Managing an agile software project effectively requires a clear, structured approach, and the Acme Company Kanban board in Trello is an excellent tool to achieve this. This board helps teams visualize their workflow, track progress, and maintain a steady flow of tasks from ideation to completion. Let's dive into the specifics of using this board, including a description of each column and guidance on when to move cards.
Overview of the Acme Company Kanban Board
The Kanban board is divided into ten lists:
1. Ideas for Review
2. Epics
3. Backlog
4. To Fix/Improve
5. Sprint Backlog
6. In Progress
7. Ready for Testing
8. Ready for Review
9. Ready for Release
10. Done 3/31-4/13
Column Descriptions and Card Movements
1. Ideas for Review
This is the starting point for all new ideas. Cards in this list are potential projects or features that need to be evaluated before moving forward.
Example Cards:
- "Clever idea that may someday see the light of day"
- "Fantastic idea we aren't sure is feasible"
- "That idea someone important had that everyone else thinks is terrible"
- "An incredibly complex but probably important idea our architect hasn't been able to translate into human-speak yet"
When to Move Cards: Move a card to the Epics list if the idea is approved and is an Epic (see below). Move a card to the Backlog if the idea is approved, is a task or story (see below) and needs further development. If the idea is not feasible, it might stay in this list or be archived.
2. Epics
Epics are large bodies of work that can be broken down into smaller tasks. Cards here represent significant components of the project.
Example Cards:
- "MVP UI"
- "MVP Backend"
When to Move Cards: This is actually a trick question. You don’t move cards out of the Epic list until it and all of its related cards are completed (at which point you move it right to the current Done column. However, once an epic is well-defined and ready to be worked on, you create other cards in the Backlog (if approved) or Ideas for Review which represent smaller stories or tasks associated with the Epic.
3. Backlog
This list contains tasks and stories that are ready for the team to prioritize and pull into sprints.
Example Cards:
- "Really good idea"
- "Very important idea"
- "Urgent idea (as per sales)"
When to Move Cards: Move cards to the Sprint Backlog when they are selected for the upcoming sprint.
4. To Fix/Improve
This list captures bugs and improvements that need attention. These items often come from feedback or testing phases.
Example Cards:
- "UI Bug on Fantastic feature"
- "Layout issue with Phenomenal functionality"
When to Move Cards: Move these to the Sprint Backlog if they are prioritized for the next sprint.
5. Sprint Backlog
This list contains tasks that the team has committed to completing in the current sprint.
At this point, each card should be assigned estimation points using the Fibonacci sequence (1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, and 21) to represent effort. Estimating effort is, well, an estimate, which is why we like to use the Fibonacci sequence: the bigger a task, the harder it is to estimate, so we don’t allow ourselves to pretend we know that Fantastic Feature is going to take precisely 18.4 points. Estimating is a topic deserving of its own article, so we won’t go into more detail here.
Example Cards:
- "Required rework"
- "Admirable addition"
When to Move Cards: As soon as work begins, move cards to In Progress. If a task needs to be revisited or re-prioritized, it might move back to the Backlog or remain here until the next sprint.
6. In Progress
Tasks currently being worked on by the team.
Example Cards:
- "A+ API"
- "Inspiring integration"
When to Move Cards: Once a task is completed and ready for testing, move it to Ready for Testing.
7. Ready for Testing
Completed tasks awaiting testing. At this point, each card should be assigned Actual Points using the Fibonacci sequence (1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, and 21) to represent the actual effort. If this card ends up back in In Progress, this value will need to be updated with any additional effort.
Example Cards:
- "Laudable layout"
When to Move Cards: After successful testing, move the cards to Ready for Review. If a task fails testing, it may need to move back to In Progress for rework.
8. Ready for Review
Tasks that have passed testing and are ready for stakeholder or peer review.
Example Cards:
- "Fantastic feature"
When to Move Cards: After the review is completed and approved, move the cards to Ready for Release. If revisions are required, move the card back to In Progress.
9. Ready for Release
Full completed and ready-to-be deployed tasks.
Example Cards:
- "Phenomenal functionality"
When to Move Cards: Once the task is deployed, move the card to the current Done list.
10. Done MM/DD-MM/DD
This list tracks tasks that have been completed within a specific timeframe. This helps in maintaining a historical record of completed work and analyzing team performance. The timeframe could be the Sprint, or it could be a calendar month. Once that timeframe is finished, create another Done list for the newly current timeframe and start putting finished cards into that new list.
Example Cards:
- "Life-changing landing page"
- "Clever contact form"
- "Brilliant blog"
When to Move Cards: Tasks are moved here once they are released and considered complete. And this is where they will stay.
Conclusion
The Acme Company Kanban board in Trello is a powerful tool for managing an agile software project. By clearly defining each list and understanding when to move cards, teams can maintain a smooth workflow, ensure transparency, and continuously improve their processes. With the addition of custom fields for estimation and actual points, teams can gain valuable insights into their performance and make data-driven decisions for future sprints. Happy project managing!