Product design & development
My sister’s Agile team described tools that made estimation feel overcomplicated. The software was taking attention away from the discussion.
Live product
Built and live. Teams join with a shared link.
Open Common GroundA side project, sparked by my sister’s Agile team.
Their estimation tools felt overcomplicated. The small things that made sessions enjoyable, like avatars, backgrounds, and confetti, were missing or out of reach.
I designed and built Common Ground around a simpler rhythm: join the room, think independently, then talk through the differences.
Up to 25 teammates can join without creating an account. A recognizable avatar gives everyone a seat; a ticket title and Jira link give the room shared context.
One ticket. Three perspectives.
An illustrative round: each person chooses privately. One action reveals every estimate together, without letting the first answer set the tone.
I made independence a product rule, not just a visual effect. The server withholds other people’s values until reveal. Even the host cannot inspect hidden estimates through normal application messages.
WebSockets keep everyone in the same round. The host controls reveal and reset, while private connection tokens protect those permissions.
A coffee card makes “let’s talk this through” a valid response. An optional shared timer gives the discussion a little structure before the next round.
That is the role of playfulness here: help people participate. Cards acknowledge a choice, avatars show who is present, and a brief celebration marks agreement.
25 connected participants, private voting, host transfer, room capacity, consensus, and shared timer deadlines. Rooms are temporary, with no saved voting history or application database.
Early feedback shaped the first version. Next, I want to observe real refinement sessions: joining, revealing, and the moments where coordination still gets in the way.
Explore Vesper, a wealth dashboard that keeps bank balances and crypto honest about the difference.
