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Creating a Kanban Board in Jira

Are you looking for an efficient way to manage your team’s workflow? Look no further than creating a Kanban board in Jira! This powerful tool can help you visualize your team’s progress, track tasks, and optimize your workflow.

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A Kanban board is a visual representation of your team’s work in progress. It allows you to see what’s currently being worked on, what’s completed, and what’s next in line. By organizing your team’s work this way, you can identify bottlenecks, streamline your processes, and ultimately deliver your projects faster.

To create a Kanban board in Jira, follow these simple steps:

Step 1: Create a New Project

First, you need to create a new project in Jira. To do this, click on the “Create project” button on the Jira dashboard, and choose “Kanban” as your project type. There are a few templates and options to choose from and then you will name your project.

Create a Kanban Board in Jira
Create a Kanban Project in Jira

Step 2: Customize Your Columns

Once you’ve created your project, you’ll want to customize your Kanban board to fit your team’s needs. You can do this by adding, removing, or renaming columns. For example, you might want to have columns for “To Do,” “In Progress,” and “Done.” To do this, click on the “Board Settings” button on the top-right corner of your Kanban board, and select “Columns.” Here, you can add, edit, or delete columns.

Customize the columns in your Kanban board
Customize the Columns in Your Kanban Board

Step 3: Add Tasks To Your Board

Now that you’ve set up your columns, it’s time to add tasks to your Kanban board. You can do this by clicking on the “Create” button on the top-right corner of your board, and selecting “Issue.” You can then enter the details of your task, such as its summary, description, and due date.

Adding Tasks to a Kanban Board
Adding Tasks To a Kanban Board

Step 4: Move Tasks Across Your Board

As your team works on tasks, you can move them across your Kanban board by simply dragging and dropping them from one column to another. This way, you can easily see what’s in progress, what’s completed, and what needs attention.

Moving Tasks in a Kanban Board
Moving Tasks in a Kanban Board

Step 5: Customize Your Board With Filters

Finally, you can further customize your kanban board by adding filters. This allows you to view only the tasks that are relevant to you, based on criteria such as assignee, priority, or due date. To do this, click on the “Board Settings” button on the top-right corner of your kanban board, and select “Quick Filters.” Jira filters use a language called JQL and you can find more information about querying using JQL on the Atlassian blog.

Creating a Filter in a Kanban Board
Creating a Filter in a Kanban Board

And that’s it! By following these simple steps, you’ll have a fully functional kanban board in Jira. Of course, there’s always more you can do to optimize your workflow, such as setting WIP limits, creating swimlanes, or adding automation rules. But for now, just start with the basics, and see how your team’s productivity improves.

A Kanban board in Jira is an excellent tool for managing your team’s workflow. It allows you to visualize your work in progress, identify bottlenecks, and deliver your projects faster. So go ahead, give it a try, and let us know how it works for you!

Creating a Kanban Board in Jira – Project Management Courses on Pluralsight

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Project Management Basics for Non-project Managers – Available Now on Pluralsight!

You can learn more about creating a Kanban board in Jira in my Pluralsight course, Project Management Basics for Non-project Managers. This course includes animated scenario-based training and you will watch as an organization compares and contrasts the most popular project management methods including Agile, Waterfall, PMI/PMBOK, and more. By the end of this course, you will be able to choose the right project management methodology for your team and your types of projects. Click the button below to get started with a free trial today!