Boost Agile Practices with Hoylu & Digital.ai Agility

Table of Contents

1. Introduction
2. The Importance of Engagement in Agile Ceremonies
3. Collaborative Whiteboards: A Key Tool for Agile Planning
4. Hoylu: Collaborative Whiteboarding Software
5. The Bi-Directional Integration with Agility
6. Examples of the Integration in Action
   1. Story Map Creation and Integration
   2. Visualizing Work in a Larger Context: Dependency Board
   3. Leveraging the Pre-Built Pi Planning Layout
7. Benefits of the Integration
   1. Increased Participation and Engagement
   2. Time Savings and Reduced Double Work
   3. Comprehensive and Visual Work Management
8. Other Ways to Leverage the Bi-Directional Integration
   1. Roadmaps and Strategic Planning
   2. Sequencing Events and Collaborative Exercises
9. Conclusion

🔍 Introduction

In agile ceremonies, keeping participants engaged and committed to effective communication is crucial. Additionally, visualizing work comprehensively helps avoid any potential oversights. Collaborative whiteboards serve as essential tools to achieve these goals. In this article, we will explore Hoylu, a collaborative whiteboarding software that provides additional structures for agile planning. We will focus on its bi-directional integration with Agility, a Project Management and collaboration platform.

🤝 The Importance of Engagement in Agile Ceremonies

Agile ceremonies thrive on active participation and engagement. When team members feel involved and committed, the efficiency and effectiveness of the entire process improve. Collaborative whiteboards play a pivotal role in encouraging engagement during agile ceremonies.

🎨 Collaborative Whiteboards: A Key Tool for Agile Planning

Collaborative whiteboards are dynamic platforms where teams can come together, brainstorm, and visually represent their ideas. They allow for real-time collaboration, fostering creativity, and ensuring everyone's input is captured. With features like sticky notes, lines, and various templates, collaborative whiteboards facilitate agile planning and work visualization.

🖥️ Hoylu: Collaborative Whiteboarding Software

Hoylu is a leading collaborative whiteboarding software that empowers teams to work together seamlessly. It offers a range of functionalities that enhance agile planning and collaboration, making it an ideal choice for agile ceremonies. One of Hoylu's standout features is its bi-directional integration with Agility, enabling teams to seamlessly synchronize their work between the two platforms.

🔄 The Bi-Directional Integration with Agility

The bi-directional integration between Hoylu and Agility ensures a smooth and efficient workflow for agile teams. With this integration, teams can bring work items from Agility directly into Hoylu's collaborative workspace. Any updates made in Hoylu are automatically reflected back in Agility, reducing or eliminating the need for duplicate work.

📝 Examples of the Integration in Action

Let's explore some common examples of how the bi-directional integration between Hoylu and Agility streamlines work management in agile ceremonies.

🗺️ Story Map Creation and Integration

Imagine you and your team have created a story map or journey map on a collaborative whiteboard using sticky notes and lines. The next step is to bring all the Relevant features or stories into Agility for further planning and execution. Traditionally, this would involve manually copying and pasting the text from the whiteboard into Agility. However, with Hoylu's integration, you can now create new work items directly in the workspace. By simply selecting and transforming the sticky notes into Agility work items, you can effortlessly transfer your ideas into actionable tasks.

🔀 Visualizing Work in a Larger Context: Dependency Board

In agile planning, understanding and managing dependencies is crucial to minimize risks and ensure a smooth workflow. When using a dependency board, it is essential to Visualize all Upstream and downstream dependencies accurately. Hoylu's integration allows you to create custom structures in the workspace, providing more space between features. You can then import the necessary work items directly into this structure and adjust them as needed. The integration automatically includes connection lines denoting dependencies, simplifying the visualization process and making it easier to navigate between work items.

🧩 Leveraging the Pre-Built Pi Planning Layout

Hoylu also offers a pre-built Pi planning layout, specifically designed to support the SAFe (Scaled Agile Framework) methodology. This layout includes program-level objectives, a risk in Rome, a retrospective, a confidence vote, and pre-built team areas. Each team area features an agile board, allowing teams to collaboratively sequence their work. Instead of manually inputting ID numbers, titles, and descriptions, teams can import work items directly onto the team boards. They can then make necessary adjustments to the description, title, and even story points, which Hoilu automatically calculates per iteration.

✔️ Benefits of the Integration

The bi-directional integration between Hoylu and Agility brings several benefits to agile ceremonies and work management.

1. 🚀 Increased Participation and Engagement: By seamlessly integrating Hoylu's collaborative whiteboarding capabilities with Agility, team members can actively contribute, collaborate, and engage in agile ceremonies. This leads to a higher level of participation and more effective communication among team members.

2. ⏱️ Time Savings and Reduced Double Work: The integration eliminates the need for manual copying and pasting between platforms. This saves valuable time, particularly in large workshops involving multiple participants. By reducing administrative tasks, teams can focus on valuable discussions and decision-making processes.

3. 🌟 Comprehensive and Visual Work Management: Hoylu's collaborative whiteboarding features enable teams to visualize their work comprehensively. From story mapping to dependency management, the integration with Agility provides a holistic view of the project, enhancing understanding and reducing the risk of oversight.

🔄 Other Ways to Leverage the Bi-Directional Integration

Apart from the examples Mentioned, there are several other ways to leverage the bi-directional integration between Hoylu and Agility for agile ceremonies and work management.

1. 🗺️ Roadmaps and Strategic Planning: Hoylu's integration can be used to create interactive roadmaps and support strategic planning Sessions. The collaborative features help teams Align their goals, identify dependencies, and make informed decisions.

2. 🔢 Sequencing Events and Collaborative Exercises: The combination of collaborative whiteboarding and the bi-directional integration allows teams to execute sequencing events and collaborative exercises more efficiently. Whether it's prioritization exercises or retrospectives, teams can actively participate, contribute ideas, and maintain a visual representation of the process.

🏁 Conclusion

In conclusion, the bi-directional integration between Hoylu and Agility enhances collaboration, engagement, and work visualization in agile ceremonies. With features like seamless import/export of work items, custom structures, and pre-built layouts, teams can streamline their planning and execution processes. By leveraging this integration, teams can achieve greater productivity, reduce double work, and foster effective communication among team members.

🔗 Resources:

• Hoylu
• Agility