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Release Planning Board

The Release Planning Board provides a visual workspace where teams can plan, track, and manage releases within a project. It enables Agility users to view backlog items and portfolio items, assign them to active releases, and organize work across multiple increments from a single interface.

The board supports planning at two levels:

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

How to Access Release Planning Board​

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

The Release Planning Board is displayed.

Switch Between Backlog Items and Portfolio Items​

The Release Planning Board allows you to switch between viewing backlog items and portfolio items using the item type selector:

  1. In the Release Planning Board, locate the item type dropdown in the top-right area (next to "Show closed items")
  2. Select your desired view:
    • Backlog Items — View and manage Stories and Defects
    • Portfolio Items — View and manage Epics and Features

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

Choosing Planning Level Context​

The Choose Planning Level button in the left sidebar allows you to filter 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 (e.g., Team, Program, Portfolio, etc.)
  3. The board refreshes to show only items associated with the selected planning level

This filter works in combination 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 that are not yet part of any release.

Backlog Items View:

  • The backlog displays Stories and Defects that are not assigned to any release
  • You can browse, filter, or search for specific items using the Backlog Search feature
  • Items can be dragged and dropped into any release column to include them in that release

Portfolio Items View:

  • The backlog displays Epics for the selected planning level that are 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
  • Portfolio items can be dragged and dropped into release columns to assign them and their children

Release Columns​

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

Backlog Items View:

  • Every column includes quick-action controls to add new Stories or Defects directly within that release
  • Work items can be moved between releases via drag-and-drop, making it easy to reassign tasks as priorities shift

Portfolio Items View:

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

The column header displays summary icons for key release metrics, such as:

  • 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

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, and 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, movement rules, use cases, and best practices, 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

You can click any card to open the detail drawer and view or edit complete item details.

Add Release​

The Add Release button allows users to create new releases directly from the board.

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