Agile Board Settings

The Board Settings panel is divided into four tabs. Each tab lets you manage a specific set of parameters for the board. To open the Board Settings panel, click the button in the toolbar.

General Settings

The General tab lets you manage the basic settings of the board. Most of these settings are defined when you create the board.

The Board behavior options let you manage how issues are added to your board. There are different sets of options for boards with sprints and boards without sprints. For more information, see Board Behavior.

Setting

Description

Name

Displays the name of the board. You can reference the name of the board in commands to add issues to or remove issues from the board. You can also reference the name of the board in search queries.

owned by

Displays the name of the user who created the agile board. To change the owner, select another user from the drop-down list.

If the previous owner is not a member of a group that can view and use the board, this user no longer has access to this board.
If the previous owner is not a member of a group that can edit the board settings, this user can no longer access the board configuration panel.

Projects

Lists the projects that are managed on the board.

Can view and use the board

Shows who has permission to view and update issues on the board. Select one or more users, groups or project teams to grant access to the board.

Users and members of selected groups and project teams can view all fields and values that identify columns and swimlanes in the board settings, including private fields.
Any member with the Low-level Administration permission can access and edit the settings for this board as well.

This setting supports an additional option for issue readers. When you select this option, any user who has Read Issue access in all of the projects that are managed on the board can view and use it.

Can edit board settings

Shows who has permission to view and update board settings.

Like the setting that determines who can view and use the board, you can select one or more users, groups and project teams to grant access to edit the project settings. When you select the project updaters option, any user who has Update Project access in any of the projects that are managed on the board can update the board settings.

Sprints

Determines whether the board uses sprints or not. This setting also determines which of the Board behavior options are available.

Board behavior

Defines how issues are added to the board. For a detailed description of each option, see Board Behavior.

Query

Filters which cards are visible on the board. This setting is only available when one of the following options are enabled:

Sprints	Board behavior
Enabled	Link sprints to custom field
Disabled	Filter cards to match a query

Columns and Swimlanes

The Columns and Swimlanes tab lets you to define which columns are displayed on your board and add swimlanes.

Settings for Columns

The first group of settings defines the columns on your board.

Columns usually represent progressive stages in the issue lifecycle.

Cards in the leftmost column are intended to represent unstarted effort.
Cards in the rightmost column represent finished work.
In between, the columns represent incremental progress.

The most common configuration for columns on an agile board uses values from the State field or another field that stores a state type. Use the following settings to define columns on your board:

Setting	Description
Columns are identified by	Determines which field is used to identify columns on the board. The field selection is restricted as follows: The selection is limited to the fields that are used in the projects that are associated with the board. You can only select from fields that store a `state` type or an `enum` type with the Multi-value option disabled. That is, the field that identifies columns can only store single values. This restriction prevents you from building a board that shows the same card in multiple columns, which is strange.
Columns	Lists which values are displayed as columns on the board. Use the Add column option to add a column from the set of values that is used in the field that identifies columns. Drag a column to change its position on the board.
Min/Max WIP	Sets the minimum and maximum allowed WIP for a column. WIP stands for the "Work in progress" parameter — the number of cards that can be placed in the column. For example, if you use the State field for columns, then you can set that maximum 5 cards can simultaneously in the "In Progress" column/state. When the number of cards in the column is less than the "Min WIP" or is more than the "Max WIP" value, a warning is displayed in the column title. Also, the corresponding bar in the Progress indicator next to the sprint name is highlighted red.
Merge with	Merges the selected column with another column on the board. For a detailed description, see Merge Board Columns.
Add column	The drop-down list with the set of values for the field that defines columns.

Settings for Swimlanes

The second set of settings on the Columns and Swimlanes tab lets you add structure to the board in the form of swimlanes. Swimlanes are meant to help members of an agile team prioritize their work. This can be accomplished in several ways:

For scrum boards, you can identify swimlanes by the user stores or features that have been taken to the current sprint. You can then drag the swimlanes to order them by priority, from the top of the board to the bottom.
For Kanban boards, you can identify swimlanes by values from the Priority field. The tasks on the board are automatically sorted by priority from top to bottom.

There are several other possible configurations, like using Project, Subsystem, or even Assignee. Use the following options to add swimlanes to your board:

Option	Description
No swimlanes	Swimlanes are disabled on the board.
Values	Swimlanes are identified by the set of values in a selected Field. Select a field and add swimlanes from the list of values. For example, if you select the Type you can add swimlanes for Features, Tasks, Bugs, and so on. The field selection is restricted as follows: You can use custom fields that store a `state` type or an `enum`, `user`, `ownedField`, `version`, or `build` type. If you choose to identify swimlanes by a field that stores multiple values, issues that are currently assigned multiple values for the selected field are only displayed as cards in the uppermost swimlane on the board. You can also select a custom field or issue attribute that stores a `date`. With this configuration, the swimlanes group issues into a predefined set of relative date ranges. This lets you set up an agile board that automatically sorts issues into swimlanes by due date. You can also configure swimlanes to use other date values, like creation date or last update. You can identify swimlanes by project. You can also identify swimlanes by tag. This configuration is similar to boards that identify swimlanes based on fields that store multiple values. In this case, issues that are currently assigned multiple tags that are included in the list of tags that are used as swimlanes are only displayed as cards in the uppermost swimlane on the board. Fields that store simple types like `string`, `period`, `integer`, and `float` are not allowed. These fields store an indefinite number of values and are not practical for use as swimlanes. When you identify swimlanes by values from a custom field, don't use the same field that identifies columns on your board. The configuration makes no sense from a logical point of view and the resulting board serves no practical purpose.
Issues	Swimlanes are identified by issues that are assigned a specific value in the selected Field. For example, a swimlane represents an issue with the Type field set to Feature. Select a field and add swimlanes from the list of values. All of the issues that are assigned the selected values are shown as swimlanes. Unlike swimlanes that are identified by values, the swimlanes are represented by issues, not issue attributes. When you add a swimlane to the board, you create an issue that is assigned the value in the field that identifies swimlanes. This selection is restricted to custom fields that store values as an `enum`, `state`, `ownedField`, `version`, or `build`. Here, it doesn't matter whether the field stores single or multiple values. Even if, for example, you identify swimlanes by issues with the value for the Version field set to 1.0 and 1.1 an issue appears as a single swimlane even when you add both versions to the Version field. The following field types are not supported: Fields that store a `user` type, like Assignee. If this were possible, you would end up with different swimlanes for every issue that is assigned to selected users. As soon as the issue is assigned to a user who is not selected from the list, the swimlane would disappear. It's bizarre. Fields that store simple types like `string`, `date`, `period`, `integer`, and `float`. These fields store an indefinite number of values and are not practical for use as swimlanes.
Values	Lists which values from the field that identifies swimlanes are visible as swimlanes on the board. Use the Add value option to select which values are shown.
Show swimlane for uncategorized cards	Displays an additional swimlane for uncategorized cards. This lets you add and manage cards that don't match the attributes or issues that define a swimlane. This option is only available when swimlanes are enabled. You can choose to display this swimlane at the top or bottom of the board.

Card Settings

The Cards tab lets you display estimations on the board, set the default issue type for new cards, and manage the visual presentation.

Setting	Description
Current estimation field	Determines which field is used to display estimations on the board. You can only select from fields that store a `period`, `integer`, or `float` type.
Original estimation field	Determines which field is factored into the calculations on the burndown chart. This helps you track deviations from the activities that are planned at the beginning of the sprint. This setting is optional. If you choose not to track original estimation values for issues in your projects, the burndown is calculated using current estimation values only. Like the current estimation, you can only select a field that stores a `period`, `integer`, or `float` type.
Default value for type	Sets the default value for the Type field when you add a card to the board. This option is only displayed when swimlanes are enabled and identified by Issues.
Color scheme	Differentiates cards on the board by project or based on the value of a selected custom field. The default setting applies the colors scheme used by the Priority field. If you select Project, you can choose which color is applied to cards in each project. If you select a custom field, the color that is associated with each value in the set is applied to cards automatically.
Custom fields	Reveals a set of controls that let you customize the fields presentation. Use the Add field and Remove field controls to choose which fields you want to appear on each card. The list of fields in the Add field menu is restricted to the fields that are available in the projects that are managed on the board. Drag fields by their handles to reorder fields on each card. Select an option from the Display menu. You can choose to show the full name or just the first letter for the value that is stored in each field.
Show colors for other custom fields	Toggles the presentation of color-coded visual indicators for the custom fields that are visible on each card.
Allow cards to be assigned to multiple sprints	Enables the ability to assign cards to more than one sprint. This option is only visible when sprints are enabled. For boards that link sprints to values for a custom field, this option is only visible when the linked field can store multiple values.

Chart Settings

The Chart tab defines parameters of the chart to use for the board.

Setting	Description
Type	Determines which type of chart is accessible on the board. For more information about each type, see Burndown Chart and Cumulative Flow.
Issue filter	Determines which issues are included in the calculation of the chart: All cards: All cards that are assigned to the current sprint of the board are taken into account. Swimlanes are not included in the calculation. Custom: All cards and swimlanes that match the Query are taken into account.
Burndown calculated by	Defines which values are used to calculate the burndown. This setting is only available for the burndown chart. Different options are shown based on the value depends on the settings of the time tracking in the board projects: Issue count: The burndown is calculated by the number of cards on the board. Estimation: The burndown is calculated based on the values in the custom field that is shown for estimations on the board. When a card is moved to a resolved state, the burndown is reduced by value that is set in the Estimation field. Work items: The burndown is calculated by the amount of spent time that is added to an issue as a work item. Available only if: The Estimation Field setting on the Card tab is set to a field that stores a `period` type. The Time Tracking feature is enabled and configured for at least one of the projects on the board.

Setting

Description

Type

Determines which type of chart is accessible on the board. For more information about each type, see Burndown Chart and Cumulative Flow.

Issue filter

Determines which issues are included in the calculation of the chart:

All cards: All cards that are assigned to the current sprint of the board are taken into account. Swimlanes are not included in the calculation.
Custom: All cards and swimlanes that match the Query are taken into account.

Burndown calculated by

Defines which values are used to calculate the burndown. This setting is only available for the burndown chart. Different options are shown based on the value depends on the settings of the time tracking in the board projects:

Issue count: The burndown is calculated by the number of cards on the board.
Estimation: The burndown is calculated based on the values in the custom field that is shown for estimations on the board. When a card is moved to a resolved state, the burndown is reduced by value that is set in the Estimation field.
Work items: The burndown is calculated by the amount of spent time that is added to an issue as a work item. Available only if:
- The Estimation Field setting on the Card tab is set to a field that stores a period type.
- The Time Tracking feature is enabled and configured for at least one of the projects on the board.

Backlog Settings

The following settings are used to manage the backlog of issues for an agile board. These settings are displayed only when the the backlog is open.

Setting	Description
Saved search	Determines which saved search is used to show the list of issues in the backlog. Click to select another saved search or define new search criteria.
View mode	Determines how the list of issues is displayed. The following options are available: Tree view: Displays issues in a hierarchical list. Issues that are subtasks of parent tasks are nested in a tree structure. If an issue that matches the saved search is a subtask of an issue that does not match the search criteria, the parent task is shown with a gray background. List view: Displays issues as a flat list. Only issues that match the saved search are shown. This makes it possible to prioritize issues from different levels in the hierarchical list.

Setting

Description

Saved search

Determines which saved search is used to show the list of issues in the backlog. Click to select another saved search or define new search criteria.

View mode

Determines how the list of issues is displayed. The following options are available:

Tree view: Displays issues in a hierarchical list. Issues that are subtasks of parent tasks are nested in a tree structure.
If an issue that matches the saved search is a subtask of an issue that does not match the search criteria, the parent task is shown with a gray background.
List view: Displays issues as a flat list. Only issues that match the saved search are shown. This makes it possible to prioritize issues from different levels in the hierarchical list.

Last modified: 21 September 2022