Agile guide · Agile practices
Agile Workflow: How to Design One for Your Team
An Agile workflow is the path a piece of work follows from idea to done. Making that path visible, usually on a board, is the first step to improving it.
Key takeaways
- An Agile workflow makes the path from idea to done visible.
- Column policies and WIP limits turn a board into a management tool.
- Review the workflow regularly using flow metrics.
A typical Agile workflow
- Backlog: ideas and requests, ordered by priority.
- Ready: refined items with clear acceptance criteria.
- In progress: being worked on.
- Review or test: being checked against acceptance criteria and the Definition of Done.
- Done: complete and, ideally, released.
Designing your board
- Map the steps work really goes through today, not an ideal process.
- Split busy columns into "doing" and "done" sub-columns, so waiting time is visible.
- Write a short policy for each column: what must be true for a card to enter it.
- Use swimlanes for different types of work, such as an expedite lane for urgent items.
- Add WIP limits to active columns.
WIP limits
A work-in-progress limit caps how many items can be in a column at once. When a column is full, the team helps finish work downstream instead of starting new work. Start with roughly one or two items per person in each active column and adjust based on experience.
Example workflows
| Team | Workflow |
|---|---|
| Software | Backlog → Ready → In development → Code review → Testing → Done |
| Marketing | Ideas → Brief ready → Creating → Review → Scheduled → Live |
| Support | New → Triage → In progress → Waiting on customer → Resolved |
| Recruitment | Open roles → Sourcing → Interviewing → Offer → Hired |
Improving the workflow
Review the board in retrospectives. Look for columns where cards pile up, items that sit for days, and frequent backward moves. Track cycle time and throughput to see whether changes help.
Free templates for this topic
Frequently asked questions
Is an Agile workflow the same as a Kanban board?
A Kanban board is the most common way to visualise an Agile workflow. Scrum teams use similar boards for their Sprint Backlog.
How many columns should an Agile workflow board have?
As few as possible to show the real stages. Most teams use four to seven.
What is an Agile workflow?
The series of stages work passes through from idea to done, such as backlog, ready, in progress, review and done, usually shown on a board.
What are the stages of an Agile workflow?
A typical flow is backlog, ready, in progress, review or test, and done. Teams adapt the stages to match how their work really happens.
What is a WIP limit in an Agile workflow?
A cap on how many items can be in a workflow stage at once. When a column is full, the team helps finish work downstream instead of starting more.
What are column policies in an Agile workflow?
Short rules stating what must be true for a card to enter or leave a column, such as having acceptance criteria before moving to Ready.
What is a swimlane in an Agile workflow?
A horizontal row that separates types of work, such as an expedite lane for urgent items or a lane per product area.
How do you improve an Agile workflow?
Look for columns where cards pile up, items that sit for days and frequent backward moves, then test changes and track cycle time and throughput.
Can non-software teams use an Agile workflow?
Yes. Marketing, support, HR and recruitment teams all use boards with stages that reflect their own work.
How do Scrum and Kanban boards differ as an Agile workflow?
A Scrum board usually shows the current sprint's items and is reset each sprint; a Kanban board shows continuous flow with WIP limits.
What tools support Agile workflows?
Jira, Trello, Asana, monday.com, ClickUp and many others offer configurable boards. See Agile tools and techniques.