Desktop Client User Guide for Release 3.1

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Thank you for using ScrumWorks Pro. This guide should help you get off the ground with the ScrumWorks Pro Desktop Client, a multi-user network desktop application. New users are encouraged to read the Quick Start Guide first for a product use overview. Please visit our support site with any questions or to report issues.
Quick Links
Getting Started Managing Products Product Window Overview Product Backlog Items Task Management Sprint Management Release Management Using and Customizing the Product Window User Properties Themes The Sprint Detail Frame The Impediments Frame Earned Business Value (Business Weight) Data Management External Application Integration Team Management User Management Role Management Role Template Management Programs and Groups Reports User Guide Web Reports User Guide

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Getting Started

General Precautions
As with all systems, please ask your database administrator to make periodic backups of the ScrumWorks Pro database. There is no "UNDO" button so user error may result in a loss of data.

Although one ScrumWorks Pro Server permits multiple users, please be careful to avoid write conflicts when simultaneously editing a single Product. Although ScrumWorks Pro receives changes from the server with each request, you can use the Refresh function to manually update your screen if you suspect it's been altered (File > Refresh or the F5 shortcut key). The "Automated Refresh" feature available in the User Preferences (User menu) is recommended.

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Prerequisites
  1. Supported ScrumWorks Pro Desktop Client operating systems are Windows XP, Windows Vista, Linux with KDE windows manager, and Mac OS X 10.4+ (Tiger).

  2. Supported Web Browsers are Internet Explorer 6 and Internet Explorer 7, Mozilla/Firefox 1.5+, or Safari 2.0+.

  3. The minimum hardware requirements are 128 MB of RAM and 150 MB of disk space.

  4. Java Web Start (JNLP) is required to launch the ScrumWorks Pro Desktop Client. If you have the JRE 1.5 or higher installed (also known as J2SE 5.0+), Java Web Start is already installed on your machine. To install Java Web Start, install the latest JRE from Sun's web site:
    http://java.com/en/download/index.jsp

  5. Intranet/Internet connection for the duration of your ScrumWorks Pro session. A broadband connection is highly recommended for accessing ScrumWorks Pro over the Internet/WAN.

  6. The Print to Cards feature requires a program capable of reading Adobe PDF 1.4, such as Adobe Acrobat Reader 5 or higher, or Preview in Mac OS X 10.4 or higher.


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Client Installation
ScrumWorks Pro is a client-server application; that is, there is a Desktop Client that reads and stores data on a centralized server. This User Guide is intended for end users, see the Server installation documentation for instructions on installing the ScrumWorks Pro Server component.

The ScrumWorks Pro Desktop Client is a Java application that launches via Java Web Start. Java Web Start works by locally caching the application and obtaining updates from the server when available. All data access and storage is done on the server over a network connection, so you must stay connected to the intranet/internet during the course of your session.

  1. Install Java 2: make sure the latest JRE or Java SDK is installed on your computer.

  2. Point your favorite internet browser to your server's installation:
    http://hostname:8080/scrumworks
    where "hostname" should be replaced with the hostname or IP address of the server where the ScrumWorks Pro server-side component is installed.

  3. A screen should present you with two boxes, "ScrumWorks Pro Desktop Client" and "ScrumWorks Pro Web Client". Click "Launch ScrumWorks Pro Desktop Client" in the "ScrumWorks Pro Desktop Client" box.

  4. If your browser asks you whether to Save or Open the file, choose "Open" file. At this point, Java should begin loading.

  5. Java Web Start will launch, and ScrumWorks Pro will download and run. The first launch will take longer than subsequent launches. When the server installation of ScrumWorks Pro is updated, clients will automatically receive the updates on their next launch. Depending on your version of Java, the initial launch may indicate it is stalled. This is normal and the program should launch within a minute or two.


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License Activation
A valid license is required to run ScrumWorks Pro. License files contain an expiration date. You should have received a trial license file with your download. Otherwise, you may request one through the ScrumWorks Pro web site. Trial licenses are only valid for 35 days, and full licenses are availabe through Danube Technologies. Please contact the Danube sales office for purchasing information.

Once you have obtained a license file, please follow the directions below to activate your ScrumWorks Pro software.
  1. Launch the ScrumWorks Pro Desktop Client application as described above.


  2. If you do not have a valid license installed, a license entry dialog will appear. 'Browse' for your license and click 'Save and Close' to continue with your new license.


  3. If your license is expired, only the Global Administrator will be able to log in to update the license.


Your license is accepted if you do not receive an error. If you receive an error message, please follow the steps again and be sure that the license file was not modified in any way after receiving it. IF YOU MODIFY THE FILE CONTENTS, THE LICENSE ENTRY PROCESS WILL FAIL.

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Authentication
Please be sure that you have properly activated your license before attempting to log in.

Once you have obtained a valid license file, please follow these steps:
  1. Launch the application as described above.

  2. At the Login prompt, enter your login name and password. Note, your login name is different than your First and Last name. Your login name and password is originally created by the Global Administrator user using the User Manager. By default, the Global Administrator's login name is administrator with password password.

  3. Click OK to continue, or Cancel to exit.


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New Product Creation Wizard
The Create Product Wizard guides you step-by-step through the decisions necessary to set up and quickly begin using a new Product. Using the wizard as a guide to new product creation will ensure that routine setup steps have been taken such as setting up teams, roles and permissions, and product properties.

At each step in the process, a Help tab gives explanations of information you will be asked for, and provides information on changing the settings once your Product has been created.

Note that if you cancel the Wizard at any time before clicking Finish, your settings will be lost, including any Teams or Users you have created as part of the setup process.

Once the Product is created, two things happen:
  1. Roles based on the standard role templates are created for the new Product
  2. The Product Backlog Window appears

If you do not wish to use the Create Product Wizard, a Product may alternatively be created using the File > New > Product menu option. Note, however, that this method skips all secondary steps like user, team, and role creation. For this reason, it is recommended that new users create Products using the wizard.

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Getting Started with Products
Launch the ScrumWorks Pro Desktop Client and use it to create a new product.
  1. Click the "File" menu, select "New", then "Product" from the drop down menu. (Only the Global Administrator may create a new product.)

  2. You will then be prompted for various product attributes in the Product Properties window.

  3. Product Name: Enter any characters (including spaces) to uniquely identify the project.

  4. Backlog Effort Units: Users can define any units for Backlog Items (hours, days, function points, etc.). Scrum does not define a standard backlog effort unit. NOTE: your choice in this field can be modified later through the "File" > "Product Properties" menu.

  5. Business Weight (BW) Units: Users can define any units for Business Weight, which is a calculation of a Backlog Item's importance to the Product and/or business. Expressed as a whole number, it is calculated by adding Benefit and Penalty values.

  6. Enable Timesheets: Allows Users to enter hours spent on Tasks in the web client, and enables the Timesheet tab of the Sprint Detail window in the desktop client, which displays a historical record of all Team members' hours spent per Task that sprint.

  7. Roles & Permissions: Allows the Global Administrator to restrict access and use based on roles as defined by either the Global or Product Administrator. Roles can be enabled or disabled on a Product by Product basis. Once enabled for a particular product, Product Administrators may set the default Role for Team members.

  8. Once the Product is created, two things happen:

    1. Roles based on the standard role templates are created for the new Product
    2. The Product Backlog Window appears

Required Permissions: Global Administrator

Both the Global Administrator and Product Administrator may change the product properties by selecting File > Product Properties.

Users with access to the new Product can open the Product in the from the main menu: "File" > "Open Product".

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Default Role for Team Members
When a new Product is created with Roles and Permissions enabled, a default Role may be chosen for assignment to all members of each Team that is associated with the Product. This allows users to inherit access to a Product simply by being added to a Team. This default Role is applied to User(s) when:
  1. A User is added to a Team that has been associated with the Product; or

  2. A Team is associated with a Product.

Conversely, when Users are removed from a Team, their access to Products the Team is associated with may be removed. When a Team is disassociated from a Product, Team member access to that Product may be removed as well. Setting this default is a quick way to control access to a Product via Team membership, rather than having to grant Product access to each User one-by-one in the User Manager.

There are two ways to set a default Role for Team members:
  1. In the Create New Product Wizard, Step 7 offers a dropdown to select a Default Role for Team members. The recommended default is Team member [standard], but any available Role Template may be selected.

  2. In the File > Product Properties menu dialog, under the section Roles & Permissions, there is a dropdown for Default Role for Team members. The recommended default is Team member [standard], but any available Role Template may be selected.

Note that this is a per-Product setting, and defaults may be different between Products. While Users may be a member of a Team that has been associated to a number of Products, the Roles they inherit based on these Product settings may be very different; this is not a Team-based setting, but rather applies Roles particular to a specific Product.

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General Docking Frame Behavior
ScrumWorks Pro uses a docking framework for a number of major interfaces such as the Sprints by Team, Product Backlog, Sprint Detail view, and editors for Backlog Items, Groups, Tasks, and Impediments. While some behaviors differ between each type of frame, there are some general behaviors that are shared among them.

The Product Window acts as a container for dockable frames. "Docking" refers to the behavior by which frames adhere to (dock) or detach from (un-dock) the boundaries of the Product Window and other frames. Frames belong and may only dock to their parent Product Window; For example, the Sprints by Team frame belonging to Product A may not be docked into the window for Product B. To help users keep track of frames' parentage, the titlebar of each displays the name of the Product to which it belongs.

By default, a Product Window opens with the Sprints by Team and the Product Backlog frames docked to the Product Window, sharing the available space. As other frames are opened, they dock to default locations, and frames that were already open adjust to make room for the new frame. Locations, sizes, and relationships between frames are persistent within and between Product sessions; Users may re-arrange locations and relationships of frames, and these locations are remembered by the application so that frames, when restored, return to the location where they were last opened.

Because this high degree of flexibility allows a user to create a potentially confusing arrangement of the Product Window, the default layout of frames can be restored by selecting "View/Restore Default View" from the main menu.

Toggled states: Docked, Floating, and Minimized
Frames can be activated by opening item details within a Product/Program and by selecting tools from the main menu. While some frames are permanently visible, others can be closed using the "X" icon in frame titlebars. Once activated or opened, a docking frame's state and location is controlled primarily by icons at the upper right (Windows/Linux) or upper left (Mac) of each frame. Tooltips appear upon mouseover to describe each icon's action on the frame. The following frame states are available:
  • Docked: Docked frames may be moved within the Product Window and docked to various locations within it. Drag a frame's titlebar to move it, and an outline of the frame shows its location, snapping to locations it may be docked as it is dragged near other frames and the borders of the Product Window. In general, docked frames cannot be dragged into a floating position. The exception to this rule is multi-tabbed frames, see below.

  • Floating: Frames and certain tabs may be undocked to floating frames by either double-clicking the titlebar, or by clicking the "Toggle Floating" icon in the titlebar. A floating frame cannot be dragged into a docked position. To dock a floating frame, use the "dock" icon or double click the frame title bar to restore frames that dock by default.

  • Minimized: A frame can be minimized to a tab by clicking the "pushpin" icon. A docked frame will minimize that frame to a tab inside the Product Window. Other frames open in the window will adjust to take up the space vacated by the frame that was minimized. The minimized frame can be restored to it's prior docked location by clicking the tab to which it was minimized. Note, floating frames cannot be minimized directly (they must first be docked).

Multi-tabbed frames: Sprints by Team, and Editors
Many frames contain tabs to separate information and allow comparison of like data sets. Some of these tabs may be undocked into floating windows or docked alongside other tabs' information.

In the Sprints by Team frame, for example, individual Team tabs may be toggled to floating frames so that Sprints for two or more Teams may be viewed concurrently. This is done by clicking and dragging a tab, or double-clicking that Team's titlebar. To dock a floating Team frame back into the Sprints by Team frame, click and drag the individual Team's frame or double-click its titlebar, and it will return to the parent frame as a tab.

The Editors frame is another multi-tabbed frame into which Backlog Items, Tasks, and Impediments open when they are opened from the backlog or impediments frames. Opening Backlog Items, Tasks, or Impediments opens a tab for each into the Editors frame. These individual tabs may be undocked into floating frames, but they cannot be docked individually alongside other docked Editors.

When a large number of frames share the Product Window, it may be difficult to find a space where a dragged frame does not want to snap to a border or another frame. Holding the CTRL button down when dragging a frame deactivates the snap-to docking feature so that the frame may be easily moved without snap-to docking suggestions.

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Editors Frame Behavior
Editor Docking
The Editors frame is a container into which Backlog Items, Groups, Tasks, and Impediments open from either backlog or the impediments frames. Opening Backlog Items, Groups, Tasks, or Impediments opens a tab for each into a parent "Editors" frame. These individual tabs may be undocked into floating frames, or docked back into the parent "Editors" frame. Individual editor tabs may not be docked apart from the parent "Editors" frame.

Using the controls at either the upper right (Windows) or upper left (Mac) corner, or by combinations of clicking and dragging the frame title bar, the Editors frame may be maximized to occupy the entire window; toggled to a floating frame; 'docked' back into the window; and minimized to a tab at the bottom of the window.

Next / Previous Navigation in Editors
When an Editor is opened from the Product Window, the row selection in the Sprints by Team or Product Backlog frames corresponds to the item displayed and selected in the Editor: Clicking on the "∧" (Previous) and "∨" (Next) buttons in the editor moves the row selector up or down while the Editor displays the information for each successive or preceding item. Row selection follows the type of item in focus in the Editors frame: When clicking the up or down buttons from a Backlog Item, row selection is moved to the previous or next Backlog Item. If the same buttons are being used from a Task Editor, row selection moves only between Tasks. To streamline editing while scrolling in this manner through multiple Backlog Items or Tasks, changes are saved automatically upon clicking the Next or Previous buttons. The Next/Previous buttons are absent on Impediments.

Keyboard shortcuts: CTRL + DOWN ARROW (Next), CTRL + UP ARROW (Previous)

Creating New Backlog Items
The "New" button adds a new tab of the same type to the Editors frame and focus moves to that tab so that information may be entered and saved. Information for new Tasks must be saved before the new Task appears below the last existing Task in the PBI.

Keyboard shortcuts: CTRL + N (New PBI), CTRL + T (New Task), CTRL + I (New Impediment)



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Keyboard Navigation
ScrumWorks Pro has defined the following keyboard shortcuts to allow users to quickly navigate through the application.

This information is also available as printable, tri-fold keymaps for Windows/Linux and Mac OS X
  • General
    • WindowsMacAction
    CTRL+QCMD+QClose ScrumWorks Pro.
    CTRL+WCMD+WCloses the current window.
    ESCESCCloses the current pop-up window or menu. Pop-up windows are dialogs with a cancel button. This action does not confirm changes, so be careful when using this key.

  • Menu bar
    • WindowsMacAction
    ALTOPTToggles the keyboard navigation for the main menu.
    ALT+FOPT+FOpens the File menu.
    ALT+EOPT+EOpens the Edit menu.
    ALT+VOPT+VOpens the View menu.
    ALT+UOPT+UOpens the User menu.
    ALT+ROPT+ROpens the Reports menu.
    ALT+TOPT+TOpens the Themes menu.
    ALT+WOPT+WOpens the Window menu.
    ALT+HOPT+HOpens the Help menu.
    CTRL+OCMD+OOpens the product chooser window.
    F5F5Refresh the current product.
    CTRL+FCMD+FOpens Find.
    ALT+NOPT+NFind the next incremental match.
    ALT+POPT+PFind the previous incremental match.
    CTRL+UCMD+UOpens the user manager window.
    CTRL+PCMD+,Opens the user preferences window.
    CTRL+BCMD+BOpens the Product Burndown Charts and Sprint Change Report.
    F1F1Opens the user guide in a browser.

  • Product Window
    • WindowsMacAction
    TABTABToggles between the Sprint Backlog and Product Backlog. Focus returns to the last selection.
    UP ARROWUP ARROWScroll up one row within the Sprint or Product Backlog.
    DOWN ARROWDOWN ARROWScroll down one row within the Sprint or Product Backlog.
    LEFT ARROWLEFT ARROWExpand the row selection. This option can be applied to a Release, Sprint, or Backlog Item.
    RIGHT ARROWRIGHT ARROWCollapse the row selection.
    ENTERENTEROpens the item. For the Sprint row, this will open the Sprint Detail window. For a Release, Backlog Item, or Task row, this will open the corresponding editor.
    PAGE UPPAGE UPScroll up one page.
    PAGE DOWNPAGE DOWNScroll down one page.
    HOMEHOMEScroll to the top of the Backlog.
    ENDENDScroll to the bottom of the Backlog.
    CTRL+NCMD+NOpens a New Backlog Item editor.
    CTRL+TCMD+TOpens a New Task editor. The Backlog Item drop down menu will be pre-populated with the current selected Backlog Item. The new task will be placed at the bottom of the tasks for the selected Backlog Item.
    CTRL+CCMD+CCopy the current selected task(s).
    CTRL+VCMD+VPaste the copied task(s) in the selected location. If the selected location is a Backlog Item, the task(s) will be pasted after the last task. If the location is a task, the copied task(s) will be pasted directly below the selected task.
    ALT+ENTEROPT+ENTEROpens the context menu for the selected row.
    DELETEDELETEDelete the currently select Product Backlog Item or Task.
    CTRL+ECMD+ESwitch focus to an open Editor.

  • Editors
    • WindowsMacAction
    CTRL+ECMD+EToggle focus between open Editors.
    CTRL+Shift+ECMD+Shift+EReverse direction of focus toggle between open Editors.
    CTRL+RCMD+RSwitch focus to "Sprints By Team" or "Product Backlog" from an Editor.
    CTRL+LCMD+LLocate the current item on the window it was opened from. Not available in Impediment Editors.
    CTRL+SCMD+SSave changes and keep Editor Open ("Apply" button)
    ENTER/CTRL+ENTERENTER/CTRL+ENTERSave changes and close Editor.
    ESCESCClose Editor in focus without saving ("Cancel" button)
    CTRL+UPCMD+UPOpen previous item in Backlog in place of currently open item (only in Editors where the Next/Previous buttons are available).
    CTRL+DOWNCMD+DOWNOpen next item in Backlog in place of currently open item (only in Editors where the Next/Previous buttons are available).
    CTRL+NCMD+NCreate new Backlog Item (only in Backlog Item Editors).
    CTRL+ALT+NCMD+ALT+NCopy description text as a new Backlog Item. If description text is selected, only the selection will be copied. If no text is selected, the whole description is copied.
    CTRL+TCMD+TCreate new Task (only in Backlog Item and Task Editors).
    CTRL+ALT+TCMD+ALT+TCopy Task description as a New Task. If description text is selected, only the selection will be copied. If no text is selected, the whole description is copied.
    CTRL+ICMD+ICreate new Impediment (only in Impediment Editors).


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Contacting Support
Under the "Help" menu, there is an option to "Contact Support". Selecting this menu option will open the default browser to the ScrumWorks Support web site.

Some usage information about your ScrumWorks Desktop Client and Server and submit it to the ScrumWorks Support website. The data collected is the same data shown in Help > About under the "Database counts" and "System properties" sections.

The only time the data can be used to identify your particular installation is if you choose to submit it to the ScrumWorks Support Team via the website. If you do not wish to have your usage/system information associated with your support request, uncheck the "Send System Information to Danube" checkbox.

NOTE: on selecting this menu option, usage data is always submitted from your client to our server. This anonymous usage information is collected to better meet the needs of our customers.

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Managing Products

ScrumWorks Pro allows users to have many products open simultaneously. Products are opened using the "File" > "Open Product..." menu. The "Open Product" dialog gives a quick look at each Product in ScrumWorks Pro and lets you choose which Product to open.
Opening a Product
To open a Product in ScrumWorks Pro, use the "File" > "Open Product..." dialog, or the keyboard shortcut: CTRL + O. The "Open Product" dialog has three sections:
  • Recently Opened Products (most recent first)
    • Lists your five most recently opened products

  • All Products (alphabetically)
    • Lists all Products in ScrumWorks Pro accessible by the user

  • Sprint(s)
    • Shows the most recent Sprint(s) for the currently selected product

An "Active" product is one which contains a currently running Sprint, had a Sprint that finished within five days, or has a Sprint that will start in the next five days.


Selecting a product and clicking the "Open" button opens a Product Window for the product. ScrumWorks Pro lets users open more than one Product Window for the same product.

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Open Multiple Products
ScrumWorks Pro allows for multiple products to be open at once. To open another product, use the "File" > "Open Product..." dialog, or the keyboard shortcut key: CTRL + O.

Note, users can open the same Product many times. This configuration is valuable for moving Product Backlog Items large distances in the Product Backlog.

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Close an open Product
To close an open Product, close the Product Window (containing its Sprint and Product Backlogs) by using the window's close controls. Your changes are saved at every step, so closing a product only serves to clear it from the screen.

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Delete a Product
Global Administrators can delete products using the "File > Delete Current Product" function.
  1. Select "Delete Current Product" from the File menu.

  2. Click "Yes" to confirm, or "No" to cancel the deletion.

  3. If you would like your database to be backed up first, select 'Yes', otherwise click 'No' (default "Hypersonic" database only). 'Cancel' aborts the delete operation.

    Backup the attachments by copying the following directory to your backup medium:
    INSTALLDIR/server/scrumworks/data/attachments

  4. If the backup and deletion are successful, you will receive a success message. If not, an error message will appear.
Only the Global Administrator can delete a Product.

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Product Window Overview

The Product Window by default opens as a dual-framed interface, with the Sprints by Team frame on the left containing current and historical Sprint information per Team, and the Product Backlog frame on the right containing Product Backlog Items divided by planned Releases. Note that both frames may contain Backlog Items and Tasks; they each may be created directly in either frame, or may be dragged across the divider from one frame and dropped into another.

Product Window

Using the controls at the upper right (Windows/Linux) or left (Mac) corner of each frame or by combinations of clicking and dragging the frame titlebars, each frame may be maximized to occupy the entire window; toggled to floating frames; 'docked' back into the window; and minimized to become tabs at the left or right sides of the window.

Keyboard shortcuts are available for navigating the Product Window.
The Sprints by Team Frame
This frame is typically used for planning Sprints, making daily updates to Tasks, and for Sprint reviews. It organizes Backlog Items and Tasks by Sprints (historical and currently running), and is divided by Team, each with its own tab. Individual Team tabs may be toggled to floating frames so that Sprints for two or more Teams may be viewed concurrently. This is done by clicking and dragging a tab, or double-clicking that Team's titlebar. To dock a floating Team frame back into the Sprints by Team frame, Click and drag the individual Team's frame or double-click its titlebar, and it will return to the parent frame as a tab.

For more on using the Sprints by Team frame, see Sprint Management.
For more information on docking behavior, see General Docking Behavior.


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The Product Backlog Frame
This frame is typically used for prospective release planning as well as Backlog Item prioritization. It organizes a list of outstanding Backlog Items and Tasks by Release. Product Backlog Items can be created in the Product Backlog and prioritized within and between Releases.

For more on using the Product Backlog frame, see Product Backlog Items and Release Management.


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Print Backlog Item and Task Cards
Backlog Items and Tasks may be exported to a printable format that allows users to print Backlog Items and Tasks as story cards for use on task boards or similiar. Information on the cards has been compressed to maintain readability. Four cards will be printed on a single sheet of paper in either US Letter (8.5"x11") or A4 (210 x 297mm) format. The US Letter size formatting is compatible with the Avery brand template 8387 (5-1/2" x 4-1/4" postcards) perforated sheets.

You have the following options for printing:
  • Backlog Items with their Tasks

  • Backlog Items only

  • Tasks only

To print Backlog Items and/or Tasks:
  1. Select a set of Backlog Items or Tasks.

  2. Right-click the selection.

  3. Select the "Print to cards" option.

  4. In the "Print to cards options" dialog, select paper size and, if you're printing Backlog Items, whether to print those Backlog Items' Tasks as well.

  5. Clicking "Generate Printer-ready PDF" will open a "Save PDF file" dialog where you may select a file name and location for the printer-ready format.

  6. Once saved, open the file to print.

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Product Backlog Items

In Scrum, a Product Backlog Item (also called "PBI", "Backlog Item", or sometimes even "Item") is a unit of work small enough to be completed by a team in one Sprint iteration. PBIs and describe what the Product Owner wishes to be done. During Sprints, Tasks are defined for each PBI which describe how the Team intends to create the functionality. Note that PBIs and Tasks are estimated using different units and all meaningful, long-term metrics within ScrumWorks Pro rely on PBI estimates. Tasks play a minor intra-team communication role in Scrum.

Create a new Product Backlog Item (PBI)
There are several ways to create a PBI in the Product Window.

Required Permissions : Create Product Backlog Item
  1. Select the window containing the product to receive the new PBI. Click the "File" > "New" > "Backlog Item" menu item from the Product Backlog window.

  2. Right-click on a Release on the right pane, and select the "Add new Backlog Item to this Release" option from the context menu, to create a PBI in the selected Release.

  3. Right-click on a Sprint on the left pane, and select the "Add new Backlog Item to this Sprint" option from the context menu, to create a PBI in the selected Sprint.

  4. From the Product Backlog, Sprints by Team, or a Backlog Item editor, use the shortcut CTRL + N on Windows or Cmd+N on Mac OS X.

  5. From a PBI editor, select some text from the description field, right click on it, and select "Split as New Backlog Item". The selected text will be copied into the description field of the new Product Backlog Item (keyboard shortcut: CTRL + ALT + N).
When performing any of the above actions, a tabbed editing frame appears, see Editors Frame Behavior for more information. Each PBI Editor has data separated into sub-tabs.

Basic Info tab:
  1. Enter a Title (required).

  2. See Description Field Editing and Syntax for tips on entering a description.

  3. Enter the Estimated effort remaining in the units specified for the product. Please note that effort estimates must be whole numbers (no decimals). The field may be left empty to indicate an unestimated Backlog Item. They appear with an estimate of "-" in the Product.
    See Edit Product Backlog Item Estimates for more details about the various Backlog Item estimates.

  4. When a Backlog Item is created using the "File" menu or a Sprint's context menu, you can select the Release associated with the Backlog Item. When created using a Release's context menu, the Backlog Item is automatically associated with that Release.

Business Weight tab:
Enter Benefit and Penalty estimates. The values entered here, in combination with the Effort estimate, generate a number of calculations by which the Backlog Item may be measured relative to its Release, Product, and other Backlog Items.
See Earned Business Value (Business Weight) for more on these calculations.

Themes tab:
Themes can be applied directly in the Backlog Item Editor by selecting unapplied Themes and moving them over to the applied side using the button controls.

History tab:
The History tab allows users with proper permissions the ability to back-date historical PBI estimates.


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Save/Close Product Backlog Items
Saving and Closing an open Backlog Item Editor can be achieved using buttons or keyboard shortcuts:
  • Save and Close: Click the "OK" button, or use keyboard shortcut: CTRL + ENTER

  • Save without Closing: Click the "Apply" button, or use keyboard shortcut: CTRL + S

  • Exit without Saving: Click the "Cancel" button, or use keyboard shortcut: ESC


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Delete Product Backlog Item
Product Backlog Items can be deleted in ScrumWorks Pro, but deleting PBIs can have unintended consequences when it comes to metrics. PBI effort estimate values and the historical log of changes to those values are used in Scrum metrics like the Product Burndown Chart.

Please consider carefully before deleting a PBI whether:
  1. the PBI has outlived its use but was historically meaningful in the project; or
  2. the PBI was a mistake and effort estimate history should not be tracked for this PBI in metrics like the Product Burndown Chart.
ScrumWorks Pro therefore gives users the option of simply removing the PBI from view or permanently removing the PBI and all effort estimation history.

For example, a user may create a "test" Backlog Item and assign it effort. The user then intends to delete the PBI because it was only a "test". In this case, the user probably wishes to permanently remove all effort estimation history in the delete operation.

As a counterexample, consider a PBI that was added by the Product Owner several sprints before the current sprint. Now, however, the Product Owner announces to the team that this PBI is no longer needed for the product because business conditions have changed. In "deleting" the PBI, the team probably wants to preserve the effort impact this PBI imparted on previous sprints because removing its history would skew historical metrics.

Required Permission : Delete Product Backlog Item
  1. Right-click the PBI in question and choose "Delete Backlog Item" from the drop down menu.

  2. A dialog will ask the user whether to preserve the PBI's estimation history during this operation. Choosing "Yes" will preserve the history but remove the item from view; choosing "No" will permanently delete the item and all estimation history; choosing "Cancel" will abort the operation. Warning: this is an irreversible decision; once deleted, PBIs cannot be restored or undeleted.


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Completing Product Backlog Items
Product Backlog Items can be marked "Done" to signify completion of the feature or technical task represented. Product Backlog Items are completed in Sprints, and contribute toward the team's Velocity when marked "Done" in the context of the Sprint.

Required Permission : Mark Product Backlog Item as Done

Backlog Items can be marked "Done" in one of two ways:
  • Using the Backlog Item Editor:

    1. Double-click the PBI in question to open the edit dialog.

    2. Check the box labeled "Done". Click "OK" or "Apply" to save the change.

  • Using the context menu:

    1. Right-click on the Backlog Item to bring up the context menu.

    2. Click "Mark Backlog Item as done".
The Product Window will indicate the done status with a green check mark and greyed text.

Note: Product Backlog Items may only be finished as part of a Sprint, and as such cannot be marked "Done" unless associated to a Sprint. Product Backlog Items marked "Done" cannot be moved to the Product Backlog side of the Product; the "Done" flag must first be unchecked.

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Prioritize Product Backlog Items
Backlog Items are prioritized within Sprints and Releases in a top-first manner: Those at the top of any Sprint or Release are by this position the highest priority. When the Sprints by Team and Product Backlog panes are viewed without Theme filtering, the priority of any particular Backlog Item can be seen in relation to all others. To change the priority of a Backlog Item within a Sprint or Release, simply drag and drop it to a higher or lower position amongst the others.

  1. To prioritize Backlog Item(s) select and drag them to their desired location.

    When you drop a single or group of Backlog Items into a Sprint or Release filtered by Theme, the Backlog Item(s) will be prioritized immediately below the item (i.e. Backlog Item, Sprint, or Release) above the drop indicator, displacing downward all other items whether or not they are visible.

  2. Valid drop locations will be indicated by a horizontal black line that demonstrates the drop location. The cursor will change to a circle with a line through it (universal "Do Not" symbol) if the drop location is invalid.

  3. Release the mouse button at the desired drop location.

  4. You may reprioritize a block of multiple Backlog Items together. Click here for detailed instructions.

  5. You may move Backlog Items into another Product's Product Backlog. The correct set of permissions must be assigned to the user wanting to drag-and-drop between Products. See Move Backlog Items/Tasks Between Products for more details.

Moving Backlog Items Large Distances

It maybe cumbersome to move Backlog Items large distances in the Product Backlog via drag-and-drop. Instead, use the "Move to Release" feature documented in the Associate Backlog Items to Release section.

Required Permission : Prioritize Sprint/Product Backlog

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Edit Product Backlog Items
Required Permission: Edit Product Backlog Item
  1. Double-click the PBI row in the Product Backlog window. (Alternatively: press the ENTER key or right-click the PBI and then choose "Edit Backlog Item"). When opening a Product Backlog Item, a tabbed editing frame appears, see Editors Frame Behavior for more information.

  2. The Backlog Item Editor dialog will open. Make changes and save with "OK." (See Description Field Editing and Syntax for tips on entering a description.)


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Edit Product Backlog Item Estimates
Early Scrum literature recommends estimating the effort of Backlog Items in ideal team days, but many of us prefer less concrete-sounding backlog effort estimation units. Alternative units might be Story Points, Function Points, or "T-shirt sizes" (1 for small, 2 for medium, etc.). The advantage of vaguer units is they're explicit about this fact: estimates at this level are rough guesses that should never be confused with concrete estimates of work time to completion.

Whatever your preference, ScrumWorks Pro allows you to specify your choice of backlog effort estimation unit when you create a product or change its properties. Note that Sprint Tasks are distinct from Product Backlog Items and Task effort remaining is always estimated in hours. As a result, ScrumWorks Pro will not sum task hours to equal backlog effort.

Required Permission : Estimate Product Backlog Item
  1. Double-click the PBI row in the Product Window. (Alternatively: press the ENTER key or right-click the PBI and then choose "Edit Backlog Item").

  2. The Backlog Item Editor dialog will open. Click the tab labeled "Estimates".

  3. In the text entry box for "Effort" under the "Estimates" subsection, add a value for the estimated Effort needed to complete the PBI. The field may be left empty to indicate an unestimated Backlog Item. They appear with an estimate of "-" in the Product.

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Edit Product Backlog Item Estimate History
Required Permission : Edit Historical Estimates
  1. Double-click the PBI row in the Product Backlog window. (Alternatively: press the ENTER key or right-click the PBI and then choose "Edit Backlog Item").

  2. The Backlog Item Editor dialog will open. Click the tab labeled "History".

  3. Add new entries using the text entry fields on the left and pressing 'Add'. The estimate is added to the table on the right ordered by date. No duplicate dates are allowed.

  4. To delete an entry, select a row in the table. Right-click and select 'Delete'. Alternatively, you can press the 'Delete' key on your keyboard after selecting one or more rows.

  5. To cancel editing, just press the 'Cancel' button. No changes will be saved.

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Backlog Item Keys
A Key is a combination of a Prefix of a user-chosen string of characters with an automatically generated number joined by a hyphen (ex: SW-234) used to uniquely identify a Backlog Item. The number portion of each Key is generated on a per product basis upon creation of each new Backlog Item. Numbers are generated sequentially and may not be changed.

The Key Prefix may be changed by a user with Global Administrator or Product Administrator permissions. When a Key Prefix is changed, all Backlog Items using that Prefix are updated.

To set or edit Backlog Item Key:
  1. Open File > Product Properties.
  2. For "Key Prefix", enter a string of characters (5 or fewer, no spaces, no dashes) that will allow quick identification of the Product.

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Attaching Files to Backlog Items
Overview: File types and storage

Files may be attached to Backlog Items for reference and illustration purposes. Files of any type may be uploaded, and multiple files may be attached to any Backlog Item. Multiple copies or versions of the same file may be uploaded to any Backlog Item.

On the Server, the uploaded files are stored in the "attachments" sub-directory of the ScrumWorks Pro Server data directory (INSTALLDIR/server/scrumworks/data).

The Attachments Tab

A file is attached to a Backlog Item in the Attachments tab of the editor for a Backlog Item. This tab displays a table listing all existing attachments by file name, date uploaded, the name of the person who attached the file, and the file size.

Attached files may be downloaded to a user's computer by selecting the row corresponding to each desired file and clicking the "Download" button. Similarly, files may be removed from the Backlog Item and deleted from the directory by selecting the row(s) and clicking the "Remove" button.

Adding Attachments to Backlog Items:

To attach a file:
  1. Open the Backlog Item editor and select the "Attachments" tab. Click the "Upload File" button in the bottom left corner. A new Backlog Item must be saved before you can upload attachments.

  2. In the resultant dialog titled "Attach File to Backlog Item", a text box appears into which you may enter the path to the desired file; or, click the "Browse" button to find the file using your operating system's file-browsing interface.

    Note: If the file-browsing interface is taking a long time to appear, you may need to upgrade to the latest version of Java on the client machine. This is caused by a known Java bug that is fixed in Sun's latest Java 1.6 update.

  3. Multiple files may be uploaded simultaneously by clicking the "Add another file" button at the bottom of the "Attach File to Backlog Item" dialog. A new file line item will be added to the upload queue. To remove any file from the upload queue, click the "Remove" button next to the file listed. The entry will be removed from the listing of files to be uploaded.

  4. To begin uploading the queued files, click the "Upload files" button. A "Please wait..." message appears as the files are being uploaded. When the upload is complete, a notification appears listing the files that were successfully attached.

  5. Clicking the "Cancel" button during upload will abort the attachment of any files not yet uploaded. A message will appear notifying you which files have been attached successfully, and which file uploads were aborted due to the cancellation.

Opening Attachments (Windows Clients only)

To open a file on Windows Clients:
  1. Double-click the row of an attachment you would like to open

  2. The file is downloaded and automatically opened by the corresponding application based on the Windows file extension association.

  3. If there is no application associated with the attachment's file extension, the Windows file Explorer will be launched and the downloaded attachment file will be selected.

Downloading Attachments (all Client platforms)

To download a file:
  1. Open the Backlog Item editor and select the "Attachments" tab.

  2. Select the row for each attachment that you would like to download.

  3. Click the "Download" button to begin downloading every selected file. A "Please wait..." message appears while the files are being downloaded. When the download is complete, a notification appears listing the directory the files were saved to and the files that were successfully downloaded.

    The confirmation dialog will list all of the files that were not successfully downloaded with its corresponding error.

    If the filename already exists in the directory, the downloaded file will have a number appended to its filename.


Remove Attachments:

To remove an attachment:
  1. Open the Backlog Item editor and select the "Attachments" tab.

  2. Select the row for each attachment that you would like to remove.

  3. Click on the "Remove" button. A confirmation dialog listing all proposed attachment removals will be displayed. To continue attachment removal, click the "Yes" button. Upon confirmation, the attachment(s) will be removed from the ScrumWork Pro data directory

Duplicate files:

There is no version management for attached files; that is, duplicate files may be attached indiscriminately, or intentionally. If duplicate files are attached intentionally, say, to maintain a record of changes to an attached document over time, the "Uploaded" column displaying the date and time files have been uploaded may be used to track versions of files using the same name.

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Task Management

In Scrum, a Task (or Sprint Task) is a unit of work generally between 4 and 16 hours. Tasks describe how Team Members intend to complete Product Backlog Items. In this sense, Tasks are subordinate to Backlog Items. Team Members volunteer for tasks. They update the estimated number of hours remaining on a daily basis, influencing the Sprint Burndown Chart. Also, excluded days are not reflected in the Sprint Burndown charts.

Note, Danube Technologies encourages splitting a task into several if the estimate exceeds 12 hours.

Required Permissions : View Task

Add Tasks to Product Backlog Items
Required Permissions : Create, Edit, Delete Task
  1. Right-click the PBI in question and choose "Add New Task for this Backlog Item" from the drop down menu. (Alternatively: use the shortcut CTRL+T after selecting a PBI)

  2. The Task editor dialog will open as a tabbed frame, see Editors Frame Behavior for more information.

  3. Enter the Task Title, Task Description (See Description Field Editing and Syntax for tips on entering a description), the Point Person and Estimated Hours remaining for the task. The associated product Backlog Item will be pre-selected based on the context from which the task was created but may be changed at this time.
    Note: you can use the Task Description field to list any specific "definition of done".

  4. Click OK to save, or Cancel to abort.


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Add Tasks to an Open Product Backlog Item
If a PBI Editor is open, you can:
  • Press Ctrl + T (or Cmd+T on Mac OS X) to create a task belonging to that Backlog Item.

  • Select text from the description field, right click it, and select "Split as New Task" (Keyboard Shortcut: CTRL + ALT + T). The selected text will be copied to the new Task's description.


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Prioritize Tasks
Tasks can be prioritized within the Product Backlog Item in which they currently reside using drag-and-drop.

Required Permissions : Create, Edit, Delete Task
  1. To prioritize a Task ahead of another Task, left-click and drag the Task staying within the confines of the current Product Backlog Item. To move a task from the current Backlog Item to another Backlog Item, drag the task outside of the confines of the current Backlog Item and into the confines of the target Backlog Item.

  2. The cursor will change when dragging. The outline of a box will appear in places where the Task can safely be dropped. The position of the drop will be indicated by a horizontal black line that demonstrates the drop target.

  3. The cursor will change to a circle with a line through it (no smoking) if the drop target is invalid.

  4. Release the mouse button when the valid drop target indicates the desired priority.

Process Tip: Although the Scrum process does not encourage the prioritization of tasks by "management", ScrumWorks Pro allows users to prioritize tasks relatively using drag-and-drop. According to Scrum theory, only team members, and not managers or product owners, prioritize tasks.

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Edit Tasks
Required Permissions : Create, Edit, Delete Task
  1. Double-click the Sprint task row in question in the Product Window. (Alternatively: press the ENTER key after selecting the task). The Task editor dialog will open as a tabbed frame, see Editors Frame Behavior for more information.

  2. Edit as desired and click OK or Apply to save or Cancel to discard changes. See Description Field Editing and Syntax for tips on entering a description.


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Move Tasks between Backlog Items
Required Permissions : Create, Edit, Delete Task
  1. Select one or more Tasks and drag them to your desired location.

  2. The cursor will change when dragging. The outline of a box will appear in places where the Task(s) can be dropped. The position of the drop will be indicated by a horizontal black line that demonstrates the drop target.

    Note that Tasks can also be moved between Backlog Items across Products.

  3. The cursor will change to a circle with a line through it (no smoking) if the drop target is invalid.

  4. Release the mouse button when the valid drop target indicates the desired priority.

  5. You may only move Tasks into another Product with the correct set of permissions. See Move Backlog Items/Tasks Between Products for more details.


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Delete Tasks
Required Permissions : Create, Edit, Delete Task
  1. Select one or more Tasks.

  2. Right-click one of the selected Tasks and choose "Delete Task(s)" from the menu.

  3. A dialog will ask you to confirm the action. Warning: this is an irreversible decision; once deleted, Tasks cannot be restored or undeleted.


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Copy/Paste Tasks
Tasks can be created by copying and pasting existing tasks to lessen the chore of adding similar tasks.

Required Permissions : Create, Edit, Delete Task
  1. Select the Tasks you want to copy in either the Product Backlog or the Sprints by Team frame.

  2. Right-click on any of the selected Tasks and choose "Copy Task(s)" from the menu (keyboard shortcut: CTRL + C).

    The following attributes of the selected Tasks will be copied: title, description and the most recent estimate.

  3. Select a Product Backlog Item or a Task as the target of the copy. Right-click on the selected target and choose "Paste Task(s)" from the menu (keyboard shortcut: CTRL + V).
    If the target is a Product Backlog Item, the copies of the Tasks will be added at the bottom of the PBI's Task list. If the target is a Task, the copies will be added right below it.

  4. Notes: copied tasks can be pasted multiple times. Tasks can be copied across multiple backlog items with multi-select. It is also permissable to copy Tasks between two Products. To do that, the user has to have the required Permissions in both Products.


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Sprint Management

A Sprint is an iteration of work during which an increment of product functionality is implemented. By the book, an iteration lasts 30 days; ScrumWorks Pro allows any length Sprint.

The Sprint follows a one-day Sprint Planning Meeting. Many Daily Scrum Meetings occur during the Sprint (one per day). At the end of the Sprint we have a Sprint Review Meeting, followed by a Sprint Retrospective Meeting.

According to Scrum rules, the team must not be interrupted with additional requests after a Sprint has been negotiated and started. Guaranteeing the team won't be interrupted allows it to make real commitments it can be expected to keep.

Create New Sprint
Required Permissions : Create, Edit, Delete Sprints
  1. Click the "File" > "New" > "Sprint" menu item from the Product Backlog window.

  2. A dialog will open asking for the start and finish dates for the sprint (you can change these later if you need to). Please note the currently acceptable date format is mm/dd/yyyy if you are in the USA (server locale is en_US). Elsewhere, the acceptable date format is dd/mm/yyyy.

  3. You may edit the excluded days of the Sprint by clicking on the calendar icon after entering valid start and finish dates for the Sprint. For more information regarding Sprint exclusion dates, see Sprint Exclusion Dates.

  4. Sprints can be named. Provide a text string name that will appear next to the Sprint dates in the Sprint header row.

  5. Sprint Goals can be written in free-text format. Your text will be parsed and bullet points added where carriage returns exist. Edit the default text as desired. See Description Field Editing and Syntax for tips on entering goals.

  6. Sprints are not explicitly associated with Releases, instead Backlog Items preserve their Release associations when they are committed to a Sprint. This change was made to enable the ability to work on multiple Releases in a Sprint.

  7. Team: select a team which will be responsible for completing the work added to this Sprint. The Sprint pane is grouped into tabs by teams, simplifying work management for a single team. When multiple teams have been associated with the same product, each team's Sprints can be located under the respective team tab. Please read more about teams here.

  8. Note: The list of teams displayed is limited to those teams that have been associated with the Product. If you encounter an error indicating that no Teams have been associated with the Product, please following the instructions in Adding a Team to a Product to associate one or more Teams with the product.

  9. Click "OK" to save the Sprint.

    A red colored row will appear in the Sprint side of the in the Product Window under the associated team's tab representing the new Sprint.


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Sprint Exclusion Dates
By default, weekends (Saturdays and Sundays) are excluded from newly created Sprints. All excluded days will be omitted from the date axis of the Sprint Burndown chart.

Required Permissions: Create, Edit, Delete Sprints

To edit the exclusion dates:
  1. Create a new Sprint from the main menu, or edit an existing Sprint by right-clicking the Sprint row.

  2. In the new or edit Sprint dialog, click on the Excluded Days calendar icon, to the right of the From/To Dates dropdown boxes. Valid start and finish dates must be entered for the Sprint in order to reach the exclusion date calendar.

  3. Select the days you would like excluded from the Sprint.

  4. Click "Close" on the exclusion calendar to return to the Sprint editor.

  5. Click "OK" to save all of your changes to the Sprint.

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Adding Product Backlog Items to Sprints
Required Permissions : Prioritize Sprint/Product Backlog

Product Backlog Items can be added to Sprints in two ways:
  • Drag-and-drop:

    1. To move an existing PBI into a sprint, drag-and-drop the PBI in question onto the bottom half of the sprint header row in question (or above/below any PBI that is already a part of the Sprint).

    2. Release the PBI to add it to the Sprint.

    3. You may move multiple PBIs into a sprint. Click here to learn more about multi-selection of items in ScrumWorks Pro.

  • Context menu:

    1. Right-click on the Sprint header row you would like the Backlog Item to belong to.

    2. Select "Add new Backlog Item to this sprint". Save the new Backlog Item and it will be added at the top of the Sprint.
If the user has the correct permissions, PBIs may be prioritized using drag and drop within a Sprint.

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Edit Sprint Start Date, End Date, and Goals
Required Permissions : Create, Edit, Delete Sprints
  1. Right-click the Sprint row in question in the Product Window.

  2. Choose "Edit Sprint" from the drop down menu.

  3. Edit in the dialog window as desired, click "OK" to save, or "Cancel" to discard changes. See Description Field Editing and Syntax for tips on entering goals.


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Delete an Empty Sprint
Sprints that do not contain any Backlog Items or tasks may be deleted. However, to protect against deleting data accidentally, users cannot delete populated sprints.

Required Permissions : Create, Edit, Delete Sprints
  1. Move any Backlog Items out of the sprint using drag-and-drop, or delete them using the context menu.

  2. Right-click the sprint row and select "Delete Sprint" from the context menu.

  3. Click "Yes" to confirm, or "No" to cancel the deletion.


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Hide Historical Sprints
With lengthy projects, it may be desirable to hide past (historical) Sprints from view:
  1. From the "View" menu, select "Past Sprints".

  2. Select the number of historical Sprints to be made visible.
Note: a Sprint is "past" if the last day of sprint occured before the current day. Currently running or future sprint may not be hidden from view.

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Release Management

A Release is commonly defined as the transition of an increment of potentially shippable product from the development team into routine use by customers (internal or external). Releases typically happen when one or more Sprints has resulted in the product having enough value to outweigh the cost to deploy it.

"The product is released to customer or marketplace obligations. The release balances functionality, cost, and quality requirements against date commitments." (Schwaber/Beedle, Agile Software Development with Scrum, p. 80)

ScrumWorks Pro allows you to define releases and group Backlog Items into them. Releases are designated in the Product Backlog by dark blue rows in the main Product Window.

A Release in ScrumWorks Pro can have dates/schedules associated with it. Alternatively, a "Release" can be used without dates to imply a free-form sub-grouping of the Product Backlog. Releases without schedules implied will not show up in progress reports.
Create New Release
Required Permissions : Create, Edit, Delete Releases
  1. Click "File" > "New" > "Release".

  2. A dialog will open asking for Release name. Optionally, you can also enter a Release start and end date. These are used for reporting purposes. Press OK, or cancel to abort.

  3. The Release will be represented as a blue row in the Product Backlog frame of the Product Window.


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Associate Product Backlog Items to a Release
Required Permissions : Create, Edit, Delete Releases

There are three ways to associate PBIs with releases:
  • Drag-and-Drop Existing Backlog Items:

    1. Users may move multiple, existing PBIs from one Release into another via drag-and-drop. Alternatively, PBIs can be moved out of a Sprint and into a Release on the Product Backlog. Click here for detailed instructions on multi-selection.

  • "Move to Release" right-click menu:

    1. In the Product Backlog, right-click the Backlog Item(s) and mouse-over the "Move to Release" menu option.

    2. The Backlog Item(s) will move to the bottom of the selected release and can be prioritized as desired using drag-and-drop. The User's focus in the Product Backlog will scroll to indicate the position of the moved Backlog Item(s).

    3. The Backlog Item(s) will move to the bottom of the selected release and can be prioritized as desired using drag-and-drop. The User's focus in the Product Backlog will scroll to indicate the position of the moved Backlog Item(s).

  • Backlog Item Editor (only for PBIs in Sprints):

    1. If a Backlog Item is in a Sprint, the Release associate can be modified from the editor.

    2. Open the Backlog Item for editing.

    3. Change the Release field as desired and save to commit the change.

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Delete an Empty Release
Releases that do not contain Product Backlog Items may be deleted; users cannot delete populated Releases. Also, there must be at least one Release per project at all times.

Required Permissions : Create, Edit, Delete Releases
  1. Move any Backlog Items out of the Release using drag-and-drop, re-associate PBIs to other Releases via the Editor, or delete them using the right-click context menus.

  2. Right-click the release row and select "Delete Release" from the context menu.

  3. Click "Yes" to confirm, or "No" to cancel the deletion.


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Using and Customizing the Product Window

The following section details how to use the features of the Product Window, as well as some tips for customizing the window to suit.
Column Displays
  • The Product Window uses a configurable docking framework that allows frames to be rearranged, minimized, or removed from view entirely. Please see the General Docking Behavior section for detailed instructions on docking behavior.

  • Columns displayed may be set and ordered separately for the Sprints by Team and Product Backlog frames.

  • Under the View main menu, select Column Settings. The dialog is divided into left and right halves corresponding to the Columns displayed in the Sprints by Team and Product Backlog frames of the Backlog Planner Window, respectively.

  • Select the checkboxes that correspond to columns you wish to be displayed, and deselect checkboxes for columns you'd like hidden. The two always-on columns are Committed Backlog Items/Tasks and Uncommitted Backlog Items/Tasks. These columns may be ordered, but may not be hidden.

  • Set the order in which columns appear in the Sprints by Team and Product Backlog panes by selecting a column name and using the "Move up" and "Move down" buttons. Columns whose checkboxes are unchecked may still be ordered in this way, but will not appear in the Product Window until their checkboxes are checked.

  • The default columns displayed and their default order may be reset by clicking the Restore Defaults button.

  • Dragging/Dropping Column location: Once activated, Columns may be repositioned within their respective panes of the Product Window by dragging and dropping individual columns. Any settings made by dragging and dropping will be reflected in the Column Settings window, and may be overridden by subsequent changes to the Column Settings window.


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Backlog Effort Column
The Backlog Effort column is the estimated effort remaining for individual PBIs. There are also some cumulative summary rows: the Sprint Rows and the Release rows. These values are the summed total of PBI estimated effort remaining for PBIs in specific Sprints as well as PBIs in the Product Backlog (respectively). These values are based on PBI estimated effort remaining even though a PBI has been decomposed into Sprint tasks with their own estimated effort remaining. ScrumWorks Pro intentionally tracks these values separately as they are used to generate different metrics.

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Task Effort Column
This column represents the estimated effort remaining for each task created.

Required Permissions : View Task

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BW Column
This column represents the Business Weight for individual PBIs. Please see the Edit Business Weight section for more information on Business Weight.

Required Permissions : View Business Weight

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rBV Column
This column represents the Release Business Value for an individual PBI, which is the percentage of the sum of all Business Weights per Release. Please see the Release Business Value section for more information on Release Business Value.

Required Permissions : View Business Weight

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ROI Column
This column represents a Return on Investment (ROI) index for an individual PBI, which is the rBV divided by the percentage of Backlog effort. Please see the Return on Investment section for more information on ROI.

Required Permissions : View Business Weight

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Description Field Editing and Syntax
URLs in the description fields for Backlog Items, Tasks, Impediments, and Sprint Goals are clickable, like in a browser.

Hypertext links can be added to description fields simply by entering a URL. For example:
  • http://danube.com
  • mailto:name@company.com
  • file:///c:/My%20Documents/MyFile.txt
  • ftp://ftpserver.com/
  • http://www.google.com/search?q=scrumworks
Note that if you want to enter a URL which contain spaces, you have to replace them with the character sequence '%20'.

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Collapsing Backlog Items
If a Sprint contains Backlog Items, it can be collapsed to hide the Backlog Items. Similarly, Releases can be collapsed if they contain Backlog Items and Backlog Items can be collapsed if they contain Tasks.

To collapse a Sprint, Release, or Backlog Item, click the '-' (minus) icon next to the title. To expand the item, click the '+' (plus) icon.

Alternatively, use the LEFT ARROW and RIGHT ARROW to collapse and expand respectively Sprint, Release, and Backlog Item rows.

When a Backlog Item is collapsed, the sum of its tasks' hours will appear in the 'Task Hours' column.

The list of items you have collapsed is stored on the server. The next time you open the product, the Sprints, Releases, and Backlog Items you collapsed in the last session will still be collapsed. Each user's preferences are stored separately so you don't have to worry about having your changes stepped on.

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Selecting Multiple Backlog Items and Tasks
Within the Product Window, users may select multiple Backlog Items for dragging and dropping between Sprints in the Sprints by Team frame, or between a Sprint and the Product Backlog frame. Users may also drag and drop multiple Backlog Items within the Product Backlog for prioritization or release planning.

Multiple Tasks may also be selected and moved between PBIs.

You may select a set of adjacent Backlog Items or Tasks, or noncontiguous groups:
  • To select a set of adjacent Backlog Items or Tasks, single click on a Backlog Item or Task with the left button. Then move the mouse cursor over the last Backlog Item or Task to be selec