HKSM

A highly visible team board used to organize and track product and sprint backlog items, mapping work through stages so progress and bottlenecks are easy to see.

Key Points

• Visualizes the workflow with columns (e.g., To Do, In Progress, Done) and cards that move across stages.
• Helps manage items from the product and sprint backlogs, keeping priorities and ownership clear.
• Makes bottlenecks obvious via queues, blocked indicators, and optional WIP limits or policies.
• Should be updated continuously by the team and be easy for stakeholders to view, whether physical or digital.

Example

A Scrum team uses a digital board with columns Ready, In Progress, Code Review, Testing, and Done. During daily Scrum, they notice many items piling up in Testing, signaling a bottleneck. The team adds a WIP limit to Testing and swarms to clear the queue.

PMP Example Question

Which artifact best displays the status of sprint work and exposes where items are getting stuck while also helping manage backlog items?

1. Sprint burndown chart
2. Scrum board
3. Gantt chart
4. Risk register

Correct Answer: B - Scrum board

Explanation: The Scrum board visualizes workflow and backlog items, making progress and bottlenecks transparent to the team and stakeholders.