TL;DR
Do any Teams in the ART or Solution Train practice Kanban? Yes >>>
Are these Teams using a Jira Project created from the Software development > Kanban, Jira Project template? Yes >>>
Does the Team use a Jira Kanban Board vs. a Jira Scrum Board? Yes >>>
If the answer to one of these or both of these questions is Yes, then follow the steps below to enable the seamless sync of Kanban Teams work into a piplanning.io PI Session.
The skinny: there is no impact on the Kanban teams day-to-day work in Jira. They will participate in the PI planning event with the other teams using the piplanning.io Team Board just like the other Teams (Scrum). In piplanning.io they will use the Team Board to allow them to effectively align and coordinate any cross-team dependencies or delivery dates with their peer Scrum teams
To complete the Kanban Team setup do the following:
In Jira Software, create the Teams shadow Jira Scrum Board
In the piplanning.io > RTE Cockpit > ALM Connection > Team Mapping edit the Jira Board configuration to point to the shadow Jira Scrum Board.
In the piplanning.io > RTE Cockpit > SAFe PIs >
PI Session Name> #11 Iterations tab link the PI session Iterations to Jira Sprints (that will exist on that shadow Jira Scrum Board.
FYI: piplanning.io and integrating with Sprints in Jira Software
Fact: In Jira Software, Sprints can only exist on Jira Scrum Boards
Fact: piplanning.io Team Boards work on the PI's Sprint/Iteration cadence
Fact: Kanban teams that use a Jira Kanban Board will technically not have any Sprints in their Jira Project/Board that piplanning.io can map to. So, they need a shadow Jira Scrum Board to allow piplanning.io to sync the Sprints/Iterations in the PI session to the respective Jira Sprints on the shadow Jira Scrum Board
Fact: The piplanning.io Team Board is invaluable for getting aligned on the schedule across the ART or Solution Train. Scrum, Kanban or other alignment is the goal. The piplanning.io Team Boards will remove the friction and overhead around coordinating work. From a day-to-day perspective the Jira Kanban Team now has choices to execute the work from their Jira Kanban Board or the piplanning.io Team Board. The piplanning.io Team Board will be invaluable for those important rituals like Coach/Team syncs, Retrospectives, Reviews.
Click to learn more...
1st Step - Create a shadow Jira Scrum Board
1st Step - Create a shadow Jira Scrum Board
Here are some guidelines about how to setup and manage the shadow Jira Scrum Boards for Kanban Teams.
Assumptions
In Jira Cloud, the Jira Project is created using the Project template > Software development > Kanban
It is a Company-managed Project type
In the Jira Project that uses the Kanban template: +Create board > Scrum > Create a Scrum board.
The Jira Project template = Kanban. The Jira board template = Scrum board.
How To Steps
In Jira Cloud, on the Jira Project that uses either the Kanban Project template or the Kanban Board template, click +Create board under the PLANNING section.
Create a board popup modal click Create a Scrum board > Board for an existing project
Enter a Board name such as
Kanban Team Shadow Scrum Board. Select the existing Jira Project used by the Kanban Team. Complete the Jira board set up wizard.
Note: In Jira Data Center you will complete the same steps but the UI will be different.
2nd Step - Configure piplanning.io Team and Jira Project Mapping
2nd Step - Configure piplanning.io Team and Jira Project Mapping
Navigate to the RTE Cockpit > ALM Connections > Edit the ALM Connection
Navigate to the Team Mapping tab.
Edit the Team
Check the Show advanced settings checkbox
Select the right Jira project from the dropdown field
Select the newly created Shadow Scrum Board from the Jira board dropdown field
Figure I: Example > Team Mapping > Kanban Team with a shadow Jira Scrum Board.
3rd Step - Set up the PI Session
3rd Step - Set up the PI Session
Prepare a PI Session as normal, selecting the ART or Solution Train that contains both the Scrum and Kanban teams.
On tab #11 Iterations in the PI Session configuration, you will need to map each Iteration in the PI Session, to the respective Jira Sprints available in each Teams Jira Project. This is where that shadow Jira Scrum Board comes in handy 😀
In the dropdown field for each Iteration > Team combination, select the Jira Sprint value that displays from that corresponding shadow Scrum Board that was setup with the Team Mapping above.
Note: When preparing a new PI session you always have the option to chose Create sprint in Jira from piplanning.io this helps automate the creation of the Sprints on any Jira Scrum Board without having to manually administer that setup in Jira.
We highly RECOMMEND this option to save time + effort and unintended errors.
How Kanban Teams use piplanning.io during a PI event
How Kanban Teams use piplanning.io during a PI event
In Jira, the Kanban Team will navigate to their shadow Jira Scrum Board
They will drag the work items (User Stories) into a Sprint that is being synchronized with the PI session in question. These Sprints should be displayed / belong to that shadow Jira Scrum Board. Note: the ranking on these work items (User Stories) on the Jira Kanban Board should not be affected.
These User Stories (work items) that are dragged into the Sprints will synchronize and appear on the piplanning.io Team Board.
The Kanban Team will then participate in the PI planning event like all other teams in the ART/Solution Train. They will drag-n-drop Sticky Notes into the appropriate Sprints/Iterations to align on schedules with other Teams.
When they create new Sticky Notes to represent new User Stories in Jira, those new Sticky Note will create the corresponding new Jira Issue and it will appear on both the Jira Kanban Board and the shadow Jira Scrum Board. Note: On the Kanban Board the new Jira Issue (User Story) will appear in the Backlog column.
After the PI planning event ends, the Kanban Team has the option to continue using and reviewing the plan using the piplanning.io Team Board or either their Jira Kanban Board or the shadow Scrum Board. The piplanning Team Board will come in handy when they need to re-prioritize and adapt their planned schedule as it pertains to the changes in cross-Team or cross-ART dependencies etc.
Simple Planning. Smooth Execution.