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In either a physical or virtual style, a Scrum board is a visual display that records projects.
monday.com is a good option if you need a project management application with Scrum board features. Their easy-to-use, highly graphic software for a number of project applications is both adaptable and affordable.
What Is Scrum and How Does It Work?
You’ll need some knowledge on the project management framework to properly grasp how a Scrum board operates. Scrum is part of the Agile approach, which is founded on the concept of breaking down a project into tiny, time-based (one to four weeks) “sprints.” Scrum emphasizes learning from mistakes, self-organization, and continual development via the analysis of successes and losses.
Scrum began in the software development sector, but it is now extensively employed in a variety of businesses and departments for a variety of projects. It’s made up of small iterations called “sprints,” which lasts one to four weeks and include team members delivering specified product increments to customers or end users for feedback.
Scrum has three roles: Scrum master, product owner, and development team, with the development team being self-organizing and cross-functional. The former indicates that the team decides how to finish their job on its own; the latter indicates that they have all of the necessary internal skills to execute the task.
The events in the Framework for Scrum are all time-boxed—the duration of each event is fixed and cannot be increased or decreased. The events are then scheduled at regular intervals to reduce the need for extra meetings.
What is a Scrum Board and How Does It Work?
A Scrum board is a tool that aids teams in implementing the Scrum project management methodology to manage product and service projects. A board may be as basic as a whiteboard with colorful sticky notes or as complicated as product development teams’ Scrum-specific software. Transparency is one of Scrum’s cornerstones, thus everyone on the team has access to the board.
A Scrum board, in its most basic form, depicts a list (Backlog for the Sprint) of work (user story cards) that must be completed (in sprints) to finish a project. Stories, to do, work in progress, and done are the vertical columns that illustrate the work of a Scrum team and its project. Each row tells a different narrative. During a sprint, which is at the core of Scrum, each unit of work is displayed and moved across the columns using “cards” in software or sticky notes.
Sprints are one- to four-week timeboxed intervals in which a Scrum team delivers a specified increment of the project to the client. As required, team members move “cards” from left to right. Developing a mobile app, building an ecommerce website, providing marketing deliverables, or any other work given to end consumers or internal users are all examples of projects.
Scrum Theory & the Team
Understanding the parts of a Scrum board is essential to comprehending the Framework for Scrum since each component is linked to both the board and the team. Scrum’s Three Pillars, which make up Scrum’s operational philosophy, as well as the roles that make up a team, are included. Product owner, development team, and Scrum master are examples of these jobs.
The Framework for Scrum is made up of the following components:
Scrum’s Three Pillars
Scrum employs empiricism—the practice of making judgments based on personal experience—to adapt to a customer’s changing needs, reduce risk, and improve predictability. Transparency, examination, and adaptability are the three pillars of this approach. Transparency employs a single language and allows the whole team to see key components of the process. It may be observed in the Backlog of Products, daily stand-ups, and retrospectives in the Scrum method.
Inspection is a timely check on the progress toward a sprint goal to detect any undesirable variances. Adaptation is adjusting a process quickly to minimize further issues. Both are used during daily stand-ups, Review of The Hurrys, and retrospectives—all times when work is inspected and adapted depending on what comes out of the inspection.
The Scrum Team & Employee Roles
The product owner, development team, and Scrum master make up the Scrum team. Each team is cross-functional and self-organizing, meaning it has all of the internal competencies it needs to finish the task and determine how to do it without the need for outside resources or guidance. They repeatedly and progressively offer goods or services, repeating operations inside a timebox or defined time period.
The following are the roles:
- Product owner: The person in charge of optimizing the product’s value and the development team’s work; the Backlog of Products manager.
- The team members that conduct the job and produce increments of “done” goods or services at the conclusion of each sprint are known as the development team.
- Scrum master: This individual oversees the team’s adherence to Scrum’s procedures and regulations.
Who Should Use a Scrum Board?
Scrum boards are used by teams that use the Scrum project management approach. Understanding the fundamentals of Scrum and putting up a board are relatively simple tasks; you don’t need to completely immerse yourself or your team in the framework to benefit from it. Any team that wants to manage projects, whether it’s for product creation or continuous marketing services, may adopt Scrum.
The following jobs benefit from using a Scrum board:
- Scrum boards assist project managers in staying organized by giving a visible, easy-to-follow picture of their team’s progress each week.
- Marketing teams: Marketing teams are made up of a variety of people (content, technical, SEO, design, and account managers), and Scrum boards keep all of these moving parts organized and ready to change direction fast in response to client deliverables.
- Sales teams: Using daily stand-ups to report activities, wins, and losses, Scrum boards may help sales teams become more responsible and transparent.
“A Scrum board keeps our resources aligned to what’s coming up by allowing us to know what employees are allocated to accomplish.” Quick check-ins with the daily stand-ups help us to anticipate challenges rather than reacting to them. Fires are seldom reported until it is too late. It also significantly increased our company productivity, allowing us to do more work with less supervision from management.” — Dechay Watts, Gorilla Group’s Director of Marketing Strategy
Scrum Board Examples & Costs
Scrum boards may be as basic or as complex as you want them to be. Budget, adoption, usage, and purpose will all influence your decision. For example, if you want to try Scrum to “see how it works” for your company, a whiteboard and sticky notes (about $30) could be a good place to start. If you’ve already chosen to utilize Scrum, there are a variety of software options available, with free versions and subscription plans beginning at about $10 per person, per month.
monday.com is a moderately priced project management software for most small enterprises. Its extremely graphic user interface, along with prepared templates and customisation, provides users with practically limitless possibilities. Any budget may be accommodated, and you can upgrade, downgrade, or cancel your subscription at any moment.
Core Features of a Scrum Board
A Scrum board is divided into vertical columns that show the stages of work in a sprint. These typically include a column for User Testimonials, To Do, Work in Progress, and Done. Each row is filled with a different user story assigned Points of Interest. There are also events such as The Hurry, planning, and Scrum every day that are part of the process. Scrum artifacts represent work for inspection and adaptation, and reports such as the Burndown Diagram show sprint performance.
While some of these items and events will not be visible on the Scrum board itself, they are the core features that make up the Framework for Scrum. They must be understood—even if in the background—to create and use the board.
The Hurry
The Hurry is the backbone of Scrum. It’s a timebox of between one and four weeks during which an increment of product or service work is completed and ready to send to the customer. Once a sprint begins, its duration cannot be changed—and once completed, another is immediately started. Sprints consist of Planning for a Sprint, daily stand-ups, work, the Review of The Hurry, and the retrospective.
A sprint is represented on a Scrum Board using vertical columns usually labeled: User Testimonials, To Do, Work in Progress, and Done. With a physical Scrum Board, sticky notes are often used to represent the tasks associated with a user story. These are moved from left to right by team members as needed. The goal is to have all of these tasks in the Done column by the end of The Hurry.
User Testimonials
These are the smallest unit of work in Scrum, and they are concise descriptions of a product or service given from the viewpoint of the user or customer. The amount of work put into a user narrative is measured in Points of Interest (more on that below). The goal of a user narrative is to demonstrate how a unit of work will provide particular value to the client. Customers do not have to be end-users; internal users that rely on your Scrum team may also be customers.
More information is provided to each user narrative after the team has agreed on the criteria. These are then included into sprints and “burned down” during the course of the race. An epic is a bigger body of work that is split down into tales and worked on in successive sprints. A 20-page e-book, for example, can be considered epic by a marketing firm since it requires numerous sprints for research, interviews, writing, feedback, and design.
This is a common user narrative template:
As a < type of user >, I want < some goal > so that < some reason >
A user narrative like this may be found in a web development agency:
To boost the prominence of this article area, our client requires a link to their “Sales” page added to their site navigation bar.
Points of Interest
A story point is a relative unit of measure providing an estimate of the overall effort to complete a Backlog of Products item. The estimate is based on the effort required to deliver an item relative to other Backlog of Products items. Points of Interest are agreed on by the team, which rates the relative efforts of each item. This knowledge comes from having completed these items in the past.
The number of Points of Interest a team can complete in a sprint is known as velocity. Knowing this number is crucial for making predictions about the work that can be completed.
Planning for a Sprint
The work to be completed in a sprint is planned by the entire Scrum team during planning. It’s timeboxed for an eight-hour maximum for one-month sprints and smaller time periods for shorter sprints. For example, a one-week sprint should require about an hour of planning. Planning for a Sprint is facilitated by the Scrum master and product owner, who confirms the details of the Backlog of Products items.
Scrum every day
This 15-minute daily meeting, also known as the daily stand-up, is when the Scrum team discusses the previous day’s work. It informs the team about the work that has been performed and what still needs to be done in that sprint. It’s also utilized to spot any roadblocks that a team member could have in completing their assignment. Each member of the team must respond to the following three questions:
- What did you do the day before yesterday?
- What are your plans for today?
- Are there any roadblocks on your path?
Impediments raised in the Scrum every day are anything that slows down a team member, for example: “The interviewee had to reschedule until next week. The VP asked me to attend a one-day seminar. The software I ordered was delayed.” It’s up to the Scrum master to resolve these impediments as quickly as possible.
Review of The Hurry
Held at the end of a sprint, the Review of The Hurry is used to inspect the increment (work delivered) and adapt the Backlog of Products, if required. The entire Scrum team and key stakeholders join the meeting to discuss what was done and what was not. The Backlog of Products is compared against this to determine if any adaptation is needed, with the team collectively determining what needs to be done next. This is valuable for the next Planning for a Sprint.
Retrospective on The Hurry
A meeting of the entire Scrum team, the Retrospective on The Hurry is used to create improvement opportunities. The meeting is usually under one hour and provides each team member the chance to reflect on The Hurry. Facilitated by the Scrum master, the team discusses what went well, what could be improved, and what will they commit to improve in the next sprint. In the next retrospective, the items selected for improvement from the previous will be reviewed.
Scrum artifacts, which represent work, are the following three objects, which are aimed to offer transparency via examination and adaptation:
Backlog of Products
The Backlog of Products is an ordered list of the items that need to be done for completion of the project. However, the backlog will never be complete because the initial list is only the best-understood requirements at that time and will change as the needs of the project change.
The product owner is responsible for the Backlog of Products. In virtual Scrum boards, the Backlog of Products is kept in a separate tab that can easily be added to or rearranged as needed. For a physical Scrum board, it will likely be kept in a spreadsheet that anyone can access.
Backlog for the Sprint
The Hurry backlog is a list of Backlog of Products User Testimonials the team believes it can complete during the upcoming sprint. The team selects the items from the top of the Backlog of Products during Planning for a Sprint, identifying the tasks and time needed to complete each user story.
Increment
This is the sum of all the Backlog of Products items completed during a sprint. The increment must be “done” at the end of The Hurry and must be in usable condition. It is a step toward an overall goal.
Burndown Diagram
The Burndown Diagram shows the amount of work completed during a sprint and the total work (if any) remaining. They are used to predict the likelihood that a Scrum team will complete their work during The Hurry. The horizontal axis represents time and the vertical axis indicates cards.
How Scrum Boards Help Sales & Marketing
Scrum boards used with the Framework for Scrum can provide better organization for any team within a company that needs to manage projects and people. Sales and marketing departments can adopt the principles of Scrum and use a board and its related events to maximize efficiency, increase transparency, and anticipate issues before they become larger problems.
Maximize Efficiency & Transparency
A Scrum board, by design, will boost a team’s transparency by bringing together the product owner, team, and Scrum master. All project work, including to-do work, work in progress, and work finished, is posted on the board and discussed in daily stand-ups, providing the whole team visibility into progress.
With common standards, definitions, and tools, all team members are working from the same playbook. For instance, during daily stand-ups, teammates are asked what, if any, impediments they have to complete their work. This provides a time to make adjustments and remove the impediments so that person can complete their task by the end of The Hurry.
Anticipate Problems & Pivot as Needed
There is no crystal ball for predicting when a problem will appear, whether you’re producing software or providing services. Your sales or marketing team, on the other hand, can address what may become an irrevocable problem with a Scrum board and regular communication. In a daily stand-up, for example, if an obstacle to finishing a timely email blast is recognized, the Scrum master may swiftly remove it (e.g., by enlisting the help of another worker) before a deadline is missed.
Providers of Scrum Boards
Scrum boards are available from a variety of project management software suppliers. Because they were created expressly for Agile teams, some are more advanced than others. We looked at a variety of companies that provide both basic and specialist services.
Below are four scrum board samples from four different vendors, along with who each is best suited for:
monday.com
Monday.com is a project management software solution with a strong visual component. They include a large number of pre-made templates as well as the possibility to design your own. Plans start at $25 per month and go up to $59 per month, with five users included. Monday.com is great for teams looking for Scrum capabilities as well as other project management tools in one place.
monday.com An example of a scrum board
Zoho
Sprints by Zoho, part of the Zoho suite of business software, offers an inexpensive, Agile-specific software. It starts at $10 per month for five users and includes Scrum board templates, backlog planning center, timesheets, dashboards, and reports. Sprints by Zoho is ideal for teams that want an affordable Scrum board with Scrum-specific features. Sign up for a free 15-day trial today.
Sprints by Zoho Scrum board example
Jira
Jira is a project management leader in the software development market. It’s one of the most feature-rich Scrum software packages, with plenty of pre-built boards, processes, and reporting, but it’s also very configurable. The first month’s fee is $10 per user. It’s best for Scrum teams that want a lot of customisation and are willing to spend a bit extra.
An example of a Jira Scrum board
Trello
Trello is a project management tool that makes it simple to create and manage many Scrum boards. Paid subscriptions start at $9.99 per user, each month, and a free lifetime plan with up to 10 Scrum boards is available. This makes it an excellent choice for organizations looking for a free Scrum board with the option to upgrade later.
An example of a Trello Scrum board
Pros & Cons of a Scrum Board
A Scrum board is an essential tool if you want to use the Framework for Scrum for managing projects. Deciding to use this framework is the first consideration. Then it’s asking yourself how deep do you want to go into Scrum. We’ll take a closer look into the pros and cons of a Scrum board and let you weigh them.
Benefits
- Improve operational efficiency: For small businesses, using the Framework for Scrum and board brings the entire team together to see who is working on what, what’s getting done, and where help may be needed. This is done daily in stand-ups.
- Increase accountability: For example, using Scrum between your sales and marketing teams will enhance accountability right now. Responsibilities may (in certain situations) be shared, and there is more openness.
- Scrum boards are inexpensive for small businesses: whiteboards and sticky notes are a sub-$30 Scrum board solution, making it accessible to any company. There are premium subscriptions beginning at about $10 per month for organizations who desire software, as well as free everlasting choices.
- Easy to set up and use: Arguably, the whiteboard-sticky note combo is the most simple to set up and use. Scrum software is structured similarly to a physical board, with several added capabilities including as reporting and automation.
Drawbacks
- Resistance from staff: Using a Scrum board means learning a new way to manage projects—the Framework for Scrum. The basic Scrum concepts are fairly simple to understand, but it can become more difficult as you learn to use all of the concepts.
- Cost prohibitive: If you’ve committed to using the Framework for Scrum, you’ll likely want to invest in software and possibly a Scrum consultant to get you started. All of this can be expensive for a small business.
- Another technology to learn: While a Scrum board can be made using a whiteboard and sticky notes, Scrum software can be used more effectively and beautifully. This is a new technology that your staff will have to learn.
Frequently Asked Questions(FAQs)
A Scrum board may be used by any team.
A Scrum board may be used by any team that wants to manage anything or someone. You are not required to follow all of the guidelines listed here. Use the fundamental notion as a starting point and adapt it to your own scenario. Scrum is employed in areas like as marketing, sales, HR, and customer support, in addition to product and software development.
What is the difference between Waterfall & Scrum?
Waterfall is a project management approach for projects that are performed in a sequential order, with a project manager monitoring the whole process. That is, one work must be finished before moving on to the next. You can’t hang drywall in a home until the walls have been framed, for example. It is impossible to return to an earlier level in Waterfall.
There is no project manager in Scrum; instead, the team determines what to work on and when. Because the team meets regularly and can see how the project is developing, there is greater openness. Issues can be identified before they become big setbacks.
Conclusion
Scrum boards provide a visual, interactive display of a project’s ongoing tasks in a sprint. This gives every member of a Scrum team the ability to see how The Hurry is progressing. The steps in managing the Board, such as Scrum every days, provide transparency and accountability and allow for continuous improvement.
