Scrumban Board Planning

Scrumban Board Planning

Expert assistance for managing your Trello board using Scrumban methodology - combining the best of Scrum and Kanban.

When to Use This Skill

• Planning what to work on next
• Grooming the backlog
• Managing work-in-progress limits
• Optimizing board workflow
• Sprint/iteration planning
• Prioritization decisions
• Identifying bottlenecks

Superpowers Integration

This skill complements the superpowers workflow skills:

Superpowers Skill	How It Relates to Board Planning
writing-plans	Creates implementation plans → convert to Trello cards
executing-plans	Works through plan steps → track progress on board
dispatching-parallel-agents	Parallel work streams → visualize as board columns
finishing-a-development-branch	Completion workflow → move cards to Done

Workflow example:

1. Use brainstorming to design a feature
2. Use writing-plans to create implementation steps
3. Use this skill to create/organize Trello cards for each step
4. Use executing-plans while updating card status
5. Use finishing-a-development-branch and move card to Done

Understanding Scrumban

Scrumban combines:

• Kanban: Visual workflow, WIP limits, continuous flow
• Scrum: Iterations, planning, prioritization

Key Principles

1. Visualize Work: Everything on the board
2. Limit WIP: Don't start too much at once
3. Pull System: Pull new work when capacity allows
4. Continuous Improvement: Regular retrospectives

Board Structure

Recommended Columns (Right to Left)

Done | Blocked | In-Progress | Next Up | Backlog

Why right-to-left? Work flows from Backlog → Done, and Done should be most visible as a motivator.

Column Purposes

Backlog

• All potential work items
• Not yet prioritized
• Can be large
• Regular grooming needed

Next Up

• Prioritized work ready to start
• Clear requirements
• Small enough to complete in days
• Replenished from Backlog

In-Progress

• Currently being worked on
• WIP Limit: 2-3 per person
• Oldest items should be finished first

Blocked

• Work that cannot proceed
• Always has a comment explaining why
• Daily check to unblock
• Goal: Empty this column

Done

• Completed work
• Archive weekly/monthly
• Celebrate accomplishments!

WIP Limits

Why Limit Work In Progress?

• Focus on finishing over starting
• Reduce context switching
• Identify bottlenecks faster
• Improve flow and throughput
• Better predictability

Recommended Limits

Team Size	In-Progress Limit
1 person	2-3 cards
2 people	3-4 cards
3 people	4-6 cards
5 people	6-8 cards

When to Break WIP Limits

• Emergency/critical bugs
• Blocked item becomes unblocked
• Never for "just starting something new"

Planning Cadence

Daily (5 min)

1. Check Blocked column - any items to unblock?
2. Check In-Progress - any items close to done?
3. Pull from Next Up if capacity allows
4. Quick standup questions:
   - What did I finish?
   - What am I working on?
   - Any blockers?

Weekly (30 min)

1. Review Done column - archive completed items
2. Celebrate wins!
3. Groom Backlog:
   - Remove outdated items
   - Break down large items
   - Add new items
4. Prioritize Next Up:
   - Ensure 5-10 items ready
   - Order by priority
5. Check metrics:
   - Items completed
   - Average time in each column
   - Blocked time

Monthly (1 hour)

1. Retrospective:
   - What went well?
   - What could improve?
   - Action items
2. Process improvements:
   - Adjust WIP limits
   - Update column definitions
   - Add/remove columns
3. Long-term planning:
   - Major features coming up
   - Technical debt to address
   - Learning goals

Prioritization Framework

MoSCoW Method

Must Have (Critical)

• System doesn't work without it
• Deadline-driven requirements
• Security/compliance issues → Move to Next Up immediately

Should Have (Important)

• Significantly improves experience
• Expected by users
• Has workaround but painful → High priority in Next Up

Could Have (Nice to Have)

• Enhances experience
• Not critical to function
• Can wait for capacity → Lower priority in Next Up

Won't Have (Not Now)

• Out of scope for now
• Nice idea for later
• Low impact → Keep in Backlog or archive

Weighted Shortest Job First (WSJF)

For each item, score:

• Business Value: 1-10
• Time Criticality: 1-10
• Risk Reduction: 1-10
• Job Size: 1-10

Formula: (BV + TC + RR) / Size = Priority Score

Higher score = Higher priority

Handling Common Scenarios

Too Many Items In Progress

Problem: WIP limit exceeded, nothing getting done

Solution:
1. STOP starting new work
2. Focus on finishing oldest items
3. Help teammates complete their work
4. Don't pull from Next Up until under limit

Prevention:
- Enforce WIP limits strictly
- Make "finishing" the priority
- Daily check on In-Progress count

Blocked Items Piling Up

Problem: Blocked column growing, work stuck

Solution:
1. Daily review of blocked items
2. Escalate blockers immediately
3. Can we work around it temporarily?
4. Is there dependency we can remove?

Prevention:
- Identify dependencies before starting
- Have backup work ready
- Regular communication with dependencies

Backlog Growing Too Large

Problem: Backlog has 100+ items, overwhelming

Solution:
1. Archive items older than 3 months
2. Combine similar items
3. Delete "nice to have" that won't happen
4. Set maximum backlog size (e.g., 50 items)

Prevention:
- Monthly backlog grooming
- Say "no" to low-priority items
- Time-box backlog review

Nothing In Next Up

Problem: Finished work, nothing ready to start

Solution:
1. Pull from Backlog immediately
2. Quick prioritization session
3. Pick highest-impact items
4. Ensure they're ready to work on

Prevention:
- Keep 5-10 items in Next Up
- Weekly refill from Backlog
- Flag items that need clarification

Breaking Down Work

Signs a Card is Too Big

• Description longer than screen
• More than 10 checklist items
• Estimate of more than 3 days
• Multiple unrelated concerns
• "And" in the title

How to Break Down

By Feature Area

"User authentication" becomes:
- Login page UI
- Password validation
- OAuth integration
- Password reset flow
- Session management

By User Story

"Admin dashboard" becomes:
- Admin can view user list
- Admin can edit user details
- Admin can deactivate users
- Admin can view analytics

By Technical Layer

"API for orders" becomes:
- Database schema for orders
- Order service logic
- REST API endpoints
- API documentation
- Integration tests

By Iteration

"Search functionality" becomes:
- v1: Basic text search
- v2: Filters and sorting
- v3: Advanced search syntax
- v4: Search suggestions

Metrics to Track

Lead Time

Time from card creation to Done

Good: Days Warning: Weeks Problem: Months

Cycle Time

Time from In-Progress to Done

Goal: Minimize this Track: Weekly average

Throughput

Cards completed per week

Track: Trend over time Goal: Steady or increasing

WIP Age

How long items sit In-Progress

Warning: Items older than 3 days Action: Focus on finishing or move to Blocked

How I'll Help

When planning your board, I will:

1. Review current state:

   • Check all columns
   • Identify bottlenecks
   • Count WIP

2. Suggest actions:

   • Items to prioritize
   • Cards to break down
   • Blocked items to address

3. Facilitate planning:

   • Help prioritize backlog
   • Suggest what to pull into Next Up
   • Recommend WIP adjustments

4. Track progress:

   • Summarize completed work
   • Identify patterns
   • Suggest improvements

Example Planning Session

You: "Help me plan what to work on this week"

Me: "Let me review your board first..."

/trello-lists --with-cards

"Here's your current board state:

In-Progress (3 cards) - At WIP limit

• 'Fix login bug' (3 days old) - almost done?
• 'Add user avatars' (1 day old)
• 'API documentation' (5 days old) - stuck?

Blocked (1 card)

• 'Payment integration' - waiting on Stripe approval

Next Up (4 cards)

• 'Dark mode toggle'
• 'Performance optimization'
• 'Email notifications'
• 'User preferences'

Backlog (12 cards)

• Various items...

Recommendations:

1. Finish first: The API documentation has been in progress for 5 days. Let's either finish it or identify what's blocking it.

2. Check the blocker: Payment integration has been blocked. Is there an update on Stripe approval?

3. This week's focus: After finishing current work, I'd suggest:

   • Dark mode toggle (small, quick win)
   • Performance optimization (high impact)

4. Backlog grooming needed: You have 12 items in backlog. Want me to help prioritize?

What would you like to focus on?"