Project management is one of the huge tasks in any industrial scenario. If you are into Agile Project Management, we are sure you have been into creating stories, finding team commitments and opting for the visualisation of the team activity. This is where JIRA comes to your rescue. If you are new to JIRA and want to know how to create a Kanban board in JIRA, this post is just for you.
Lets us, however, begin from the basics so that even those who have not heard about JIRA can get an insight into the concept.
What is JIRA?
JIRA is one of the most popular applications used for handing the software projects and finds itself being used for project management tasks. In fact, it is an agile project management tool and works with Agile technology. The tool does support almost every view that is used by Agile, including Kanban or Scrum.
JIRA can be considered to be a sort of tracker for teams that build and plan the products and projects. It lets the colleagues connect with each other seamlessly and work with their activities and tools. This will assist in improving the work efficiency. Teams can connect with JIRA and subsequently organise the issues, follow teams and assign work. While the tool is basically available for desktop, it also has a mobile interface so that you can keep working on the go.
Experts call JIRA a smart software, thanks to its ability to automate every step and process involved in the process, project management and tasks. What makes it one of the best options is it lets you work with almost every kind of organisation, and it works with a high degree of customisation tailored to different organisational structures.
The software is developed by the Australian firm Atlassian.
What is Kanban Board?
Before we can understand how to create a Kanban board in Jira, let’s get to know what Kanban board actually is?
A Kanban Board is a project management tool used for the purpose of visualising the workflow. It is aimed at maximising the efficiency or workflow. It is one of the capable tools that can assist you to work with the technology and service teams and lets you get the work done with ease.
Kanban is actually a Japanese word which means Visual Signal. The major advantage of the Kanban Board lies with the tasks related to technology and services sector. In fact, the work done in these areas is quite abstract and cannot be visualised. Using a Kanban Board will let you visualise the work through the use of cards and columns. That way, you would be able to show the progress of the work and keep the entire team in the know about the actual progress.
A Kanban board can be created in the form of a physical board or a digital board. The major elements of a Kanban Board would include:
- Visual signals
- Columns
- Work-in-progress limits
- Commitment point
- A delivery point
How is Kanban Different from Scrum?
Both Kanban and Scrum are the two individual frameworks that form part of the Agile technology that forms part of the project management tools. While the frameworks and practices may differ, you will find the underlying principles to be the same on both Kanban and Scrum.
In essence, it may be the best practice to compare the two frameworks as Kanban and Scrum instead of viewing at them as Kanban vs Scrum. Differentiating between them may not ideally be an easy task. Unless you are capable of understanding the project management concepts really well, you would not be able to understand the subtle differences between Kanban and Scrum.
A Kanban Board is essentially a way of maximising the workflow. It is aimed at reducing the time taken to complete a project. This is done through the use of a Kanban board and making continuous improvement to it. Scrum, on the other hand, work through the intervals. These intervals are called Sprints.
Some differences between Kanban and Scrum would include:
The roles and responsibility
Scrum needs a minimum of three roles – Product Owner, Scrum Master, and Team Members. Each of the roles should specifically manage the tasks assigned to them. Kanban, however, does not come with any set of roles. The roles are assigned as the project proceeds.
The teams on Scrum need to be cross-functional and are expected to take on the role of the other team, however, such a cross-functionality is not required in case of Kanban. Kanban lets you a team of experts and a team of general staff simultaneously working n the same project.
The Board
The Scrum and Kanban board may look almost similar. However, they come with different functionalities. A Scrum board needs to be reset after a particular stage is completed. The sprints cannot be reused. A Kanban board will not need any sort of reset as the work progresses.
Scrum and Kanban can be best understood if we draw a table of comparison between the two –
|
Particulars |
Kanban |
Scrum |
| The Cadence | Continuous flow | Fixed interval sprints |
| Key metrics | Lead time, cycle time and WIP | Velocity |
| Release methodology | Continuous delivery, no reset required | Rest at the end of every sprint |
| Roles | No specified roles | Three minimum roles required – Product owner, scrum master, the development team |
| Changes | Changes can be incorporated anytime | No changes allowed during a sprint |
Which one should you go with?
Well, that should be something dependent upon the actual situation. There is perhaps no answer to the question on Kanban vs Scrum discourse. Both have been found to be robust and effective in handling your project management effectively.
Generally speaking, a project with widely varying priorities can be the right option for the Kanban project. On the other hand, if you are in an industry that has stable priorities that do not change over time can go with Scrum. However, opting for a hybrid approach where you can use both Kanban and Scrum should be more ideal enough.
How to Create a Kanban Board in JIRA?
Creating a Kanban Board with Jira should be quite simple and easy. In fact, JIRA lets you go through the easy to follow steps. If you are stuck somewhere, you would be guided with the right suggestions.
Here is how you should be able to find the right options on how to Create a Kanban Board in Jira:
- Launch your JIRA software.
- Click on Search – > View All Boards
- In the next step, click on your project. Please note that you should have already created a project if you are looking to create a Kanban Board.
- Your project should now open. It should show any of the existing boards on your projects that have been created before. Click on the project name – DP Board in our example. Click on the option Create Board.
- You should now be asked to confirm whether you want to create a Kanban Board or Scrum Board. Choose the Kanban Board. Click on Create Kanban Board.
- You will now be asked to choose whether you want to create the Kanban board in the existing project or want to create a new project. Choose an appropriate option depending on your preferences and click on Next.
- The last step would involve naming your Kanban Board. Give an appropriate name to your Kanban Board and click on Create Board.
That does it. Your new Kanban Board is created! You can change settings and add up the details based on your exact project details. Click on the option as in the image below and make your own settings.
That was quite simple and easy. Wasn’t that?
As a side note, creating a Scrum Board is just similar to creating a Kanban Board. You would just need to choose Scrum instead of Kanban when creating a new board.
What are the Benefits that Kanban Board Offers you?
Having understood how to create a Kanban Board in Jira, let us now discuss the benefits of Kanban Board. It helps you enhance the benefits of personal productivity. Here are a few benefits offered by the Kanban Board in Jira.
It helps you save time
A Kanban Board lets you opt for continuous improvement. This will help you save enough time that would be spent unnecessarily if you need to scrap a product or project in the later stages. Any issues that arise would be instantly addressed.
It offers you a high degree of flexibility
Kanban Board, in sharp contrast to the Scrum Boards, let you stay non-restrictive. The priorities in a Kanban board are based on the recent data. This is what should help you make changes much easier. The accommodative nature of the board will provide a flexible environment for the team members. This can even make the teams more productive.
An enhanced output
Kanban lets the team members limit the work they have in process at any time. This is called WIP or Work in Progress. This will remove the need for unneeded multitasking. This can be encouraging the teams to work together towards the finish line.
The Passing Thoughts
Well, that was how the Kanban Board could be helpful enough in addressing your team capabilities. In fact, Jira software has been one of the perfect options for effective project management. We assume the tips here on how to create a Kanban board in Jira should help you achieve the best results.
Are you already on Kanban and looking to share your experiences? We would indeed welcome your views right here.
Add Comment