The last couple of updates of SwiftKanban have focused on some key features such as Cycle Time Threshold, revamped ESP Analytics and an enhanced To-Do Board.
1) Cycle Time Threshold
The Cycle Time Threshold feature enables a Kanban team to better manage their Cycle Time (or System Lead Time) performance. For any column on your Kanban board, it helps you identify potential at-risk-of-delay or delayed cards in that column visually – so that as a team, you can track and manage them to closure with better control.
You can define Cycle Time thresholds at a column-level – for some or all columns of a board. Once you define them, SwiftKanban will highlight cards that have or have not exceeded these cycle time thresholds.
To use the Cycle Time Threshold feature for any column or sub-column of your board, you just need to set up two threshold values (in terms of hours, days or weeks) and track the movement of cards on those columns. The horizontal threshold line is a visual cue which renders green if the card is under threshold 1 (T1), changes to orange when the card stays at the same column beyond threshold 1 (T1) but is within threshold 2 (T2), and finally become red when the duration crosses past threshold 2 (T2) in the same column.
So, irrespective of a number of cards that you have on your board, it will still be easy to focus on those which are causing the longer lead time and reducing the overall agility of your system.
We have also published an informative data-driven blog and a short video on Cycle Time Threshold, so don’t forget to look at them as you go on exploring this feature in SwiftKanban.
2) ESP Analytics Got a New Look
Our ESP module has been revamped with rich filtering options, new charts, refreshing diagrams, card-level drill-down and lots more.
The metrics have been reorganized for better user understanding and interpretation. The Flow Efficiency, Liquidity and Aging tabs have got additional capabilities. The CFD Forecast and the Scope Forecast tabs have become easier to use.
3) Code Snippet
Developers are going to love this! One of the long-standing wish-list items from the coding community amongst our customers has been the ability to insert a piece of code in a Kanban card and view it in its original format.
So, we have introduced the Code Snippet option in the card details tab that lets you add a code block in its original syntax. Be it Java, JavaScript, Python or Rubi, your code is formatted and displayed in its own syntax. As you work on a new work item, and need to look at the code on which you are working – you can do so right from the card!
4) Adding Cards in a Hierarchy just got Way Better!
So far, when adding cards in a Hierarchy, using the Hierarchy screen (Linked Cards view), the new cards, by default, would land up in the Backlog board.
But, now you can select the board, lane and the specific column where you want a new Child card to go. The same functionality is also available in the Bulk Edit screen, so that you can quickly add multiple child cards and place them in the exact lane and column where you want each of the placed.
5) Board and Team Notification
Getting too many notifications can be overwhelming, especially when you are working on many Kanban boards. The new Boardwise Event notification section helps you manage your notifications better! It lets you select the specific boards and their corresponding events for which you want to receive notifications.
Additionally, we have also introduced the Teamwise Event notification for Managers so they can receive notification about their Team Members’ work across boards, lanes or columns.
6) On Card Operation
Now, you can perform all the card operations like Archive Card, Clone Card, Convert Card and others just by right-clicking on your card.
7) The Enhanced To-Do Board
We have enhanced the To-Do Board with some key features:
- Resize the board view with 4 zoom levels. It ranges from Very Small, Small, Medium, and Large.
- Move cards across columns. The status of the To-Do in the card will be updated once you move it to another column.
- View the To-Do Board on your personal board. It will show the To-Dos, which are assigned to you across various boards.
- View the schedule of the To-Dos in the To-Do Calendar. Similar to the Board Calendar, you can view the To-Do Calendar in Monthly or Weekly format.
8) Web Services Enhancements
We have added couple of key enhancements in web services.
There are four new operators introduced (contains, !contains, startsWith, endsWith) as valid criteria for the GetCardsByFilter web service. These operators can be used for the string item type.
You can also find the DueDate field in the To-Do related web services (addTodos, modifyTodos).
Get more details in the Web Services documentation in SwiftKanban’s Online Help.
We will be back again with another update in April. Till then, enjoy exploring these new features. As always, we look forward your feedback and suggestions!
Subhajit Sengupta
Content and Communication Manager