knowledge-kitchen / scrum / github

GitHub Task Boards

It is possible in GitHub’s Projects tab to create Scrum-style Task Boards that show User Stories and Tasks and Spikes organized into visual groupings.

Each repository must have a separate Task Board set up for each Sprint.

GitHub’s Task Boards are relatively primitive and require a good amount of maintenance to keep them up-to-date. But they can be extremely useful for keeping track of the status of a sprint.

Set up a GitHub Task Board

Create a GitHub “Project Board” that works as a Task Board for a Scrum-style Sprint:

1. Go to a repository
2. Click on the Projects tab
3. Create a new Project and name it something like, Sprint 1 Task Board

Configure it to be Scrum-friendly

Make this into a Scrum-style Task Board by adding the following columns:

1. Sprint Backlog (User Stories) - this will contain the User Stories to be done within the given Sprint
2. To do (Tasks) - this will contain the individual tasks that are necessary to implement the User Stories in Sprint Backlog
3. In process (Tasks) - tasks will be moved here from the To Do column once they are actively being worked on
4. Awaiting review (Tasks) - tasks that have been completed but require peer review before merging into the trunk should be moved here
5. Done (Tasks) - tasks will be moved here when they are completed

Fill in the Task Board with Issues

Add all User Stories for the given Sprint into the Sprint Backlog column.

• If User Stories have been entered into GitHub’s Issues tracker, properly labeled with the user story, and given the proper Sprint milestone, it is easy to search for them within the Project Board screen using a search term such as, is:open milestone:"Sprint 1" label:"user story"

Add all Tasks for each User Story into the To Do column

• If Tasks have been entered into GitHub’s Issues tracker, properly labeled with the task label and given the proper Sprint milestone, it is easy to search for them within the Project Board screen using a search term such as, is:open milestone:"Sprint 1" label:"task"

Keep the Task Board Up-To-Date

Maintain the Task Board as you work on the Sprint.

• move Tasks into appropriate columns every day as you work on them
• treat Spikes the same as Tasks
• leave user stories in the Sprint Backlog column and do not move them.

Closing a Task Board at completion of a Sprint

Task boards serve as an archive of what was and was not accomplished within each Sprint.

• Leave the task board frozen as-is when a Sprint is completed… do not remove or reposition any issues
• Follow the instructions for how to place incomplete User Stories back into the Product Backlog using GitHub’s labels, but don’t remove them from the completed Sprint task board.
• Making any other changes to the task board after a Sprint has completed could be considered misleading and disingenuous.