members
7. Designers provide UX complexity input
8. Engineers estimate implementation effort
9. QA flags testing complexity
10. Combined perspectives improve estimate accuracy

Result: More voices in estimation. Better estimates that account for full lifecycle. Improved cross-functional collaboration.

Pricing and Plans

Automated schedules with Slack/Teams integration are available on Team and Enterprise plans:

Free Plan

• ❌ Automated schedules not included
• Manual session creation only
• Up to 5 participants per session
• Up to 3 active sessions

Starter Plan

• ❌ Automated schedules not included
• Manual session creation
• Linear/Jira integration (import on-demand)
• Up to 10 participants per session
• Up to 10 active sessions

Team Plan (Most Popular)

• ✅ Unlimited automated schedules
• ✅ Slack integration (unlimited channels)
• ✅ Microsoft Teams integration (unlimited channels)
• ✅ Linear + Jira integration with auto-import
• Unlimited participants and sessions
• Analytics dashboard
• Priority support

Enterprise Plan

• ✅ Unlimited automated schedules
• ✅ Slack integration with advanced features
• ✅ Microsoft Teams integration with meeting creation (beta)
• ✅ All integrations with white-labeling
• Custom workflows and automation
• Single Sign-On (SSO)
• Dedicated support
• SLA guarantees
• API access for custom integrations

View full pricing details

Get Started with Automated Schedules

Ready to automate your planning poker workflow?

New to Planning Poker?

1. Create a free account and try core estimation features
2. Explore manual session creation to understand the workflow
3. Upgrade to Team plan when ready for automation
4. Set up your first automated schedule in under 5 minutes

Existing Team Plan Customer?

Automated schedules are already included in your plan:

1. Navigate to your workspace
2. Click "Create Schedule" in the sidebar
3. Configure frequency, time, and integrations
4. Activate and watch it run

Need Help Deciding?

Questions about whether automated schedules fit your workflow? Contact us at hello@planning-poker.app. We're happy to discuss your team's needs and help design the right schedule configuration.

What's Coming Next

We're actively developing enhancements to automated schedules:

Planned Features

Conditional Scheduling

• Only create session if N+ unestimated issues exist
• Skip sessions when backlog is empty
• Adjust frequency dynamically based on backlog size

Post-Session Actions

• Automatically move estimated issues to specific status in Linear/Jira
• Send summary report to Slack/Teams after session ends
• Create follow-up tasks for unestimated issues that were skipped

Advanced Notifications

• @ mention specific team members based on issue assignment
• Include issue previews with descriptions in notifications
• Customize notification templates per schedule

Calendar Integration

• Automatically create Google Calendar / Outlook events when sessions are scheduled
• Two-way sync: Cancel session if calendar event is canceled
• Show estimated duration in calendar

Attendance Tracking

• Record who joined each automated session
• Send reminders to team members with low participation
• Analytics dashboard showing participation trends

Multi-Schedule Management

• Create schedule templates for reuse across workspaces
• Bulk edit multiple schedules at once
• Schedule groups (activate/pause multiple schedules together)

Share Your Feedback

Using automated schedules? We want to hear from you:

• What features would make automation even more powerful?
• Which integrations should we add next? (GitHub, Azure DevOps, other tools?)
• What friction remains in your estimation workflow?

Email us at hello@planning-poker.app with feedback, suggestions, or bug reports. Your input directly shapes our roadmap.

Try It Now

Set once, run forever. Upgrade to Team plan and create your first automated schedule today.

Already on Team plan? Log in and click "Create Schedule" in your workspace to get started.

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Automated schedules represent our commitment to eliminating coordination overhead from agile ceremonies. Your team's time is too valuable to waste on manual setup. Set your schedule, connect your tools, and let Planning Poker handle the rest.