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Hints, Tips & Tricks

Sat, 2013/08/24 - 14:14 — admin
  • Export all Stories from a Project using the "Export Stories" menu item.
  • Import Stories into a Project using the from the "Import Stories" option on the menu.
  • You can only delete Users that are not Story or Task owners. Otherwise disable them.
  • Use the tooltips to help when adding a new Project, Task, Story or anything else for that matter
  • The number in brackets behind the Story size in the backlog is the next Iteration it would fall in at current velocity.
  • Use the Blocked work report to help you identify and manage Blocked items.
  • Have two browser windows open during Sprint plannng, one for the Backlog & one for the Iteration being planned.
  • Global Admin' Users can create new Story Size Type and Values via the Org. Config menu. (available to all Projects),
  • Change a Story status by either clicking on the status or using the icon on the Story Quickmenu.
  • When calculating predicted Iterations, a (worst/best) case view is given
  • Export Stories for a single Iteration or the entire Project.
  • Keep track of where you are using the breadcrumbs on the top left of the screen.
  • Move Stories/Cards between Projects by exporting and then importing them
  • Get a sysadmin to create new reports that do exactly what you need.
  • Use the help, that is what it is there for!.
  • If you want to add a number of Cards in a row, click the add Card in the header, and then click it again before adding Cards
  • Manually add a single Story to a Release to enable the enhanced release features for that Project
  • Use Tasks to break Stories down into managable pieces of work to be addressed by a specific person.
  • When presented with an Iteration list, the CURRENT Iteration is in BOLD
  • Change "Story Status" colours to suit you from the "Story Status" menu item.
  • In any Story list click on a Story "tag" to find all Stories with the same tag.
  • Use the "My Tasks" report to identify work you should be doing.
  • The text search will find text within the Story, Tasks or Comments for a Story.
  • Use the Story List and Scrum Board icons to quickly switch between view for the current Iteration.
  • When moving a Story out of an Iteration back into the Backlog, use the quick menu and it will retain its original rank.
  • Project velocity is calculated on the 5 most recent COMPLETED Iterations.
  • In any Story list, select an Epic ID against a Story to se the contents of that Epic Tree.
  • A blocked Story/Card will have a red border on both the Story list and Epic tree view.
  • To move Cards between Projects, export and re-import them (Epic Links will need to be re-created)
  • Change or add new "Story Types" to suit your Project from the "Story Type" menu.
  • Create new Iterations from the "Iterations & HiStory" menu item.
  • Assign Users to Projects by editing them after you have added them.
  • Assign tags to Cards to group them by theme
  • You can only delete Comments you have made, and then only if there is no reply to them
  • Practical Agile uses your hiStoric Velocity and average Story size to predict best/worst future Iterations on the backlog (+4/3)
  • Use Comments against the Backlog to record key Project information or decisions.
  • You will start to see a progress graph after at least a day has passed and you have some activity in an Iteration.
  • Toggle a 1,2 and 3 line Story view to make best use of you screen & what it is you are doing.
  • View progress against a release by selecting it from either the organisation or Project menu.
  • Clicking the User list Icon opens a list of Users in a new tab (useful when searching for Story owners)
  • Move a Story into an Epic by dragging and dropping in the Epic Tree.
  • View progress against Epics by using either the "Project Tree", "Iteration Tree" or Epic report.
  • When viewing an Interation Epic Tree, Cards/Stories in the current Iteration have a Blue border
  • Use the Unsized Story report to help you identify and manage new Stories and stay on top of things
  • You can change the Project size type at any time, current Cards retain their values until edited.
  • Any link can be opened in a new tab.
  • Review historic velocity and loading by selecting 'Iterations (and HiStory) from the menu
  • Use "Print Preview" to create a single Story Card.
  • Remember to click '+' when adding Tasks,Comments or uploading files.
  • See how you Iteration fits into the big picture by using the tree view on the "Iterations" menu.
  • In any Story list, select the Iteration against a Story to go to that Iteration.
  • Add Comments or Tasks from any Story list or while editing a Story .
  • Report against actual and expected Task hours in an Iteration if you have captured them.
  • Use the "My Current Stories" report to identify Stories you own in this Iteration.
  • Move a Story into a different Iteration using the Quick menu in any Story list.
  • Disabled Users can not log on, but their hiStory in Stories and Tasks remains available.
  • view an Iteration/Sprint progress by selecting it from the 'Iteration' Menu.
  • Global Admin' Users can add new Users via the Org. Config menu.
  • Story Order in the Epics Tree and the Backlog are independent, this allows you to independently visualise & prioritise work.
  • Email us if there is a feature you believe is absolutely nescessary and would make this tool more useful.
  • Move a Story into an Epic by selecting the Epic while editing a Story.
  • The average velocity for the 5 most recently completed Iterations is presented use as Project Velocity
  • Change your password via the "Edit my details" on the menu item,
  • Use Epics to group product themes or feature sets (You can order these independently from the Backlog)
  • To export a single Iteration, select the Iteration, and then 'export' Iteration from the 'Iterations' menu
  • The backlog only contains work that can be addressed by the team and does not show Epics. (Use the Project or Epic Tree)
  • Update Stories by including a Story id in your import file.
  • Drag and drop Tasks to put them in an order that makes sense.
  • click the breadcrumb, or 'Project Summary' on the menu to view a summary of the Project progress
  • When viewing an Iteration Tree the Backlog will NOT contain Epics that have ALL their work 'Done'. Use the Project tree.
  • Even if a User is a Global Admin, it is still worth making them a Project Admin in case the global right is later revoked.
  • Use the #num, tag:, owner:, status:, Size: & Type: notation to easily find Stories.
  • Print physical Cards, by exporting the Iteration and using the included printCards.xls spreadsheet.
  • You can format text within your Stories and Comments.
  • To bulk delete Stories, import a file with the Iteration set to the value "** Delete **".
  • Make sure all Stories are sized to improve predictions (use the report)
  • To view progress against a Project select/export the Project progress repotr (Table of current status)
  • Give your Iterations an objective to make them more meaningful to you and the team.
  • Change or edit "Story Status" to suit your Project from the "Story Status" menu item.
  • Locking an Iteration prevents Users from adding or removing Stories in or out ofthat Iteration.
  • Enable the "Acceptance Criteria :" input field for Stories using Edit Project on the Menu.
  • View progress against an Epic by viewing it in a Epic tree (select the tree icon from any Story/Story list view)
  • Remember, You can only import Stories into the current Project.
  • Use the reports to make your life easier.
  • Global Admin' Users allow Users access to Projects and enable Project admin rights
  • Hearing what you think of Practical Agile is very useful, so please e-mail us via the About menu item
  • The Points completed for each Story status are shown at each root entry in the Epic tree.
  • Click the "-" in an Iteration list to hide the graph and Iteration summary.
  • Current Project velocity is presented on the Project Summary page.
  • When reviewing a Card with the 'Truth'/PO select print preview and Click summary to include Tasks and Comments.
  • Change Story status by dragging and dropping a Card on the scrum board.
  • You can quickly duplicate a Story with or without Tasks while editing a Story.
  • To change a Task status, simply check the box. There is no need to go into edit mode.
  • To view progress against a Project select it from your list of available Projects (Progress Graph & table of current status)
  • In any Story list hover over an Epic ID & Size to see its summary.
  • Select a Card, hold the left button down and use 'page-up/down' or the up/down keys to move Cards large distances.
  • Update the "Template Project" Project to contain the defaults for new Projects for your organisation.
  • Click on the blue 'Minus' to hide the points summary and graph for a more compact view.
  • Only items in the Backlog count towards product work and taken into account in predictions.
  • View you Iteration either on a Radiator Board or in a list.
  • Use the breadcrumbs on the top left of the screen to quickly navigate to key screens.
  • Add Comments to Stories to record decisions or other relevant detail.
  • A release can contain Cards/Stories from more than one Project
  • You can export the results of any report.
  • When presenting future Iterations in the backlog, planned Iterations are taken into account.
  • Drag a Story up or down in an Iteration or the backlog to set its rank.
  • See when work against an Epic was completed by selecting t 2/3 line view in he Epic tree.
  • In the Story list,to navigate to a parent click on the parent Story and you will be presented with a tree view with that Epic as the base
  • To edit a Story, double click on it, or, click on either the Story number (eg #28) or using the icon on the Story Quickmenu.
  • Tasks are tri-state and have a Todo, Doing and Done state.
  • Add new Stories by having an empty Story ID in the import file.
  • Quickly navigate to the Project summary using the breadcrumbs at the top of the page
  • Use chores to track and address with that is not a bug or a feature but is needed in support of a feature.
  • Future iteratons in your backlog, help show how much work you have left in the Project.
  • Change the Story sizing used from Edit Project on the Menu (Existing Stories remain as they are).
  • Remember that the Backlog or Iteration Epic view is a subset of the Project Epic view.
  • Use the Iteration Epic tree to see how Stories in the Iteration relate to Epic pieces fo work.
  • Enable the "As A:" input field for Stories using Edit Project on the Menu.
  • Assign Categories to Projects to group them on the 'My Projects' page.
  • Include expected and actual hours against Tasks if you feel the need.
  • If a User does not have access to a Project, they won't even see it listed.
  • View more or less detail for any Story by clicking the icon in the Quick menu.
  • Use Comments against an Iteration to keep a log of your standups and retrospectives.
  • Click the Story summary in a "Print Preview" to see all Tasks and Comments against a Story.
  • Delete a Story using the Quick menu in any Story list or while editing it
  • Sometimes editing a Story and selecting a parent via the dropdown, or entering the # is faster than draqging it into an Epic,
  • Global Admin' Users can create new Projects via the Org. Config menu,
  • De-compose your Project into Epics and sub-Epics, down to almost any level, until you identify achievable pieces of work, Stories.
  • Review your hiStorical performance using the "Iterations & HiStory" menu item.
  • Change the name of the main input field using Edit Project on the Menu.
  • When importing Stories, If the Iteration does not exist, the Story is put in the "Backlog".
  • In the tree view for an Iteration current Stories have a blue border.
  • Add new Story will add a Story to the Iteration currently displayed in the screen
  • Enable another input field for Stories and name it as you wish, using Edit Project on the Menu.
  • Project/Iteration burn is only updated when there is a change. No update will appear if there is no movement.
  • Stories are prioritised by dragging them up and down the Backlog
  • Hovering over a collapsed Epic in the tree will expand i
  • Archive Projects to keep them available to Administrators but remove them from general view.
  • When working with Epics, edit Cards in a new tab to maintain the correct view.
  • Import your own hints via the Org. Config Menu and have them appear here.
  • Give your stakeholders read only access to your Projects, that way, they can see what is happening without being able to 'break' things
  • If you want to track technical debt for a Project, but keep it out of the product backlog, create an Iteration without any dates and Store it there
  • The Epic or Project tree view will also include any sub-Epics it contains.
  • Print Story Cards by selecting the icon to the right of the Iteration on the "Iterations" menu.