Team Collaboration Poker

What is Team Collaboration Poker?

Collaboration Poker is a group-based discussion technique to discuss and define collaboration modes between two teams. Team A is responsible to deliver an application or product. Team C is responsible for a service or component change that then needs to be integrated in to the application. The game finds an agreed collaboration mode between the teams A and C.

But why „group-based“?

  • It avoids one-sided views (swarm intelligence).
  • It also requires the quiet ones to share their opinion.
  • It promotes structured discussion in the group.


The anchor phenomenom makes it difficult to get real, individual assessments in group-based discussions. The anchor problem means, that the assessments by all discussion participants are subconsciously biased to the assessment of the first one, who initially explains his opinion (anchor). To avoid this effect, everybody has to make his individual decission secretly before sharing it with the other group members. This is exactly what planning poker cards are for.

And how does it work?

Just follow these simple and clear steps to successfully play Collaboration Poker. It is best to stick strictly to it at the beginning and only change things if you really understand the system.

  1. All players consisting of representatives of both teams have a card deck.
  2. They discuss about a service or change in the component and how to integration it into the application.
  3. Each player selects a card that corresponds to their opinon about the team collaboration.
  4. All selected cards are played at the same time.
  5. The players discusses about the different opinions, especially outliers.
  6. The players repeat these steps until the opinions converge.


Recommendation: Set a timebox for each topic (e.g. 5 minutes). When the time runs out, you can decide with the team to invest another 5 minutes or to continue.

How can I get the cards?

If you like our Team Collaboration Poker cards, please send us a message to order the cards. We will take care of it as soon as possible! In the meantime, take a look at our other card sets as well. We are always happy to receive feedback, so don't hesitate to let us know your opinion.