With a Whiteboards library of 100+ templates, where do you begin? To get you started, we’ve assembled a go-to list of powerful templates covering Scrum team activities from large-scale project planning to Daily Standups.
What makes these templates so powerful? All Whiteboards templates sync with Jira to let you create, import, and manage Jira issues right on the digital whiteboard. Edit any work item in Whiteboards, and the update appears instantly in Jira. Deep native Jira integration lets you sort Jira items visually while you plan with your Scrum team, plus you bypass the chore of doing manual data entry across platforms.
Try Whiteboards for free today, and keep reading for an introduction to ten powerful Scrum templates, including in-depth resources for further guidance.
Scrum team templates for successful Sprint Planning
The Sprint Planning template sets your Scrum team up with a comprehensive Sprint Planning board. From there, use these three Scrum templates to work out the details:
1. Product Backlog Refinement template
Select stories for your next Sprint using the Product Backlog Refinement template. Use sticky notes to create work items, or import your Product Backlog from Jira. Prioritize user stories on the pyramid to select items for your Sprint Backlog.
The Product Owner can then use this template for ongoing Product Backlog management, setting the Scrum team up for smooth Sprint Planning. Any updates made in Jira sync instantly in Whiteboards, so Jira issues on the template stay up to date at all times.
For more guidance, check out our 5 Tips for Using Whiteboards for Backlog Refinement and Estimation.
2. User Story Mapping template
Follow your end user’s journey step by step on the User Story Mapping template. Take each selected Product Backlog story, add it to a sticky note, and break it down into smaller stories for your Sprint Backlog. The chart expands easily in either direction to hold all the details, while customizable swimlanes keep your work organized.
Convert sticky notes to Jira work items when you’re done, and you’re ready to move on to estimation.
Learn more about working with user stories in our Step-by-Step Guide to User Story Mapping.
3. Planning Poker template
Estimate Sprint Backlog stories on the Planning Poker template with your Scrum team to finish planning your Sprint. Grab the user stories right from your User Story Mapping template, or create an import zone on the “To be estimated” field to bring them in from Jira.
Estimate work items one by one using a virtual card deck of T-shirt sizes or Fibonacci numbers. Start a voting session and choose a time limit per item to be estimated. Each team member clicks on their chosen estimate to vote anonymously. When everyone’s done, discuss any variance in the votes and find consensus.
Get more detailed instructions in our guide to Collaborative Estimates with Jira Planning Poker.
Scrum team templates for in-depth product solutions
Organize your long-term product development plan on the Product Roadmap template using our Agile Guide to Product Roadmaps. These two templates can help you out with the detailed work of product discovery and troubleshooting:
4. Assumptions Mapping template
Analyze proposed product solutions critically on the Assumptions Mapping template with your Scrum team. Follow the template prompts to make statements about the feasibility, viability, and desirability of the feature being proposed. Examine each statement using two questions:
- How well can we verify this, and how much are we just assuming?
- How critical is the risk we’re taking with this assumption?
Arrange your statements on the matrix to see which ones require more empirical testing, then create a plan to gather and analyze the necessary data before moving forward.
Avoid operating under bad assumptions and make sure you design products users really want. Learn more about good product solution practices with our Assumption Mapping Techniques for Product Discovery.
5. Fishbone Diagram template
Running into some unexpected product or project hurdles? Discover the root of the problem with the Fishbone Diagram template. Brainstorm the causes that might be underlying your hurdles, and diagram them on the template as you go.
List any deeper problems that might lie behind those issues, and narrow these down to theorize your most likely root causes. Create a plan to test your hypotheses and find real solutions so you can get your work back on track.
Swim into the deep end with our Guide to Problem-Solving with a Fishbone Diagram.
Scrum team templates for comprehensive project planning
Cover all your project bases with our Detailed User Guide to Agile Project Planning. The Project Planning template organizes your big picture work, and these three templates help your Scrum team break the project down:
6. Risk Assessment template
Risk assessment isn’t the most fun part of project planning, but a colorful Risk Assessment template helps! Those bright red squares are there to help you head off any catastrophic failures.
Gather the Scrum team and rate possible project risks according to their likelihood and seriousness. Assess potential hazards head on, take practical mitigation measures, and create a realistic risk management plan.
Sometimes it’s hard to envision all the potential avenues of risk a project faces. Find helpful checklists and strategies in our post on How to Identify and Manage Business Risk.
7. Competitive Analysis template
Take a brutally honest look at your project proposal using the Competitive Analysis template. Know what you’re up against by identifying and examining your competitors closely. Analyze their websites, social media presence, direct marketing strategies, and search engine performance.
Pinpoint your key advantages and biggest product challenges so you can plot your best product development path forward in the evolving market.
Stay ahead of the curve with our step-by-step Agile Guide to the Competitive Analysis Template.
8. Stakeholders Analysis template
Analyze all your internal and external project stakeholders in order to create a stakeholder management plan with the Stakeholders Analysis template. List everyone who is affected by the project, will contribute to the project, or has a stake in its outcome.
Arrange your stakeholders on the Power/Interest Grid to decide which ones you just need to monitor or keep informed, and which ones you need to keep satisfied or manage closely. Plan how you will communicate with each of them as the project progresses.
Solid stakeholder management helps avoid unhealthy communication extremes: overloading people with unnecessary updates or letting people fall through the cracks.
Explore this project template in depth with our comprehensive guide to Stakeholders Analysis for Project Planning.
Scrum team templates for effective check-ins
Keep your daily team tasks and Sprint work aligned using these two essential Scrum team templates:
9. Daily Scrum template
Hold your Daily Scrum with the Daily Scrum Meeting on a Table template, or try the Daily Scrum Meeting on a Timeline template for a bird’s-eye view of your entire Sprint. To begin your Sprint, use the template import zone to gather work items from Jira. Add team members’ camera streams and names to the template. Each morning every team member reports yesterday’s progress, tasks for today, and any blockers they’re facing.
Arrange Jira items on the chart to visually track everyone’s work. Leave work items on the board to pick up where you left off at the next Daily Scrum. Either Daily Scrum template also works great for asynchronous standups!
Optimize Scrum team check-ins with our Daily Standup Best Practices.
10. Start, Stop, Continue template
Improve Scrum team collaboration by celebrating achievements and implementing new solutions at the end of each Sprint using the Start, Stop, Continue template. This template is simple, straightforward, and perfect for running pragmatic retrospectives that produce actionable steps.
Each team member reflects on the past Sprint and tells the team what they’d like to start, stop, and continue doing in the next one. The team examines each proposal in turn, implementing any easy wins right away and discussing the tougher issues in depth to start developing solutions.
Ensure rising issues are addressed quickly while positive practices are noticed and reinforced. Maximize the potential of the Stop, Start, Continue template using our Guide to Running Simple, Action-Focused Retrospectives.
Scrum and Whiteboards
Get started with our ten powerful Scrum templates today. Try Whiteboards for free with your Scrum team and receive 100+ customizable Jira-synced templates, unlimited whiteboards, and handy tools for diagramming, voting, creating demos, and running presentations.
Check out our short Whiteboards demo and see how every Scrum template is better with Jira integration.
