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Board module

Owned by Anna Ciepłota
Last updated: Feb 29, 2024
6 min read

Introduction

You can change the terminology and rename modules. To avoid confusion, check the module icon, which is unalterable.

The Board module is a powerful tool whose primary purpose is to visualize and highlight new feature delivery dates as well as cross-team dependencies. But if you work in non-agile teams, you can plan your tasks and coordinate the work you plan with the other teams. 

The Board module is very helpful during planning sessions (such as Program Increment (PI) Planning or Iteration planning) as it can show capacities across different teams. But there is much more the Board module can help you with. For example, it can boost the way you monitor Timebox execution thanks to its built-in reporting features and various progress bars that will help you and your team stay on track.

The Board module also incorporates a timeline that shows important events or milestones. Plus, you can customize the task cards by using the task template creator.

Board elements

The Board module includes four elements:

  • Module header

  • Timeline with markers

  • Board with tasks and dependencies

  • Backlog

Board hierarchy

The Board module utilizes the concept of the Box hierarchy, which needs to be configured first in the Overview module. You can zoom in on three levels of Boxes, for example:

  • Program

  • Program Increment

  • Iteration

If you create multiple sub-Boxes, the Board can display up to two levels down.

The data on the Board can be displayed at one or two levels. For example, at the iteration level only or at the program increment and iteration levels.

Main features

The table below describes the Board's main features:

Feature

Description

Feature

Description

+ Add task

Use this option to add tasks by:

  • Creating new tasks in the host platform (the host platform is the Jira instance you are currently using)

  • Creating basic tasks

Use this option to access the scope definition page:

Swimlane picker

Display or hide swimlanes of various types.

Timebox Reports

Generate instant reports using charts for each Timebox (reports for upper-level Timeboxes are a BigPicture Enterprise feature).

View options

Adjust the way cards are displayed or quickly collapse all the team swim lanes to get an overview of your teams' progress. View settings include the following features:

  • Layout

    • Compact

    • Regular 

    • Wide

  • Totals - aggregation options showing the progress of a Timebox or planned-vs-capacity indication

  • Task warnings

  • Show objectives

  • Collapse or expand all swimlanes to get an overview of all your team's progress or planned work status

  • Swimlanes are displayed in alphabetical order and cannot be rearranged

    • Expand all swimlanes

    • Collapse all swimlanes

Dependencies

Display different dependency types and resolve conflicts:

  • Soft—Board-dedicated, color-coded dependency links

  • Strong—dashed-line color-coded links showing custom dependencies

  • Correct (healthy dependencies, colored yellow and green)

  • Incorrect (unhealthy dependencies, colored red)

Export

To unlock the export features, install the BigTemplate App from the Atlassian Marketplace.

PDF image export requires NodeJS installation. If you do not see the "PDF image" export option, click here for more information.

You can Export the Board module data using the "Export" button:

Inline editable field

You can inline edit the text and number fields both on a task card and within the backlog.

Inline edit the "Summary" field:

Inline edit the "Status" field:

Configuration

The Board configuration includes:

  • Box hierarchy—configure Sub-Boxes using the home screen or the Overview module

  • Scope definition—define the scope or the sub-scope.

Card Views

Change the layout of the task card and add different fields to provide the right level of information for your team.

Capacity planning

Define the capacity of teams and team members.

Quick filters

Filter data using previously created JQL filters in program configuration.

Show full scope

Load tasks from lower-level Boxes/hide tasks in lower level Boxes:

  • When the filter button is pressed (dark grey background, white icon), only tasks planned on the level you currently see are visible. Tasks planned for lower-level Boxes are hidden.

  • All tasks are shown when the filter button is not pressed (light grey background, dark icon). 

The button doesn't affect the backlog on the right because the backlog has its own separate show/hide lower-level tasks button.

Show tasks with dependencies

Hide tasks that don't have any dependencies:

  • When the filter button is pressed (dark grey background, white icon), only tasks that have dependencies are visible. Tasks without dependencies are hidden.

  • All tasks are shown when the filter button is not pressed (light grey background, dark icon). 

The button doesn't affect the backlog on the right - only task cards on the left are affected.

Search box

Quick search your tasks using:

  • Task summary search

  • JQL search 

Timebox info

Additional information about the selected Timebox, which includes the Timebox ID.

Full-screen mode

Use this mode to hide Jira's and shared App headers.

Timeline

Dynamic timeline with "Today" and "Zoom" buttons. Click on the timeline's arrows to navigate between Iteration and Program Increments or to add a marker or an important event.

Backlog

Dynamic backlog sidebar presenting all tasks which can be planned on the Board. Backlog can be displayed as a flat list of tasks or a task structure.

Back to backlog

Right-click on a task and select Back to backlog to move a task to the backlog.

Create a task-based objective

You can create a task-based objective directly in the Board module. Right-click on a task (Jira issue/basic task) and select Create objective based on this task.

A new objective is immediately visible in the Objectives module.

Live sync

Update task data without refreshing the page. The live sync mode is recommended for distributed teams.

Undo button

Undo the last action. 

Important: Only a single action can be undone.

The Undo button is grayed out by default. It becomes available when the user performs an operation that can be undone. Performing an undo operation OR reloading the page makes the Undo button grayed out again.