HKSM
Index Cards
Small cards, often called story cards, hold user stories and move through the team's workflow to show progress. They make work visible and transparent, helping the team spot risks or problems early.
Key Points
- Each card represents a single user story with a brief description and acceptance criteria.
- Used on a visible board (physical or digital) to track status across workflow steps.
- Supports the 3Cs of user stories: Card, Conversation, and Confirmation.
- Improves transparency and early detection of blockers, bottlenecks, and dependencies.
Example
A Scrum team writes a user story on an index card and places it in the To Do column. As work starts, the card is moved to In Progress. During stand-up, the team notices several cards piling up in Code Review, revealing a bottleneck and prompting them to reassign reviewers.
PMP Example Question
What is the primary purpose of Index Cards in an agile project?
- To capture all detailed requirements and obtain formal sign-off.
- To represent user stories and visualize their status, improving transparency and early issue detection.
- To track hours, costs, and budget variances.
- To serve as formal change requests approved by the CCB.
Correct Answer: B — Represent user stories and make progress visible
Explanation: Index cards (story cards) are visual placeholders for user stories that flow across the board, increasing transparency and enabling early discovery of issues.
