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	No explicit moderator management - users can create public sessions within Free limits
Starter	Up to 2
Advanced	Up to 5
Enterprise	Up to 15
Enterprise custom	Unlimited

📊 Estimator Limits by Plan

Plan	Estimator Limit
Free	Limited evaluation capacity
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.