Creating Board Templates in GitScrum

Every new project shouldn't start from scratch. Board templates capture your proven workflows, column structures, and automations so new projects launch with best practices built in. GitScrum templates save setup time and ensure consistency across your organization.

Template Benefits

Template Components

What Templates Include

BOARD TEMPLATE CONTENTS
═══════════════════════

STRUCTURE:
├── Columns and order
├── WIP limits per column
├── Swimlanes (if any)
├── Default view settings
└── Column descriptions

AUTOMATION:
├── Status change triggers
├── Assignment rules
├── Notification settings
├── Integration configs
└── Due date rules

METADATA:
├── Default labels
├── Custom fields
├── Task types
├── Priority settings
└── Estimation settings

INITIAL CONTENT:
├── Template tasks (optional)
├── Starter checklists
├── Documentation links
└── Getting started guide

Creating Templates

From Existing Project

CREATE TEMPLATE FROM PROJECT
════════════════════════════

STEP 1: Select Source
─────────────────────────────────────
Go to: Project Settings → Templates
Click: "Save as Template"

STEP 2: Choose What to Include
─────────────────────────────────────
✓ Board structure (columns, WIP)
✓ Automation rules
✓ Labels and custom fields
✓ Default settings
○ Sample tasks (optional)
○ Current assignees (usually no)

STEP 3: Name and Describe
─────────────────────────────────────
Name: "Sprint Development Board"
Description: "Standard Scrum sprint board
with dev workflow columns and automations"
Category: Development

STEP 4: Save and Share
─────────────────────────────────────
Visibility: Organization-wide
[Save Template]

From Scratch

CREATE TEMPLATE FROM SCRATCH
════════════════════════════

TEMPLATE BUILDER:
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│  New Board Template                                     │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│                                                         │
│  Name: [Agency Client Project                       ]  │
│  Description: [Standard client project workflow...  ]  │
│  Category: [Client Projects ▼]                          │
│                                                         │
│  COLUMNS:                                               │
│  ┌───────────────────────────────────────────────────┐  │
│  │ Backlog │ To Do │ In Progress │ Review │ Done    │  │
│  │  (∞)    │  (10) │    (5)      │  (3)   │  (∞)    │  │
│  │         │       │             │        │         │  │
│  │ [Edit]  │[Edit] │   [Edit]    │ [Edit] │ [Edit]  │  │
│  └───────────────────────────────────────────────────┘  │
│  [+ Add Column]                                         │
│                                                         │
│  AUTOMATIONS: 3 rules configured [Configure]           │
│  LABELS: 8 labels configured [Configure]               │
│  FIELDS: 4 custom fields [Configure]                   │
│                                                         │
│  [Cancel]                           [Save Template]     │
│                                                         │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Common Template Types

Sprint Board Template

TEMPLATE: Sprint Development Board
══════════════════════════════════

COLUMNS:
├── Backlog (∞) - Prioritized work
├── Sprint Backlog (∞) - Current sprint
├── In Progress (3) - Active development
├── Code Review (2) - Awaiting review
├── QA (2) - Testing
└── Done (∞) - Completed

AUTOMATIONS:
├── PR opened → Move to Code Review
├── PR merged → Move to Done
├── 3 days no activity → Flag as stale
└── Assigned → Move from Backlog to Sprint

LABELS:
├── type: bug, feature, chore, docs
├── priority: critical, high, medium, low
└── effort: xs, s, m, l, xl

CUSTOM FIELDS:
├── Story points (number)
├── Sprint (dropdown)
└── Epic (relation)

Client Project Template

TEMPLATE: Client Project Board
══════════════════════════════

COLUMNS:
├── Backlog (∞) - All work items
├── Approved (∞) - Client approved scope
├── In Progress (5) - Active work
├── Internal Review (3) - Team review
├── Client Review (∞) - Awaiting client
└── Done (∞) - Completed and approved

AUTOMATIONS:
├── Client approves → Move to Approved
├── In Client Review > 3 days → Reminder
├── Done → Notify client
└── High priority → Notify team lead

LABELS:
├── type: design, development, content
├── phase: discovery, design, build, launch
├── client: visible, internal-only
└── billing: billable, non-billable

CUSTOM FIELDS:
├── Estimated hours (number)
├── Actual hours (number)
├── Client contact (person)
└── Due date (date)

Kanban Flow Template

TEMPLATE: Kanban Continuous Flow
════════════════════════════════

COLUMNS:
├── Ideas (∞) - Incoming requests
├── Ready (10) - Refined and ready
├── Doing (3) - In progress
├── Review (2) - Peer review
├── Deploy (2) - Ready to ship
└── Shipped (∞) - In production

AUTOMATIONS:
├── In Doing > 5 days → Alert
├── Deploy complete → Move to Shipped
├── WIP exceeded → Block new cards
└── Weekly digest of Shipped items

SWIMLANES:
├── Expedite (top, no WIP limit)
├── Standard (middle)
└── Low Priority (bottom)

METRICS:
├── Cycle time tracking enabled
├── Lead time tracking enabled
└── Throughput reporting

Using Templates

Apply to New Project

CREATE PROJECT FROM TEMPLATE
════════════════════════════

STEP 1: New Project
─────────────────────────────────────
Click: "New Project"
Choose: "From Template"

STEP 2: Select Template
─────────────────────────────────────
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│  Select Template                                        │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│  RECENT:                                                │
│  ├── Sprint Development Board (used 12 times)          │
│  └── Client Project Board (used 8 times)               │
│                                                         │
│  BY CATEGORY:                                           │
│  ├── Development                                        │
│  │   ├── Sprint Development Board                      │
│  │   ├── Kanban Continuous Flow                        │
│  │   └── Bug Tracking Board                            │
│  └── Client Projects                                    │
│      ├── Client Project Board                          │
│      └── Retainer Management                           │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

STEP 3: Customize
─────────────────────────────────────
Project name: [Acme Corp Website]
What to include:
✓ Board structure
✓ Automations  
✓ Labels
○ Sample tasks

[Create Project]

Template Management

TEMPLATE LIBRARY
════════════════

ORGANIZATION TEMPLATES:
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│  Template                │ Uses │ Last Updated │ Owner  │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│  Sprint Development      │  45  │ 2 weeks ago  │ @sarah │
│  Client Project          │  28  │ 1 month ago  │ @mike  │
│  Kanban Flow             │  15  │ 3 weeks ago  │ @sarah │
│  Bug Tracking            │  12  │ 2 months ago │ @lisa  │
│  Marketing Campaign      │   8  │ 1 week ago   │ @tom   │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

ACTIONS:
├── [+ Create Template]
├── [Edit] - Modify template
├── [Duplicate] - Copy and customize
├── [Archive] - Hide from list
└── [Delete] - Remove permanently

Best Practices

For Board Templates

1. Start with one — Perfect it before making more
2. Include docs — Add getting started notes
3. Review regularly — Update based on learnings
4. Version control — Name versions clearly
5. Limit options — 3-5 templates usually enough

Anti-Patterns

TEMPLATE MISTAKES:
✗ Too many templates (paralysis of choice)
✗ Never updating templates
✗ Overly complex templates
✗ No documentation
✗ Templates nobody uses
✗ Copying instead of templating
✗ No template governance

Related Solutions

• Creating reusable project templates
• Creating workflow templates in GitScrum
• Building task templates for common workflows