Guides
Guides to running work on a board
Plain answers to the questions teams ask about planning, kanban and getting work finished. Each one ends with how to do it on a board.
- Sprint planning: how to run it, with an agendaWhat it's for, who's there, how much to take on, and a 2-hour agenda you can use on Monday.
- Kanban vs scrum: the differences, and how to chooseSide by side: cadence, roles, meetings and flow. Which fits your team, and when to mix them.
- Definition of done: what it is, with examplesWhat it is, how it differs from acceptance criteria, and examples for software, content and design.
- Cycle time vs lead time: the difference, with examplesWhere each one starts and stops, a worked example, and how to bring both down.
- Daily standup: how to run one in 15 minutes2 formats that work, what belongs in it and what doesn't, async standups, and how to keep it short.
- Kanban board examples: the columns 9 kinds of team useThe columns 9 kinds of team use, and why each column is there.
- Kanban cards: what to put on them, with examplesWhat belongs on a card, good and bad examples, how big a card should be, and classes of service.
- What is kanban? A plain guide to the method and the boardWhat kanban means, where it came from, how the board works, and how to start this week.
- The kanban method: its principles and 6 core practicesThe 4 foundational principles and 6 core practices, and what each looks like on a real board.
- Scrumban: what it is and how to run itWhat it keeps from scrum and from kanban, when it fits, and how to set up the board.
- Cumulative flow diagram: how to read and build oneWhat the bands and slopes say about WIP, cycle time and bottlenecks, and how to build one.
- How to prioritize tasks: 5 methods that workThe Eisenhower matrix, MoSCoW, value vs effort, RICE and eat the frog, and when each one fits.
- WIP limits: how to set them and what to do at the limitWhy limiting work in progress speeds a team up, how to pick the first number, and what to do at the limit.
- Sales pipeline stages: 6 to start with, and when to move a dealThe stages most small teams need, and what has to be true before a deal moves on.
- Project milestones: examples for 6 kinds of projectWhat counts as a milestone, and examples for software, websites, marketing, events, hiring and launches.
- Personal kanban: a kanban board for your own workThe 2 rules, a 4-column board to start with, and the weekly review that keeps it working.
- Workload management: how to see and balance your team's loadHow to see who's overloaded, set a fair limit per person, and rebalance the work week by week.
- User story template: the format, with examplesThe As a, I want, so that format, with examples, INVEST and how to split big stories.
- Acceptance criteria examples: 2 formats and how to write themExamples in the checklist and Given, When, Then formats, and how to write good ones.
- Backlog refinement (backlog grooming): how to run itWhat it is, how often, a 45-minute agenda, and how to keep the backlog short.
- Definition of ready: what it is, with a checklistWhat it is, an example checklist, and how to stop it becoming a gate.
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