Understanding Program Board
Understanding the Program Board in Savah
Savah’s Program Board is the central hub for managing your Program Increment (PI) planning. It is thoughtfully divided into three key sections to provide clarity and control over your backlog and sprint planning process:
Program Backlog
Team Backlog
Sprints Area
Each section plays a critical role in managing features, assigning work, and executing PI planning smoothly. Below is a breakdown of how these sections work and how you can use them effectively.
1. Program Backlog
The Program Backlog acts as the main repository for all Epics that need to be planned within the Program Board. You can:
Create Epics manually
Import from Jira (via issue keys or filters)
Organize and prioritize Epics for easy planning
Key Capabilities:
Drag & Drop Planning: Move Epics or Stories from the Program Backlog into the Team Backlog or directly into Sprint columns.
Reordering: Manually reorder Epics to reflect planning priorities.
WSJF Sorting: Sort Epics by WSJF (Weighted Shortest Job First) score. You can choose ascending or descending sort order.
Insightful Epic Widgets: Each Epic shows tags for the teams and sprints it is planned in, along with the count and status of child Stories.
2. Team Backlog
The Team Backlog serves as a staging area where each team can organize its work before committing to a sprint.
Add Epics or Stories directly here for future sprint planning.
Items in the Team Backlog also retain their presence in the Program Backlog (with appropriate team tags).
Drag and drop between Team Backlog and Sprint columns as needed.
3. Sprints Area
The Sprints Area is where actual planning execution takes place.
You can drag Epics or Stories into any sprint to assign them.
Focus Mode is available on each sprint column to expand it and collapse others for a clearer view.
You can collapse or expand sprint columns manually to declutter your view.
Planning Behavior & Logic
Here’s how the planning logic works behind the scenes:
Dragging an item from the backlog (Program or Team) to a sprint → The item is assigned to that sprint but remains listed in the backlog, with sprint and team tags added to its card.
Dragging an Epic from the backlog to a sprint → Only the Epic is moved to that sprint, not its Stories. A clone is rendered in the sprint column.
Moving an Epic from one sprint to another → The Epic and all its child Stories are completely moved to the new sprint.
Stories always appear under their parent Epic When moved to a sprint, Stories are rendered within their Epic’s container.
Epics can be assigned to multiple teams/sprints, and the tags will reflect all assignments.
Stories can only be assigned to one team and one sprint at a time. They cannot exist across multiple assignments.
Creating Work Items Anywhere
You can:
Create Epics in any column — Program Backlog, Team Backlog, or Sprints.
Create Stories inside any Epic, regardless of where it is placed on the board.
Newly created Epics will also appear in the Program Backlog with appropriate tags for team and sprint, ensuring full visibility.
Focus & Visibility Controls
Each column (Team Backlog and Sprints) has tools to help streamline your view:
Focus Button Expands one column and collapses others for better concentration.
Collapse Button Manually hide columns you don’t need at the moment.
Summary
The Program Board in Savah is designed to make PI planning intuitive and collaborative. With drag-and-drop flexibility, visual cues, and tight Jira integration, you can confidently manage backlog grooming, team planning, and sprint execution — all in one unified space.
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