How To Use Scrum Task Board
Scrum task board is a work organization means that is usually used by the Scrum teams. Every Scrum team has its own Scrum task board. To realize what a Scrum task board is and what it is for, we should come up with a Scrum task definition.
What is a Scrum task?
Scrum tasks are actually processes that are to be made by the Scrum team during a certain sprint. They are formulated in the sprint backlog, and the sprint backlog itself is formed by the items of the product backlog. Hence, a Scrum task is the smallest unit of the Scrum project management process.
A Scrum task board is designed to put the scrum tasks in order and to visualize the process of their performance. There are several different ways to organize your Scrum task board. Usually it is just an ordinary board on a wall that is subdivided into several columns and rows. Some companies also use special software to view their Scrum task boards on computers. The others place their Scrum task boards online. However, there is no difference between Scrum task boards that are placed on walls or on websites. All of them have the same principle of work. At first the task is placed in the left column which is usually labeled “Story”. After that it goes to the right and passes all the columns of the Scrum task board. This illustrates the process of task performance. Finally, the Scrum task is placed in the “Done” column. It means that the work on this element is finished.
A Scrum task board usually has such columns:
This column contains descriptions of the user’s or the customer’s wishes. At the moment when Scrum tasks are in this column they are not exactly formulated yet. This row consists only of general descriptions and user wishes. To formulate a Scrum task the developer needs to analyze them and make a plan of their performance.
To do
After a Scrum task is formulated, it is placed in this column. On this stage of work the task already has a certain goal and the developers know its precise place in the final product. This column is full of tasks that are to be done during the sprint period.
Work in process
This column is formulated by the tasks that are in the process of performing at the moment. After the task is formulated and a certain developer (or several developers) begins to work on it, it goes to this row. The task will stay here until it is finished. After that it will move to the next column.
To verify
This row contains the tasks that should be tested. The Scrum process involves product testing after each sprint. There are many types of tests. Some of them involve final users in the process of software development. The others are performed by the Scrum team members. However, the task remains in the column “To verify” until it is successfully tested. After that it will go to the final column.
Done
This is the final column of the Scrum task board. When the Scrum tasks are finished, they are placed here. After all the tasks pass all columns of the Scrum task board and are placed in the row “Done”, the sprint may be considered finished. After that the team will contact the customer and show him the intermediate product which will be the result of the sprint.
Sometimes a Scrum task board may have additional columns. Usually they are labeled “Notes” and “Test specified”. The “Notes” column is designed for remarks of the team members on any topics that are relied to the project. The row “Test specified” is a place where the developers can write down the types of tests that they are planning to use for certain tasks.
Scrum task board is the simplest and probably the best way to visualize the progress of your work. It is irreplaceable for teams that use Scrum methodology to run their projects.
