The Basics
On this page:
For easiest use, be certain to implement our recommended board configurations on your Jira task board.
Assigning Horizons to Tasks
Horizons represent the relative time frame in which you expect a project or task to be completed: sometime this year, sometime this quarter, sometime this month, sometime this week, or today. Assigning Jira items on your task board to horizons is the key to using Agile Task Planner. In this way, your team can engage in agile planning by filtering your task list on one horizon while agilely planning for the next lower horizon.
For example: During a weekly preview meeting, your team can filter the task list on the outcomes they want to achieve this month, and plan just the next steps they need to achieve this week to keep things moving forward.
Horizon | Description |
|---|---|
This Year | This horizon is for large-sized tasks (i.e. projects) that you expect to complete sometime during the coming year. Your team’s annual goals will initially belong in the This Year horizon. These projects/tasks will be reviewed quarterly to determine what progress should be made in the coming quarter in order to be successful at the end of the year. |
This Quarter | This horizon represents the projects/tasks you expect to complete sometime during the current quarter. This may include annual goals that can be completed within one quarter, or milestones toward annual goals that will span quarters, or other important projects that need to be completed. These projects/tasks will be reviewed monthly to determine what progress should be made in the coming month in order to be successful at the end of the quarter. |
This Month | This horizon represents the projects/tasks you expect to complete sometime during the current month. This may include milestones toward quarterly goals or other important projects that need to be completed. These projects/tasks will be reviewed weekly to determine what progress should be made in the coming week in order to be successful at the end of the month. |
This Week | This is the most important horizon for agile planning. It represents the projects/tasks you expect to complete by the end of the week. This may include milestones toward quarterly/monthly goals or other important work with deadlines that need to be met. These projects/tasks will be reviewed daily to determine what progress should be made each day in order to be successful at the end of the week. |
Today | This horizon represents the true “To Do List”. It contains the small, manageable outcomes and action items that the team has agreed to during its Daily Preview session. These tasks will be reviewed throughout the work day, as each team member looks for the next thing to work on that day. |
Someday/Maybe | These are the projects/tasks that the team hasn’t committed to doing yet, and so they should usually be completely filtered from the task list. They should only be reviewed every now and again to determine whether the team is ready to commit or delete. |
There are two ways to set the Horizon of a task:
1. Use the Horizon selection list in the Agile Task Planner issue panel.
2. Apply the corresponding horizon label directly to the Labels field on the Jira issue.
Horizon | Jira Label |
|---|---|
This Year | @this-year |
This Quarter | @this-quarter |
This Month | @this-month |
This Week | @this-week |
Today | @today |
Someday/Maybe | @someday/maybe |
Tip: You can set a Horizon value from Jira’s Create Issue modal by applying the horizon label directly.
Creating Subprojects
Decomposing a project/task into “subprojects” allows your team to agilely decompose work into smaller chunks for shorter-term horizons.
For example: You may have a quarterly goal (“This Quarter” horizon) that you will decompose into monthly milestones (“This Month” horizon). Then each monthly milestone can be decomposed into weekly milestones (“This Week” horizon). Then each weekly milestone can be decomposed into daily tasks (“Today” horizon).
Subprojects are similar to Jira’s sub-task feature, except that subprojects support decomposing into an unlimited number of task levels instead of just one level.
To decompose a project/task into subprojects:
1 - Press the “Create Subproject” button. | |
2 - Provide the subproject details. | |
3 - Press Submit. |
Linking Subprojects
Existing Jira items can be linked as subprojects of another Jira item. This is helpful when you already have related tasks in your task list, and you just need to link them in Agile Task Planner.
To link an existing Jira item as a subproject:
1 - Press the Link an Existing item button above the subprojects listing. | |
2 - Enter the Jira key of the item you want to link. | |
3 - Press Submit. |
Creating Parents
Sometimes you may have a task in your task list and realize that it supports a larger project or outcome that should also be on your task list. In this case, you can create a new parent for an existing task by using the “Create Parent” button.
To create a parent for an item:
1 - Select the “Create Parent” button. | |
2 - Provide the parent project details. | |
3 - Press Submit. |
Linking Parents
An existing Jira item can be linked as a parent of another Jira item. This is helpful when you already have related tasks in your task list, and you just need to link them in Agile Task Planner.
To link an existing Jira item as a parent of another:
1 - Press the “Link an Existing Item” button next to the Parent field. | |
2 - Enter the Jira key of the item you want to link. | |
3 - Press Submit. |
Setting Goals
The ability to flag and track on goals is the final critical feature of Agile Task Planner. This is something your team will do during every planning exercise at every horizon level.
There are three ways to flag a task as goal:
1. Use the Goal toggle control in the Agile Task Planner issue panel.
NOTE: The label of the toggle changes based on the selected horizon. For example, a goal in the “This Quarter” horizon is called a “Quarterly Goal”, while a goal in the “This Week” horizon is called a “Weekly Big 3”.
2. Use the “Toggle Goal” action on an item in the subprojects list.
3. Apply the “@goal” label directly.