Planning Poker Roles

This guide explains how to manage users and roles in Planning Poker Estimation.

👥 Understanding Roles

Planning Poker Estimation has three user roles:

Moderators

• What they do: Create sessions, manage settings, control session flow
• Count toward limits: Yes (based on subscription plan)
• Who should be moderators: Scrum Masters, Product Owners, team leads

Estimators

• What they do: Participate in voting, view revealed estimates
• Count toward limits: Yes (based on subscription plan)
• Who should be estimators: Developers, QA engineers, designers, anyone who estimates work

Spectators

• What they do: Observe sessions without voting
• Count toward limits: No (unlimited on paid plans)
• Who should be spectators: Stakeholders, managers, observers

📊 Moderator Limits by Plan

Plan	Moderator Limit
Free	Does not support moderators - all users are treated as moderators
Starter	Up to 2
Advanced	Up to 5
Enterprise	Up to 15
Enterprise custom	Unlimited

📊 Estimator Limits by Plan

Plan	Estimator Limit
Free	5 per session
Starter	20 unique users per month
Advanced	50 unique users per month
Enterprise	150 unique users per month
Enterprise custom	Unlimited

See Subscription for complete pricing details.

🔧 Assigning Moderators

Moderator seats are assigned globally in app settings.

How it works:

1. Navigate to Administration → Integrations → Planning Poker Settings
2. In the admin panel, find the Moderator Management section
3. Add or remove moderators as needed
4. Moderators can create sessions and manage them

Session-level behavior:

1. When creating a session, the creator is automatically a moderator for that session
2. Additional moderators can be added during session creation
3. Moderators can be added or removed during active sessions

Moderator Best Practices

• Assign moderators based on who will actually facilitate sessions
• Don't assign all team leads as moderators if they won't use the feature
• Review moderator assignments periodically to ensure you're not exceeding limits

🔐 Permissions

Required YouTrack Permissions

For Administrators:

• Low-level Admin Write - Required to access admin panel and manage subscription

For Moderators:

• READ_ISSUE - Required to view issues in sessions
• UPDATE_ISSUE - Required to save estimates to issue fields
• Standard YouTrack user permissions

For Estimators/Spectators:

• READ_ISSUE - Required to view issues in sessions
• Standard YouTrack user permissions

Permissions are managed through YouTrack's standard permission system.

Permission Issues

If users can't save estimates, verify they have UPDATE_ISSUE permission

🔧 Troubleshooting

Can't Add More Moderators

Problem: "Moderator limit reached" message appears

Solutions:

1. Check your current plan's moderator limit
2. Remove inactive moderators
3. Upgrade to a plan with higher limits
4. Contact support if you believe the limit is incorrect

User Can't Create Sessions

Problem: User doesn't see "Create Session" option

Solutions:

1. Verify user is assigned as a moderator in admin settings
2. Check that subscription is active
3. Ensure user has necessary YouTrack permissions
4. Try refreshing the browser

Moderator Not Showing in List

Problem: Recently added moderator doesn't appear

Solutions:

1. Refresh the admin panel
2. Verify the user has access to YouTrack
3. Check that the user account is active
4. Contact support if issue persists

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Need Help? Contact support@appfero.com or visit our FAQ page.