- So, you've seen how important it is for agile teams
to prioritize high value work.
They need to first focus on the features
that the customer will always use.
Then, once those features are complete,
they can move on to some of the less valuable
or lower priority work.
One way that these agile teams help visualize this work
is by creating something called a task board.
A task board is a simple swim lane diagram.
The reason it's called a swim lane diagram
is because it has vertical columns
that look a little bit like a swimming pool.
Now, each of these columns, or swim lanes,
holds a small batch of work.
Typically, these are called tasks.
Whichever column the task is in
shows the status of that task.
The simplest task board would only have three columns:
to do, doing, and done.
If your team has a background in lean thinking,
then they might call these columns work queues.
Now, a typical agile team
will write broad statements of customer value
in the form of a user story.
Then, the team will create a column on the task board
called user stories.
These user stories, like tasks,
will be prioritized from top to bottom.
Then, the task to complete those user stories
will be gathered next to it in the to-do column.
You should keep in mind that many agile teams
use the task board incorrectly.
They'll just start whatever task
they're comfortable working on and move it across the board.
That's why it's usually best for the team to start
with a real board with cards and stickies.
Now, remember that the task board
is not just a way to show what you're working on.
Instead, it's a key part of verifying
that the team is working on the highest value features.