Host a Scrumbets room: first-run checklist

Before the call

Your job as host is facilitation, not tooling theater. Scrumbets is a browser room: open it, share a link, keep votes hidden until reveal, then drive a short decision cycle. Do the prep so people land in one place instead of hunting for “which spreadsheet tab?”

• Pick 5–10 backlog items you actually want estimated in this session.
• Have ticket titles (and one-line acceptance criteria) ready to paste into the story field.
• Add a placeholder “Scrumbets link — coming” in the meeting invite or agenda; drop the real URL once the room exists.
• Agree once what the numbers mean (relative story points vs last sprint’s baseline)—not hours.

What you need from Scrumbets

Scrumbets is Waryway’s lightweight planning poker app—no install. For a first run you only need:

Host steps (create → close)

1. Create or open a room. Go to scrumbets.waryway.com and start a session. Keep that tab open as the host view for the call.
2. Share the link. Paste the room link into the video-call chat and (if useful) the calendar description. Confirm people join the same room—not a second accidental session.
3. Wait for joiners. Start when the people who must estimate are connected. Late joiners can still vote once they land; do not re-explain the whole backlog for every arrival.
4. Set the first story. Put the ticket title (and a one-line AC if needed) in the session story field. Frame the question: relative effort to your usual baseline; no voice sizes yet.
5. Cast hidden votes. Everyone picks a card silently. Watch for who has voted; prompt with neutral language (“waiting on two”)—never ask for numbers early.
6. Reveal once. When the room is ready, reveal so the board appears together. Do not re-hide and re-vote until there is a clear reason (new scope, missing criteria).
7. Short discussion. Talk about the spread: extremes explain briefly; consensus gets a quick confirm. Time-box (about two minutes). If many pick ? or ☕, park the item as not ready.
8. Lock the number elsewhere. Write the agreed estimate in Jira, Linear, Azure DevOps, a sheet—wherever the team already tracks work. Scrumbets runs the ceremony; it is not your permanent backlog.
9. Next story or end. Clear / reset for the next item, or thank the room and end when time is up. Park leftovers with an explicit “needs spike” or “next ceremony” note.

First-run pitfalls

• Link never lands in chat. People sit on the home page creating duplicate rooms. Host pastes the URL immediately after create.
• Story field left blank. The team estimates different mental models of “that login work.” Always name the item.
• Voice numbers before reveal. Anchors the room. Silent cards until reveal; discuss only after the board is public.
• Endless discussion on story one. Cap talk, lock or park, protect the rest of the agenda.
• Estimates only in the call transcript. If it is not in the tracker, the ceremony did not finish. Lock outside Scrumbets every time.

Copy-paste host checklist

• ☐ Room created at scrumbets.waryway.com
• ☐ Link in meeting chat / agenda
• ☐ Estimators connected in the same room
• ☐ Story text matches the ticket
• ☐ Unit of estimate stated once (relative points)
• ☐ Silent vote → single reveal → short discussion
• ☐ Number logged in the team tracker
• ☐ Next story or ceremony closed on time

For social norms (anchoring, when to talk), see the estimation etiquette guide on this site once you are past the first room.

Try it

Related guides

• Remote estimation etiquette that keeps rooms moving — silent-vote norms, when to discuss, and how to avoid anchoring.
• Planning poker facilitation for remote teams — host steps and checklist once the room is live.