Kanban Boards
For the stand-up meeting to work optimally, the Scrum team requires certain tools. One of the most frequently used tools for a stand-up meeting is the kanban board. A kanban board is a visual representation of the status of every single task in a sprint. They come in a variety of forms and can be modular to suit the needs of the organization. Smaller organizations on a limited budget can use a whiteboard with sticky notes to represent tasks.
These notes can be moved around on the board to indicate progress. For larger organizations with more tasks in development, there are digital kanban boards available. These digital boards will often update the display as tasks are updated within a database. Instead of having developers come in and physically move notes around, everything is automated.
The benefit of kanban boards, as with everything else in a stand-up meeting, is communication. Developers can see what tasks are at what stages, so they know what to work on next. With verbal updates, the kanban board offers redundancy. Someone who didn’t hear what one developer gave in their update, could also check on the kanban board to see where that developer’s tasks are. Although tasks aren’t always a good indicator of how much work has been done and has not yet been started, it does give insight. As tasks move from the top of the board to bottom, it gives a visual update on progress.
Recommended Further Reading
The following materials may assist you in order to get the most out of this course: