Agile project plan template

Traditional project management strategies often follow a linear, waterfall method. However, this strategy doesn’t work as well for dynamic products, such as software development work. In 2001, the Agile methodology was created to help dynamic, fast-paced teams iterate quickly and focus more towards customer needs. 

Luckily, there are many different project management tools that you can use to plan a new Agile project. One of those tools is an Agile project plan template. 

What is an Agile project plan template?

An Agile project plan template is a repeatable framework that you can customize and use for any future Agile project. Using an Agile project plan template expedites the project planning process and ensures your team’s projects are organized consistently. 

Agile project plans are often organized in a Kanban board. In this format, a Kanban card represents a single task that needs to be completed, and it travels down different stages, represented by the different columns on the Kanban board.

What is Agile?

Agile is a common project management methodology that breaks large projects down into smaller portions of time, commonly referred to as “sprints.” Agile project management is an iterative process. This means that after each sprint or iteration, your team takes time to reflect on how things can improve for the next sprint.

You can use your Agile project plan template for any different type of Agile methodology, including lean project management, Kanban, and Scrum.

How to create an Agile project plan template

Agile project plan templates are often organized in one of two ways: a Kanban style board or Gantt chart. The Kanban board is best used if you want to see what tasks are in specific stages, whereas a Gantt chart is better for identifying project progress in a more linear manner.

Before creating your Agile project plan template, take a look at your current Agile planning process. Identify the specific stages your tasks go through, what information product owners or project managers need to know at a glance, and the specific details your team needs to complete a task.

Agile projects typically track work in flight, so you might want to organize your template by stages like: To Do, In progress, and Done. Tasks in the “To do” section are often referred to as the product backlog or just backlog. You can customize the “In progress” stage to fit your team’s unique workflow. For example, some teams will have different stages for scoping, reviewing, and developing. 

The next step of creating your Agile project plan template is identifying what information should go into each Kanban card, such as story points, start and end dates, and who is responsible for this task. The best way to do that is with a Kanban card template. 

Why use a digital Agile project plan template

Using an Agile project plan template is extremely beneficial, not only for project managers or product owners, but for the whole team. Here are a few reasons why you should create an Agile project plan template in a digital project management tool:

• Visualize the project in different views. If you’re a product owner, it might be easier to look at the project in a Gantt chart style view to quickly identify deliverable dependencies. For those working on completing the tasks, it might be easier to view the project as a Kanban board. 

• Automate data reporting. Some digital project management tools have the functionality to automatically create charts and graphs, such as a burndown chart. This can help project managers save time and help Agile teams understand how much work the development team needs to complete before a sprint is over.

• Collaborate with project team members in real time. Gone are the days of outdated documents and stagnant spreadsheets. With a digital project management tool, you can see your project schedule, tasks, and information in real time.

Integrated features

• Board View. Board View is a Kanban board-style view that displays your project’s information in columns. Columns are typically organized by work status (like To Do, Doing, and Done) but you can adjust column titles depending on your project needs. Within each column, tasks are displayed as cards, with a variety of associated information including task title, due date, and custom fields. Track work as it moves through stages and get at-a-glance insight into where your project stands.

• Reporting. Reporting in Asana translates project data into visual charts and digestible graphs. By reporting on work where work lives, you can reduce duplicative work and cut down on unnecessary app switching. And, because all of your team’s work is already in Asana, you can pull data from any project or team to get an accurate picture of what’s happening in one place.

• Milestones. Milestones represent important project checkpoints. By setting milestones throughout your project, you can let your team members and project stakeholders know how you’re pacing towards your goal. Use milestones as a chance to celebrate the little wins on the path towards the big project goal. 

• Dependencies. Mark a task as waiting on another task with task dependencies. Know when your work is blocking someone else’s work, so you can prioritize accordingly. Teams with collaborative workflows can easily see what tasks they’re waiting on from others, and know when to get started on their portion of work. When the first task is completed, the assignee will be notified that they can get started on their dependent task. Or, if the task your work is dependent on is rescheduled, Asana will notify you—letting you know if you need to adjust your dependent due date as well. 

Recommended apps

• Google Workplace. Attach files directly to tasks in Asana with the Google Workplace file chooser, which is built into the Asana task pane. Easily attach any My Drive file with just a few clicks.

• GitHub. Automatically sync GitHub pull request status updates to Asana tasks. Track progress on pull requests and improve cross-functional collaboration between technical and non-technical teams, all from within Asana.

• Jira. Create interactive, connected workflows between technical and business teams to increase visibility around the product development process in real time—all without leaving Asana. Streamline project collaboration and hand offs. Quickly create Jira issues from within Asana so that work passes seamlessly between business and technical teams at the right time. 

• ServiceNow. Reduce manual work for IT teams working in ServiceNow by automating task creation in Asana and providing cross-platform visibility into real-time status and context. Internal-facing service teams that use ServiceNow to track and manage employee tickets often receive requests that require actions outside ServiceNow, like fulfilling hardware requests, or responding to a payroll question. This integration makes it easy to connect ServiceNow to actions and updates taken in Asana.

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