Which Scrum Board Example Suits Your Business?
The Scrum methodology has been popular in many industries for a number of years now. It is part of the Agile approach to running projects and is particularly prevalent in the software development sector, although it can also be used in many other kinds of company. As part of this slick way of working, a Scrum board is essential. Yet, with a variety of different options to choose from, you might wonder which one is right for your business. Choose your Scrum board example from the following various options.
What Is a Scrum Board?
Before we can look at examples of Scrum boards, we need to explain what exactly they are. This is a sort of hub for all of the information relating to the task and the overall project. It is where anyone can see exactly what stage it is at, meaning that it can also be used to provide updates to senior management.
This is a visual presentation of how your work is progressing and should be easy to understand at a glance. Choose the right type of Scrum board and your projects will be a lot easier to organise and to complete with a minimum of fuss.
This board needs to be clear and simple, allowing everyone in the team to use it effectively at all times. It will normally be divided into sections such as Stories, To Do, In Progress and Done. As the project moves forward, the progress made will be clearly seen in the way that the Done column begins to fill up.
Use a Physical or Online Scrum Board
The first big decision to be made is over whether you want a physical Scrum board in your office or an online version. The truth is that both methods show the same sort of information in a similar way. The big difference is in how everyone can access and use it.
A physical Scrum board example will typically be written on a whiteboard in the office. Sticky notes can be used to turn this into a kind of visual representation of the project’s progress. In this case, team members will update it as they work. They may use differently coloured or shaped notes to avoid confusion.
The wheel format is also used by some businesses. This lets you see how the tasks move towards the centre of the wheel as they get completed. The wheel is split into the different phases of the project, including the likes of modelling, development and release.
Online Scrum board models typically follow the set-up seen on the whiteboard examples. However, the fact that it is all done digitally means that there is far less risk of confusion or of anything getting missed. Tasks are easily updated and the progress can be seen just as easily as on a whiteboard.
Use a Physical or Online Scrum Board
Probably the most important point to consider first of all is the question of your team’s location. If they work remotely then it is clear that an online option is going to be best. There is no sensible way of using a whiteboard or wheel board if people work in different places.
The growth in remote working can be seen in the fact that 58% of American knowledge workers are now remote. This sector of the jobs market is expected to carry on growing, meaning that more and more companies will need virtual solutions such as online Scrum boards.
The size of project and number of people working on it are other important issues to take into account. It is possible to set up a personal Scrum board solely for your use. If you are going to do this, or if you have a small team, you might be comfortable with a physical board on very simple projects.
However, as the size of the team or complexity of the project grows, so do the benefits to be gained from using an online version. The online kind of Scrum board involves a tool that everyone can access at any given time. It will let you tailor the display to your needs and easily track the progress for everyone in the team.
Conclusion
Any of the Scrum board examples we have seen here can be used to keep your pieces of work on track. While physical boards offer a simple and effective approach, there is no doubt that the online versions are more suited to the modern working environments, with remote teams working together seamlessly on complex projects.
If you haven’t yet tried this way of working then you will be impressed at how a tool such as Kanbanchi allows you to organise and control your projects more easily.