4 Ways Trello Enterprise Supports Agile Teams

By Emily Miels

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Published on May 13, 2021

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6 min read

4 Ways Trello Enterprise Supports Agile Teams" />

The agile methodology, which a small group of software developers released in 2001, was designed to support collaboration between cross-functional teams working on projects in fast-paced, changing environments. This methodology is now being implemented by teams across industries around the world. However, research from Harvard Business Review notes that 90% of organizations “struggled with rolling out organization-wide agile transformations.”

Que a collective sigh.

Trello wants teams to succeed when adopting agile practices (duh). But how does that success happen? It starts by getting teams on the same page with processes and tools, including a work management system—like Trello Enterprise—that allows for efficient communication and organization across departments. 

Here’s how Trello Enterprise, an innovative work management system, provides the increased collaboration, customization, and visibility agile teams need to be successful.

1. Collaboration Stays Centralized

Collaboration matters to the world of agile. Agile teams are working across departments and sometimes even across companies to get work done. With significantly more people working from home due to the COVID-19 pandemic, co-workers have to collaborate more frequently outside of a standard office environment and sometimes even traditional work hours. With Trello Enterprise, all work happens on boards and in cards so teams can quickly connect and share important communication—all in one centralized place.

Customizable boards give a big-picture visual, so everyone on the team can see where tasks are in the workflow—from the idea phase all the way to completion. Trello has a number of board templates available, which teams can completely customize to fit their needs.

On the boards, you’ll find the corresponding cards with details about specific tasks. Cards can include checklists, due dates, file attachments, conversations, and more to keep everyone up-to-date. This is helpful for keeping communication consistent and timely when transferring projects across departments and working asynchronously.

Lastly, labels are used to add structure to your projects and highlight priority at a glance. The colors make it easy for any team member to see which timely tasks they should work on first or note if a task is held up due to a question or issue.

A group of animal rescue organizations uses Trello boards, cards, and labels to easily share pictures and key medical information of pets in need, even across multiple organizations. Within the Transport Coordination board, sending shelters have cards for each available animal. Receiving shelters can then move the cards to their list to “claim” the animals and take them in. Important details are readily available, with images of the animal on the card cover, labels to showcase if the animal is spayed/neutered or has medical needs, and other medical records attached to the card. With this information available, shelters can respond quickly and provide much-needed support.

2. Flexibility Streamlines Every Workflow

Workflow is everything when it comes to agile teams. There are a lot of moving pieces, multiple teams contributing, and roadblocks along the way. To collaborate and meet deadlines successfully, your team needs a flexible workflow that keeps everyone moving forward. Trello Enterprise streamlines workflow with customizable integrations and automations that minimize repetitive tasks, improve communication, and work with existing tools.

For example, Butler uses natural language commands to automate almost any task in Trello—from creating custom buttons to scheduling teammate assignments. It can even send reminders of upcoming deadlines to keep teams on track. These automations save time and allow your team to focus fully on the project.

Trello integrations allow teams to make the most of tools they’re already using, including Slack, Gmail, Salesforce, and more. This minimizes the need to constantly switch between screens and simplifies collaboration across departments using different tools. Trello Enterprise users also have unlimited access to more than 140 Power-Ups, which allow teams to customize workflows even further for more efficient work.

The team at DoSomething.org took their workflow customizations to the next level with Trello. The non-profit’s team uses both Trello and Zapier to handle more than 1,100 tickets a month. They use automation to reduce time spent on requests and use integrations and Power-Ups to work seamlessly between the two platforms for a better overall experience.

3. High-Level Visibility Keeps Work Moving

Agile teams need to keep work moving—and fast. Sprints, where teams only have a short amount of time to complete specific projects, and tight deadlines are a big part of the agile methodology. Agile teams need to see who’s doing what, where things are in the workflow, and where problems are popping up in order to meet deadlines and accomplish their goals.

Trello Enterprise’s new views—Table view, Dashboard view, and Timeline view—provide that high-level visibility into specific tasks and how work is distributed. These views are accessible to anyone and can help teams better assign tasks, assist others, and identify bottlenecks.

Table View

Table view provides a broad overview of boards. Everyone can see cards from multiple Trello boards in a compact and manageable format to connect the dots across teams and departments. Users can also filter the table and drill down by lists, labels, members, and due dates.

Table view is useful for agile teams because it shows a high-level overview of progress toward specific tasks and company goals. Teams can quickly view project status overall while organizing tasks as needed on a department-by-department basis. Plus, filtering the list makes it easy to track work on an individual basis to distribute the workload more evenly and avoid burnout.

Dashboard View

Dashboard view gives teams a “bird’s-eye view” of projects by organizing data in easy-to-read charts for instant visualization. Trello automatically starts off with four charts—cards per list, cards per member, cards per label, and cards per due date. 

These charts showcase what percentage of tasks are overdue, how much work is in progress or complete, and even which member of the team has the most to-do items on his or her plate. If that’s not what your team needs, the charts can be easily customized.

By looking broadly, dashboard view helps prevent your team from losing sight of the big picture and getting too task-focused. It provides the necessary data so teams can think proactively and predict potential pitfalls, rather than putting out fires on a task-by-task basis.

Timeline View

Timeline view shows tasks in a handy timeline format. Teams can organize project tasks by start date and due date. As deadlines shift, teams can easily drag and drop to adjust the dates accordingly, so nothing ever falls through the cracks.

This view is great for agile teams who want to break bigger projects down into manageable parts for sprints. Teams can clearly see every step it takes to reach a big goal or project completion, which makes it easier to stay motivated and identify potential roadblocks or bottlenecks through every project phase.

4. Boards Showcase Success (And Opportunities For Improvement)

A key part of the agile process is the retrospective, which allows teams to dive in and understand what worked and what didn’t. Trello Enterprise boards allow agile teams to easily reflect on various tasks and the structure of the workflow to see where things went well and where there’s room for improvement.

Overall, the visual nature of Trello makes it clear where there were issues or big wins. Your team can use labels to note tasks for further discussion in retrospective meetings and see tasks that were overdue or incomplete following a sprint.

“For any project that we’re working on, I can open up the Trello board and just see at-a-glance whether it favors stuff that’s still being worked out, or stuff that’s mostly done,” Jonathan Hoefler of Hoefler&Co. says about using Trello.

Teams can even use Trello Enterprise to host retrospective meetings. Using boards, they can note what went well, what they can do better, and specific action steps. Then, team members can weigh in and brainstorm. Check out this sprint retrospective example to see how this might play out.

Trello Enterprise Sets Agile Teams Up For Success

Trello’s unique and customizable features have been embraced by some of the biggest names in innovation, including Google and Kickstarter—and there’s a reason it’s consistently listed among top project management tools.

Let your teams take agile to the next level! Reach out to the Trello Enterprise team for a custom demo, or if you just can’t wait to see Trello Enterprise in action, check out Trello’s on-demand webinar.

Good or bad, we’d love to hear your thoughts. Find us on Twitter (@trello)!