Basic Scrum Board setup

What is the Scrum Board?

Scrum is a popular Agile framework that is widely used in software development projects to deliver high-quality products. At its core, Scrum is based on the principles of transparency, inspection, and adaptation. One of the key tools that helps teams follow the Scrum framework is the Scrum board.

A Scrum board is a visual representation of the work that needs to be done in a Scrum project. It helps team members understand the current state of the project and what needs to be done next. The Scrum board is that it allows team members to quickly see the status of the project at a glance. It also helps team members identify bottlenecks and potential roadblocks, and allows them to adjust their work accordingly.

How is the Scrum Board set up?

A Scrum board typically consists of several columns, each representing a different stage of the work process. The common columns on most Scrum Boards are:

1. To-Do: This column represents work that needs to be done, but has not yet been started.
2. Ongoing: This column represents work that is currently being worked on.
3. Review: This column represents work that has been completed, but needs to be reviewed by the team or the product owner before it can be marked as done.
4. Done: This column represents work that has been completed and has been accepted by the product owner.

In addition to these columns, a Scrum board may also include additional columns for things like blocked work or work that is waiting on input from another team. They can also be adapted and changed to meet the demands of a team.

How to use the Scrum Board

Firstly, the most important Product Backlog Items (if not all of them) are created and brought in for the Sprint Planning Meeting.

Secondly, once the team has picked up PBIs for the incoming sprint, the items are broken down into tasks. After the meeting, PBIs are ordered on the Scrum Board by importance (highest to lowest). The team should work on the most important item first and not move on until it gets done.

Once completed, the card will move from the left to the right so that it sits in the “DONE” column. Unexpected tasks are added to an "UNPLANNED ITEMS" column where they’ll be acknowledged when the Burndown Chart is created. Future PBIs stay visible in a "NEXT" column so that if all items are completed during the sprint the team picks up this card ‘next’.

This setup allows us to visually catch problems, for example:

• Stagnant tasks (cards not moving to the next column)
• Team not focusing on top-priority items/picking up items in the wrong order
• Having too much work in progress at any one time, meaning nothing gets done
• Any/which unplanned items that are killing the sprint

Conclusion

Using a Scrum board can help your team stay organized and focused on delivering high-quality work. It is an essential tool for any team following the Scrum framework. So, setting up a Scrum board is a great way to ensure the success of your software development project.