9 Examples of Agile Challenge Plan Templates

Agile undertaking administration is a flexible methodology that may be utilized to a variety of undertaking varieties, industries, and groups. Discovering the correct template is essential, because it provides undertaking managers a repeatable components for achievement. 

However there are such a lot of variations inside the Agile framework—which means there are many totally different templates to think about. Proceed under to view some stable examples of templates that can be utilized for various Agile undertaking varieties and discover one that matches your staff and targets. 

1. Agile Challenge Plan Template by Smartsheet

Smartsheet is an entire work administration answer that can be utilized for undertaking planning, doc sharing, and staff collaboration. It’s basically a extra superior model of different spreadsheets you’ve used previously, like Excel or Sheets.

This template is a very fundamental Agile undertaking planning answer that breaks a dash all the way down to totally different options, objects, or deliverables that should be accomplished. Add duties, assign duties, and select begin and finish dates for every process in sheet kind. Then you’ll be able to replace the standing to get an correct timeline of the undertaking.

This template additionally comes with a Gantt chart view of the undertaking, which is useful for holding conscious of due dates and different deadlines. 

There are two totally different variations of the template. You’ll be able to obtain the template for Excel or use it inside Smartsheet’s platform. The Excel template will likely be a bit extra restricted, and also you’ll need to replace much more of the data manually. However for those who entry the template inside Smartsheet, you’ll additionally profit from the staff collaboration options and workflow automations. 

2. Agile Standup Assembly Template by Asana

Standup conferences are a key side of the Agile PM philosophy. 

These conferences are held day by day for roughly quarter-hour, often initially of the workday, to offer all the staff a possibility to share updates and get on the identical web page. Everybody reviews on what they’ve completed and what they’re engaged on, plus if something is obstructing them from transferring ahead. 

The time period “standup assembly” relies on the idea that all the undertaking staff is in the identical room, and these conferences are purported to be so quick that it’s pointless for anybody to sit down down. 

However many Agile groups are dispersed, typically working remotely from totally different areas and even totally different time zones. This makes day by day standup conferences a bit harder to arrange. 

Happily, Asana has a standup assembly board view inside its Agile undertaking plan template. It’s a method to manage a digital huddle for everybody on the staff. You need to use it to both complement a daily standup video name or as a standalone means for members to share their updates with out having to coordinate a 15-minute stay name every day. 

If staff members have blockers or want help from the undertaking supervisor or one other teammate, they’ll merely add a message on a card and tag related customers. 

The cool half about utilizing this template inside Asana is that you would be able to share paperwork and add attachments on to duties. 

3. Product Roadmap Template by Miro

Miro has a wonderful product roadmap template that works rather well for growth tasks. This template simplifies the scope of large-scale tasks, serving to to interrupt down and visualize short-term duties which might be vital parts of the big-picture finish sport. 

If you happen to’re engaged on a undertaking that includes a number of groups and stakeholders, this template will assist preserve all the things organized. Every staff can give attention to what they should personal and prioritize quite than getting caught up in duties that aren’t their accountability. 

To make use of this template successfully, you have to begin together with your technique. Outline your targets and clearly determine the “why” for the undertaking.

From there, you’ll be able to break up which groups must deal with sure product options. This Miro template makes use of a terrific color-coding format so that every staff may be recognized by a singular coloration. Even when sure options have dependencies with different groups, the colours at all times make everybody’s duties very clear. 

Like most Agile undertaking planning templates, Miro designed this to arrange duties into two-week sprints. 

Miro additionally integrates with Jira, so you need to use this template with Jira playing cards for superior problem monitoring. This works rather well for growth groups already utilizing Jira to trace and handle different points. 

4. Scrum Administration Template by ClickUp

The Scrum framework is an integral a part of the Agile undertaking administration methodology. Scrum places a big emphasis on breaking down huge tasks into quick sprints and prioritizes staff collaboration, group, frequent testing, and speedy growth. 

ClickUp delivers an Agile Scrum Administration Template that places all of those rules into motion. 

The template comes with 30 distinctive standing updates for duties, eliminating broad statuses that don’t actually inform the entire story. You’ll additionally get six totally different undertaking views, customized fields, tagging capabilities, and workflow automation. 

Agile groups can simply use this template to automate repeat actions and get extra duties performed throughout every dash. 

ClickUp additionally gives pre-built lists for sprints, retrospectives, and backlogs. 

5. Agile Transformation Roadmap Template by Miro

Created by Miro, this is among the most original Agile undertaking plan templates we’ve discovered. It’s designed particularly for groups which might be transitioning to Agile undertaking administration for the primary time. 

The template helps undertaking groups and organizations alike as they transfer away from inflexible undertaking planning. It has parts designed to assist folks purchase into Agile, even when they’ve some reservations concerning the change. 

For instance, the template focuses much less on detailed-oriented deliverables. As an alternative, it merely organizes all the to-do duties within the backlog. The roadmap can also be extra iterative, versus displaying a restrictive, linear timeline. 

General, it’s designed to assist groups perceive the big-picture outcomes of a undertaking. This template embraces the transferring components of a undertaking and lets everybody know that it’s not a catastrophe if issues change alongside the best way. 

This can be a widespread selection for organizations which have traditionally used the waterfall methodology or are able to transition from static processes to a undertaking tradition that’s extra versatile.

Transitioning to Agile undertaking planning could be a huge transfer for groups and corporations which might be caught in previous methods. This template actually helps ease the transition and explains all the things rather well for everybody concerned. It’s beginner-friendly and designed to get buy-in out of your complete staff. 

6. Agile Gantt Chart by Microsoft

Gantt charts are a preferred kind of board view for Agile tasks. This can be a visible to show how work will get accomplished over time in relation to how a lot time was deliberate for the work. 

Agile undertaking groups can use Gantt charts to shortly see whether or not tasks are being accomplished on schedule or if the timeline must be adjusted. 

If you happen to’re on the lookout for a Gantt chart that checks all the bins, you’ll be able to obtain this one with Microsoft 365. It permits you to simply add new duties, begin dates, and finish dates, plus assign duties to totally different staff members. 

One other nice half about this template is the power to create dependencies between duties. If one explicit process is taking longer than anticipated, all of its dependencies will likely be mechanically adjusted. That is one thing that will in any other case be difficult to calculate manually. It additionally helps undertaking managers allocate sources successfully on the fly. 

It’s price noting that this Agile template is greatest for organizations which might be already utilizing a Microsoft ecosystem for different enterprise processes. If you happen to’re already utilizing Microsoft 365 for day-to-day work, tapping into this Gantt chart template is a no brainer.  

7. Agile Consumer Story Template by Smartsheet

This Smartsheet template is ideal for planning Agile tasks from the end-user’s perspective. 

It’s particularly helpful for growth groups that must create options for a bit of software program, however as a substitute of focusing the top targets and work priorities on the options, give attention to the consumer.

The concept may be very simple. Every consumer story describes the kind of consumer and what they wish to do. Examples would possibly embrace:

• As an occasion attendee, I wish to invite my buddies, so we are able to share this expertise collectively.
• As an worker, I need entry to my direct deposit info to alter my checking account particulars with out going by HR.
• As a supervisor, I desire a easy method to gather worker suggestions to higher perceive everybody’s wants. 

Smartsheet permits you to create these consumer tales and retains all the things organized on a listing. Then, based mostly on the story, every merchandise may be handed to the event staff to create a characteristic that addresses the consumer’s want. 

This template is one other nice method to streamline and simplify cross-department collaboration. It retains stakeholders and builders on the identical web page, as these two teams don’t at all times converse the identical language. 

Moderately than undertaking managers telling builders what kind of characteristic to construct, it’s simple to only clarify what the ultimate end result must be. Then, the builders have extra freedom to create the options accordingly, versus simply blindly creating a listing of options with out understanding the aim. 

8. Agile Board Template by Miro

Miro’s Agile Board Template is right for groups utilizing Scrum or Kanban strategies. It’s quite simple however versatile sufficient to accommodate tasks throughout a variety of industries and use instances. 

The template begins with a pre-built format of columns and rows. Every column is used to symbolize the standing of a process. A easy workflow would come with a backlog column, an in-progress column, and a performed column. However you could possibly add, take away, or customise these based on your wants. 

The rows can be utilized to section staff duties, akin to growth, design, and advertising and marketing. 

Each process within the template is represented by a sticky observe. These notes may be assigned to particular person staff members, and people customers can then transfer the notes by the movement whereas collaborating with their teammates. 

This is a superb approach for cross-departmental transparency on a single board. 

For instance, let’s say you may have a no-code growth platform. One of many methods your staff is utilizing this template is to create new plugins to your market. As soon as a process goes by the event cycle and is accomplished, it could possibly be moved to the advertising and marketing row—signaling that the brand new plugin is able to be shared and promoted on social media. 

This template may be as easy or advanced as you wish to make it. Your staff may persist with three fundamental columns for process statuses or create eight columns with extra granularity. 

9. Agile Product Backlog Template by Smartsheet

Making a product backlog is a vital step in each Agile undertaking planning course of. The aim of the backlog is to assist product homeowners monitor each characteristic that stakeholders need within the last product.

Moderately than simply creating a listing of options, Smartsheet gives a template for constructing and managing product backlogs in a extra superior approach. 

With Agile undertaking administration, the backlog is continually altering and enhancing. Anybody on the staff can add one thing to the backlog, and it’s the product proprietor’s accountability to assign precedence ranges to all the things. 

The template consists of drop-down columns that transcend the characteristic itself. There’s a spot for the consumer story, precedence degree, standing, and whether or not or not it’s prepared for a dash. One other cool half about this template is its means to mechanically calculate story factors for every dash based mostly on how values are assigned to every process.