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GitHub Project Boards

GitHub Project Boards

Overview

Use project boards (Kanban) to track tasks across the team and provide a single source of truth for iterations. Boards turn issues into visual cards and help spot bottlenecks early.

  • Backlog — ideas and untriaged tasks
  • To Do / Ready for Dev — issues scoped and ready for work
  • In Progress — actively being worked on (limit WIP)
  • In Review — PRs open and awaiting review
  • Done — merged/closed issues

You can extend this with columns like Blocked, Needs Design, or QA depending on your workflow.

Automation rules (examples)

  • When an issue is assigned -> move to In Progress
  • When a PR is opened and linked to an issue -> move to In Review
  • When a PR is merged -> move to Done
  • When an issue is closed without PR -> move to Done

Link issues and PRs to the project so card statuses reflect the source items automatically.

WIP (Work-in-Progress) guidance

  • Set a soft limit (e.g., 3-5 items) for In Progress to reduce context switching.
  • Monitor the board during standups and gently enforce WIP limits by finishing items before starting new ones.

Iteration planning

  • At the start of an iteration, move prioritized items from Backlog to To Do and assign estimates or points.
  • Keep iterations short (1-2 weeks) for capstone projects to maintain momentum and feedback loops.
  • Use milestones to group issues for an iteration or release.

Example templates and usage

  • Card types: Issue cards (feature/bug), Pull Request cards (linked PR)
  • Example flow: create issue -> add to Backlog -> triage -> move to To Do -> assign -> In Progress -> open PR -> In Review -> merge -> Done

Tips for teams

  • Keep scope small per iteration and break large features into sub-issues.
  • Update cards as you work — the board must reflect reality.
  • Use assignees for ownership and reviewers to indicate PR responsibility.