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Release Planning Board

The Release Planning Board provides a visual workspace where teams plan, track, and manage releases within a project. The board displays backlog items and portfolio items, supports assignment to active releases, and enables work organization across multiple increments from a single interface.

Who uses the Release Planning Board: Release managers create and organize releases, program managers coordinate cross-team planning, product owners assign work to releases, scrum masters track team commitments.

Permission requirement: All team members can view the Release Planning Board and work items they have access to. Dragging work items between releases requires edit permissions on those items. Creating releases and value streams requires administrator access.

The board supports planning at two levels:

  • Backlog Items: Stories and Defects for team-level planning
  • Portfolio Items: Epics and Features for strategic release-level planning

Access the Release Planning Board​

  1. Log in to Agility and click the hamburger menu > Release Planning.
  2. In the Release Planning Board, click a value stream.

Switch Between Item Types​

The Release Planning Board allows you to switch between backlog items and portfolio items:

  1. Locate the Backlog items / Portfolio items toggle on the left side of the header, near the Backlog column.
  2. Select your desired view:
    • Backlog Items: View and manage Stories and Defects
    • Portfolio Items: View and manage Epics and Features
  3. Hover over the toggle to see a tooltip describing its purpose.

When you select an item type, the board displays all items of that type in a flat list view.

Choose Planning Level Context​

The Choose Planning Level button filters which planning level's items are displayed:

  1. In the left sidebar under the search box, click Choose Planning Level.
  2. Select a planning level from the dropdown (Team, Program, Portfolio, etc.).
  3. The board refreshes to show only items associated with the selected planning level.

This filter works with the Backlog Items / Portfolio Items selector to show the right items for your planning context.

Backlog​

The Backlog section lists all unassigned work items not yet part of any release.

Backlog Items View:

  • Displays Stories and Defects not assigned to any release
  • Browse, filter, or search for specific items using the Backlog Search feature
  • Drag and drop items into any release column to assign them

Portfolio Items View:

  • Displays Epics for the selected planning level not assigned to any release
  • Each Epic appears as its own card in a flat list (no hierarchy or nested grouping)
  • Sub-epics, features, and sub-features are not displayed as indented or nested items
  • Drag and drop portfolio items into release columns to assign them and their children

Release Columns​

Each Release Column represents a specific release or increment (Release 1.0, Testing, Staging).

Backlog Items View:

  • Every column includes quick-action controls to add new Stories or Defects directly within that release
  • Move work items between releases via drag-and-drop to reassign tasks as priorities shift

Portfolio Items View:

  • Each Epic appears as a card within the release column
  • Move Epics between releases via drag-and-drop
  • When moving an Epic, all associated open child items (features, sub-features, stories, defects) move with it automatically

The column header displays summary icons for key release metrics:

  • Item Count: Total number of work items in the release
  • Dependencies: Number of dependent items or cross-release links
  • Linked Items: References to related epics, features, or test cases

View Release Details from the Column Header​

Hover over any Release column header to display a tooltip with key release details, so you can quickly understand the release timeline and progress without leaving the board.

To view the tooltip:

  1. Log in to Agility and click the hamburger menu > Release Planning.
  2. In the Release Planning Board, click a value stream to open it.
  3. Move your mouse over a Release column header.
  4. After a brief pause, the tooltip appears.
  5. Move the mouse away from the header to dismiss the tooltip.

Tooltip for a release column header showing the release target date, time remaining, and progress bar

The tooltip displays the following release details:

  • Title and description: The release name and its description.
  • Target Date: The target completion date of the release.
  • Time remaining: The number of days left until the Target Date (for example, "24 days left"). If the Target Date has passed, the tooltip shows Overdue in red instead.
  • Progress bar: A visual indication of completed work items versus the total number of work items in the release (for example, "2 / 8 work items" at 25%). Completed items are those in a Done or Closed state; all remaining items (In Progress and Not Started) count as not completed.

The progress bar includes a time-axis marker tied to the Target Date. When the current date passes the Target Date, the progress bar turns red regardless of how much work is complete, giving you an at-a-glance warning that the release is behind schedule.

note

The tooltip is view-only and non-blocking. Hovering does not require a click and does not open the release or navigate away from the board.

Work with Portfolio Items​

When viewing Portfolio Items, you can drag and drop Epics between the backlog and release columns. When you move an Epic, Agility automatically moves its open child items (Features, Sub-Features, Stories) to the same release, with some exceptions:

  • Items already assigned to a different release stay in their current release
  • Closed items remain where they were closed
  • Items you don't have permission to edit stay in place

A success notification appears after the move, confirming which items moved and which remained in place.

For detailed information about portfolio-level planning workflows, see Portfolio Level Release Planning.

Cards​

Each card on the Release Planning Board represents either a backlog item or portfolio item, depending on your selected planning level.

Card Information:

  • Item ID and title
  • Item type indicator (Story, Defect, Epic, Feature)
  • Status indicator
  • Estimate or progress information
  • Owner assignments
  • Dependency indicators

Click any card to open the detail drawer and view or edit complete item details.

View Work Items in Release Details​

When you open a release from the Release Planning Board, the release details drawer displays associated work items organized by type. This makes it easier to understand the scope and contents of each release.

Access work items through the Child Items navigation option in the release details drawer:

  • Portfolio Items: View all Epics and other portfolio items assigned to the release
  • Stories: View all Stories assigned to the release
  • Defects: View all Defects assigned to the release

Click any work item to open its details and view or edit information.

Generate Release Notes with Sage​

When you open a release in the Release Planning Board, you can use Sage to automatically generate structured release notes based on the stories and defects in that release.

To generate release notes:

  1. Click on a release name to open the release details drawer.
  2. Click the Sage tab to open the Sage panel.
  3. Click Release Notes Generation in the Quick Actions section.

Sage analyzes all stories and defects in the release and generates professional release notes including new features, critical fixes, and technical updates.

For detailed instructions on using Sage to generate and refine release notes, see Generate Release Notes.

Add Release​

The Add Release button creates new releases directly from the board.

  • Specify release details such as Title, Date, and Value Stream
  • Once added, the new release appears as a new column on the board, ready for item assignment

Use Cases​

Quarterly Release Planning​

A Release Manager plans Q2 2025 releases coordinating 3 releases (April, May, June) across 5 teams. They create three release columns, switch to Portfolio Items view, and drag 4 epics to appropriate releases. Moving Epic "Mobile App Redesign" to Q2-Apr automatically moves 33 child items. They switch to Backlog Items view to assign 67 standalone stories, distributing 15 critical bugs to Q2-Apr and spreading enhancement requests across quarters. Capacity review shows Q2-Apr at 104%, so they move 4 stories to Q2-May for balance. Dependency indicators identify 1 broken dependency (Apr work depends on May work), which they fix by moving the April story to May. Result: Q2 releases planned across portfolio and backlog levels with 128 child items moved automatically, capacity balanced at 95-105%, and all dependencies satisfied.

Epic Movement with Automatic Child Items​

A Product Manager moves "E-commerce Checkout" epic from Release 2.0 to Release 2.1 due to upstream dependency delay. Dragging the epic triggers automatic movement of 65 open child items (5 features, 42 stories, 7 defects). The system leaves 5 closed items in Release 2.0 (preserves historical accuracy where they were completed) and 2 items in Release 2.2 (manually assigned by Analytics team for cross-epic coordination). Dependency status improves from red to green as Release 2.0 completes before 2.1 starts. Automatic movement saves 2+ hours of manual child item reassignment while respecting closed items and explicit cross-release assignments.

Mid-Release Scope Adjustment​

Release 3.0 is in Sprint 3 of 6 when product owner needs to descope 20 nice-to-have stories and add 15 critical security/performance stories based on customer feedback. Using Backlog Items view, they multi-select 20 low-priority stories and drag them to Backlog column, then drag 15 high-priority stories from Backlog to Release 3.0 column. Total points remain 850 (same as original scope). They resequence work within the release to prioritize 5 security fixes for Sprint 4. Drag-and-drop completes the scope change in 10 minutes, capacity remains healthy at 560 points remaining for 475 points of work, and stakeholders are notified of the rationale.

Frequently Asked Questions​

What's the difference between Backlog Items and Portfolio Items views?​

Backlog Items view shows Stories and Defects (team-level work) for sprint planning and detailed assignments. Portfolio Items view shows Epics and Features (strategic-level) for quarterly/PI planning. Moving an Epic in Portfolio view automatically moves all open child items, while moving a Story in Backlog view only moves that single item. Use Portfolio view for strategic planning (which epics go in which releases) and Backlog view for tactical execution (which stories go in which releases).

How do I know if moving an Epic will move its child items?​

When you drag an Epic, the system automatically moves open Features, Sub-Features, Stories, and Defects (children with non-closed status). Items that stay include closed items (preserves historical accuracy), items explicitly assigned to different releases by users, and items you lack permission to edit. A success notification confirms which items moved and which stayed. Review the notification to verify expected movement.

Can I assign Stories to different releases than their parent Epic?​

Yes, this supports scenarios where work spans multiple releases or teams coordinate across boundaries. Drag stories to different release columns in Backlog Items view while maintaining parent-child relationships. Use cross-release assignment for large epics spanning multiple releases, descoped stories deferred to next release, or component teams coordinating across products. Note that manually assigned stories won't move when parent Epic moves.

What happens when some items "stayed in other releases" after moving an Epic?​

This means child items were already explicitly assigned to different releases. The system respects user assignments and doesn't override them. Review notification details to identify which items stayed, then decide: if intentional (cross-epic coordination), leave them; if accidental, manually move them to align with Epic. This behavior prevents disruption of cross-release coordination.

Why can't I drag work items between releases?​

Verify you have edit permissions on the work items and that both source and target releases are active. Closed releases don't accept new assignments. Also ensure you're not trying to move closed work items.

Why don't I see any Epics in Portfolio Items view?​

Ensure you have selected a planning level from the Choose Planning Level dropdown in the left sidebar. The backlog displays empty if no planning level is selected. Also verify that Epics exist in the selected planning level context.