Like most project management methods, the goal of a Scrum board is to align everyone on what they need to accomplish and to provide a central place for monitoring progress. The advantage of using a Work OS or an online platform for your Scrum board of course is that you can do all of this in real-time\u2014but more on that later.<\/p>\n
<div class=”trd-ph-embedded” data-id=”7fd7bb40-9430-4982-bbcd-e81b3eb4c87f”><\/div><\/p>\n
A word on Scrum vs. Agile<\/b><\/h3>\n
Certain teams and organizations have a preference towards either Scrum or Agile methodologies for their workflows. In fact, 88%<\/span><\/a> of companies are in some stage of embracing the Agile methodology, and 78% use the Scrum framework to implement it. When you are creating a Scrum board, it\u2019s important that you will be able to customize it specifically to support this methodology. Here are a few common traits of Scrum teams that will impact your Scrum tool\u2019s board design:<\/p>\n In a nutshell, a Scrum board can:<\/p>\n Here\u2019s what a Scrum board can look like on monday.com.<\/b><\/p>\n Our internal teams create a new group for each new iteration or Sprint during the Sprint planning<\/span><\/a> meeting. As you explore our templates and platform, you will see there are almost endless options for customization, you can use a whole range of columns like Timeline to serve as a progress column. The best part is that you can use all of your sprint board data to create your own Scrum dashboard using our widgets.<\/p>\n Some team also use a burndown chart<\/span><\/a>, a graphical representation of work left to do versus time.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Kanban<\/span> boards<\/a> divide workflows into discrete sections, such as: to do, in progress, testing, and done.<\/p>\n Think of them as the Agile sprint board, though they work very differently from a Scrum task board:<\/p>\n Is there such thing as an Agile Scrum board? 81%<\/i><\/span><\/a> of Agile companies use both Scrum and Kanban together. <\/i>This means that they might manage certain areas of a project with Kanban (such as defect resolution), while individual teams use Scrum Sprints to create product increments.<\/p>\n The combination of the two is called Scrumban<\/span><\/a>. For instance, a Scrumban team might use a product backlog to track and prioritize work. But then, rather than implementing sprints, they\u2019ll use a Kanban board<\/a> with set WIP limits to organize workflows.<\/p>\n Try monday dev<\/a><\/p>\n While pen and paper Scrum boards exist, we highly recommend a digital Scrum board because it complements remote work and has many unique benefits like:<\/p>\n Here are our best practices for getting your Scrum board started using monday.com Work OS.<\/p>\n Grab one of our 200+ templates<\/span><\/a> to design your first Scrum board. It\u2019ll save you a huge amount of time and eliminate all those questions about what should and shouldn\u2019t be included. Plus, with a template, each team, Sprint, and project will have a similar layout so everyone is using your Scrum boards the same way.<\/p>\n Meet with your Scrum team, including the product owner to populate your template with the tasks, user stories, features, or requirements you need to track. Work together to flesh out each candidate product backlog item, create logical work items, and estimate how long each project and activity should take.<\/p>\n All members should collaborate to flesh out user stories into tangible work items and assign different steps of the workflow to team members with relevant skills.<\/p>\n At monday.com we like to work with story points rather than hard deadlines within an active Sprint.<\/p>\n A story point (SP) is a flexible measure of how much time and effort a user story will take to implement. For our internal teams, we define one SP as a full workday.<\/b><\/p>\n We only schedule 8 SP during a 2-week Sprint to give our teams time to handle anything unforeseen that comes up. With a virtual Scrum board, you can also set up notifications if a work item falls behind schedule.<\/p>\n Some Scrum boards are laid out with a column for each workday or each workflow stage (similar to a Kanban-view). But at monday.com we do things differently. Our Scrum process includes up to 10 different stages which means most of us opt to not use a Kanban board view\u2014but you still can!<\/p>\n We use a table view with a separate row for each activity and columns for status, the person assigned, priority, and estimated time. Using our Scrum Sprint Planning template<\/span><\/a> you can also add other columns as needed. The dependency column is a great feature if you have tasks that affect each other (i.e., one has to be completed before the next one starts.)<\/p>\n Take a page from our book\u2026<\/b><\/p>\n Try monday dev<\/a><\/p>\n An online Scrum board is a great addition to any Scrum team or soon-to-be Scrum master<\/a> and process. Done right, it can be the perfect addition for managing rapidly changing projects and your sprint retrospective<\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\n If you\u2019re getting ready to plan an upcoming Sprint, try our free Scrum board template<\/span><\/a>!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" If you have some general knowledge of project management, you\u2019ve likely come across or heard of Scrum boards. While they are most associated with software development, the methodology behind them can be used across industries and certainly tops sticky notes. In this article, we\u2019ll cover what you need to know …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":213,"featured_media":253143,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"pages\/cornerstone-primary.php","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_title":"How to Create an Agile Scrum Board: Ultimate Guide & Template","_yoast_wpseo_metadesc":"Learn how to create a scrum board and keep your teams on track with our step-by-step instructions, quick start template, and AI-powered tools.","monday_item_id":18009261141,"monday_board_id":0,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[13911],"tags":[14019],"class_list":["post-19262","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-rnd","tag-scrum-methodology"],"acf":{"lobby_image":false,"post_thumbnail_title":"","hide_post_info":false,"hide_bottom_cta":false,"hide_from_blog":false,"cluster":"","banner_url":"https:\/\/auth.monday.com\/p\/software\/users\/sign_up_new?origin=hp_fullbg_page_header#soft_signup_from_step\" target=\"_blank","main_text_banner":"One platform for a better product","sub_title_banner":"with monday dev","sub_title_banner_second":"","banner_button_text":"Try monday dev","below_banner_line":"","display_dates":"updated","post_date":"20250719","use_customized_cta":false,"display_subscribe_widget":false,"custom_schema_code":"","landing_page_layout":false,"featured_image_link":"","sidebar_color_banner":"","custom_tags":[14019],"faqs":[{"faq_title":"FAQs about Scrum boards","faq_shortcode":"scrum-board","faq":[{"question":"What does Scrum stand for?","answer":" Scrum is not an acronym \u2014 it\u2019s a term borrowed from rugby, where a \u201cscrum\u201d describes a tight, collaborative formation. In Agile, Scrum refers to a framework that enables teams to work together to deliver products incrementally and adapt to change efficiently. Scrum emphasizes teamwork, iterative progress, and continuous improvement.<\/p>\n"},{"question":"What are the 6 Scrum principles?","answer":" The 6 core principles of Scrum are empirical process control, self-organization, collaboration, value-based prioritization, time-boxing, and iterative development.<\/p>\n"},{"question":"What is the purpose of a Scrum board?","answer":" The primary purpose of a Scrum board is to provide a visual representation of the work items and their progress within a sprint for an Agile development team following the Scrum framework. It enables teams to embrace the core values of transparency, inspection, and adaptation while fostering collaboration, efficient workflow management, and continuous improvement throughout the sprint cycle.<\/p>\n"},{"question":"What does a Scrum board look like?","answer":" A Scrum board is a visual tool divided into columns representing different workflow stages, such as \u201cTo Do,\u201d \u201cIn Progress,\u201d and \u201cDone.\u201d Each task or user story appears as a card that moves between columns as work progresses. Digital Scrum boards, like those in monday dev, offer interactive updates, color-coded statuses, and customizable layouts for flexible team collaboration. <\/p>\n"},{"question":"What should be on a Scrum board?","answer":" A well-structured Scrum board should include:<\/p>\n A digital scrum board, like those in monday dev, can add automation, reporting, and AI-powered insights to maximize team productivity.<\/p>\n"},{"question":"Can Scrum boards be used for long-term planning?","answer":" Scrum boards are primarily designed and used for short-term sprint planning rather than long-term planning. Kanban boards, roadmaps, and other project management tools are better suited for long-term planning and tracking progress toward broader organizational goals. To effectively manage both short-term sprints and long-term objectives, Agile teams often use a combination of Scrum boards and other project management tools for long-term planning.<\/p>\n"}]}],"activate_cta_banner":false,"hide_time_to_read":false,"disclaimer":"","cornerstone_hero_cta_override":{"label":"Try monday dev","url":"https:\/\/auth.monday.com\/p\/software\/users\/sign_up_new?origin=hp_fullbg_page_header#soft_signup_from_step\" target=\"_blank\u201d"},"sections":[{"acf_fc_layout":"content_1","blocks":[{"main_heading":"","content_block":[{"acf_fc_layout":"text","content":" Scrum boards are an essential part of the Scrum framework. These simple, yet versatile, visual tools keep Scrum teams on track as they collaborate and execute each sprint.<\/p>\n According to the 17th State of Agile Report, Scrum remains the most widely used team-level Agile methodology<\/a>, with 63% of teams adopting it. Even as Agile practices evolve, Scrum continues to be the go-to framework for structured, sprint-based delivery \u2014 and the Scrum board is its central hub.<\/p>\n In this guide, you\u2019ll discover the pros and cons of using Scrum boards, which teams use them, the different types of Scrum boards, how k and how you can use monday dev to create the perfect Scrum board for your team.<\/p>\nTry monday dev<\/a>\n"}]},{"main_heading":"Key takeaways: Scrum boards","content_block":[{"acf_fc_layout":"text","content":" <\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"testimonials_carousel","testimonial_collection_select":14085,"tc_slide_to_show":"2"}]},{"main_heading":"What is a Scrum board?","content_block":[{"acf_fc_layout":"text","content":" A Scrum board is a visual tool used in Agile project management<\/a> to track and monitor the progress of tasks within a sprint. It provides a clear overview of the work items and their current status, facilitating transparency and collaboration among the team members.<\/p>\n It consists of three mandatory columns \u2014 To Do, In Progress, and Complete \u2014 and optional columns, such as Blocked, Testing, and Deployed, that represent the different stages of a workflow. Each column has rows with individual work items or tasks that the Scrum team<\/span><\/a> has prioritized for that sprint. As work progresses, the tasks are moved across the board from left to right to show progress.<\/p>\n To keep track of current sprint progress, Scrum teams refer to and update Scrum boards in the various Scrum meetings<\/span><\/a>, including Sprint planning, Daily Scrum, Sprint review<\/a>, Sprint retrospective<\/a>, and Backlog refinement<\/a>.<\/p>\n The Scrum board is a versatile tool that can be adapted to suit the specific needs of any team or organization that follows Agile principles<\/a> and values transparency, collaboration, and iterative progress.<\/p>\n Want to learn more about Agile principles? <\/strong>Read all about\u00a0agile and scrum frameworks<\/a>.<\/p>\n"}]},{"main_heading":"What are the key components of a Scrum board?","content_block":[{"acf_fc_layout":"text","content":" The Scrum board is a highly customizable tool. Teams can adapt it to their specific workflow and project requirements by adding or removing columns, using color coding, or incorporating additional visual elements. The key components of a Scrum board are:<\/p>\n Although software development teams<\/a> were the original users of a Scrum board, other Agile teams using the Scrum framework now use it, too. Here\u2019s a rundown of how those various teams use Scrum boards.<\/p>\n Scrum boards, sometimes referred to as sprint boards, are best suited for teams working in time-boxed iterations \u2014 like 1- to 4-week sprints \u2014 with a shared commitment to completing a defined set of tasks. If your team uses Agile or Scrum methodologies and values structure, transparency, and continuous improvement, a Scrum board offers a focused way to visualize and track sprint work.<\/p>\n Use a Scrum board when:<\/p>\n Scrum boards directly support Agile principles by making work transparent, promoting collaboration, and enabling teams to adapt quickly and efficiently. Here\u2019s how they enhance Agile development:<\/p>\n Scrum boards give teams a centralized view of all sprint activity.<\/p>\n A shared Scrum board provides a real-time reference point for all team members.<\/p>\n Scrum boards help teams plan, deliver, and reflect more effectively.<\/p>\n Scrum boards support change by keeping workflows fluid and transparent.<\/p>\n Scrum boards on platforms like monday dev allow distributed and cross-functional teams to collaborate seamlessly, access dashboards from anywhere, and benefit from AI-powered insights for smarter planning.<\/p>\n Scrum boards that incorporate AI can help teams make smarter decisions, spot issues earlier, and reduce manual work through intelligent automation.<\/p>\n Scrum boards are just one part of the full Agile picture.<\/strong> Learn more about Scrum principles<\/a>, Scrum ceremonies<\/a>, and how SAFe and Scrum<\/a> work together in scaled teams.<\/p>\n"}]},{"main_heading":"What are the pros and cons of using a Scrum board?","content_block":[{"acf_fc_layout":"text","content":" Let\u2019s take a look at the advantages and disadvantages of using a Scrum board.<\/p>\n There are two main types of Scrum boards: physical<\/strong> and online\/virtual<\/strong>. Both serve the same purpose of visualizing the workflow and progress of tasks within a sprint. The choice between the two types depends on team preferences, project complexity, team distribution, and the need for advanced features or integrations.<\/p>\n Physical Scrum boards are tangible boards, often whiteboards or cork boards, where sticky notes or cards are manually moved across columns to represent the progress of tasks.<\/p>\n Digital or online Scrum boards are virtual boards hosted on software or web-based applications, allowing remote collaboration and real-time updates.<\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"image","image_type":"normal","image":156981,"image_link":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"text","content":" ou don\u2019t need to be an Agile expert to set up a Scrum board. The key is to build a structure that mirrors how your team works and that can evolve with each sprint. Here are the typical steps to create a Scrum board:<\/p>\n The key is to make the Scrum board a visual representation of your team’s work and workflow for that sprint. Customize it based on your team’s needs and processes while maintaining transparency.<\/p>\n If you\u2019re new to Scrum or just want to save time setting up your board, using a ready-made template can help you hit the ground running. Templates offer a consistent structure, reduce manual setup, and make it easier to align your team around shared workflows and goals.<\/p>\n The monday.com template center<\/span><\/a> offers a variety of customizable templates for every industry, business, and team, including the Product Development Scrum Board template<\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\n This Scrum board template empowers you to plan, track, and manage your sprint iterations easily, delivering better products faster. Like all our templates, you can customize the look and feel of the board to suit your workflow without any admin overheads. For example, you could run your sprints with different views in the following scenarios:<\/p>\n Roadmap planning<\/strong> to check sprint milestones, dependencies, and overlapping activities:<\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"image","image_type":"normal","image":235800,"image_link":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"text","content":" Team planning<\/strong> to visualize and manage workload capacity for each sprint:<\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"image","image_type":"normal","image":235816,"image_link":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"text","content":" Bug tracking<\/strong> to assign and monitor the status of reported development bugs:<\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"image","image_type":"normal","image":235792,"image_link":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"text","content":" Sprint retrospectives<\/strong> to recap and review previous sprints before planning the next one:<\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"image","image_type":"normal","image":235808,"image_link":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"text","content":" Bonus:<\/strong> Use the built-in AI tools<\/strong> to categorize bugs automatically, assign tasks immediately, and generate executive sprint summaries:<\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"image","image_type":"normal","image":235784,"image_link":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"text","content":" Simply download the Scrum board template<\/span><\/a> and populate it with your details.<\/p>\nGet the template<\/a>\n"}]},{"main_heading":"What is the difference between a Scrum and a Kanban board?","content_block":[{"acf_fc_layout":"text","content":" The Scrum and Kanban<\/span><\/a> agile frameworks both use visual boards to track progress and manage work. The main difference between the boards lies in their underlying methodologies and how they approach workflow visualization and management.<\/p>\n While both boards use columns to represent workflow stages and cards or sticky notes to represent work items, the Scrum board is more structured and time-boxed, while the Kanban board<\/a> is more flexible and focused on continuous flow and limiting work in progress.<\/p>\n Scrum boards are reset after each sprint \u2014 typically 2-4 weeks \u2014 reflecting the work planned for that specific iteration. But Kanban boards are designed for a continuous flow of work, without fixed iterations or resets.<\/p>\n Scrum boards may or may not have explicit WIP limits per column. On the other hand, Kanban boards do have strict WIP limits per column to prevent overloading and promote a smooth flow of work.<\/p>\n Scrum boards focus on tracking work within a sprint, aligned with the sprint goal. But Kanban boards focus on visualizing the entire workflow and optimizing the flow of work.<\/p>\n It’s important to note that Scrum and Kanban are not mutually exclusive, and teams can combine elements of both methodologies to suit their specific needs and workflows. This hybrid approach is called Scrumban<\/span><\/a> and it combines the structure of Scrum with the flexibility and visualization of Kanban. Using a software platform like monday dev allows you to use the key features from both frameworks, including visual boards.<\/p>\n Here’s a quick look at Scrum vs. Kanban<\/a>:<\/p>\n\n\n
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![\"Screenshot](\"https:\/\/www.monday.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/image4-2.jpg\" "\\"Scrum")
Try monday dev<\/a><\/p>\nWhat is the difference between a Scrum and Kanban board?<\/h2>\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.monday.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/image8-4.png\" "\\"kanban")
<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.monday.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/scrum-board-table.jpg\" "\\"Scrum")
<\/p>\nHow to use a Scrum board<\/h2>\n
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\n<\/span><\/li>\nAdopt a template<\/h3>\n
Create your task board as a team<\/h3>\n
![\"scrum](\"https:\/\/www.monday.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/scrum-sprint-planning-1.jpg\" "\\"scrum")
<\/p>\nDeadlines vs. story points<\/h3>\n
How many columns should a Scrum board have?<\/h3>\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.monday.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/scrum-board-kanban-view.png\" "\\"kanban")
<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.monday.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/image4-18.png\" "\\"table")
<\/p>\nHow do you stop your Scrum board from getting overwhelming?<\/h3>\n
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Create an effective Scrum Board<\/h2>\n
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![](\"https:\/\/monday.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Dev_wide-sticky-banner_develope_black_try-dev-CTA-scaled.png\")
<\/p>\n"}]},{"main_heading":"Who uses a Scrum board?","content_block":[{"acf_fc_layout":"text","content":"\n
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1. Visualizing workflow and progress<\/h3>\n
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2. Supporting team collaboration<\/h3>\n
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3. Enabling iterative improvements<\/h3>\n
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4. Increasing adaptability<\/h3>\n
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5. Facilitating remote and cross-functional work<\/h3>\n
6. Amplifying team effectiveness with AI<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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Pros of using a Scrum board<\/h3>\n
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Cons of using a Scrum board<\/h3>\n
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Physical Scrum boards<\/h3>\n
Key features of physical Scrum boards:<\/h4>\n
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Online Scrum boards<\/h3>\n
Key features of online Scrum boards:<\/h4>\n
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<\/p>\n"}]},{"main_heading":"Featured template: Product development Scrum board","content_block":[{"acf_fc_layout":"text","content":"Sprint-based vs. continuous flow<\/h3>\n
Work in progress (WIP) limits<\/h3>\n
Focus<\/h3>\n