Real items, not copies
- The card is a work package or points to a ticket, goal or project
- Moving it changes the real status, not a duplicate
- The same item can sit on several boards
Agile project management with Scrum or kanban
In teamspace, agile project management means work sits as a card on a board and moves through status columns. On the scrum board the card is usually a real work package from the project; on the kanban board it often points to an item in the flow, such as a ticket, a goal or a whole project, to keep the overview. Both run in the same system as planning, hours and billing.
Overview
Work in an agile way without losing control of margin and hours.
Agile project management organises work in small, visible steps: items sit as cards on a board, move through status columns, and the team pulls the next one as soon as capacity frees up. In teamspace this does not happen in a separate tool, but directly on the projects you already plan and bill with.
Two methods are available for this, both in the same system: the scrum board for a fixed sprint rhythm and the kanban board for continuous flow. They differ not only in rhythm but often in what a card is: in a sprint it is usually a real work package that you move directly with the card; in the flow it is often a linked item, such as a ticket, a goal or a whole project. Nobody has to commit to one for good.
What it is about
What makes agile project management in teamspace different.
Agile here does not mean a second tool for cards, but a second view of the same project data.
Kanban and Scrum, one system
- Continuous flow or fixed sprint rhythm, depending on the team
- The same work package can switch views when needed
- Columns and statuses freely configurable
Hours and margin stay connected
- Logged hours flow through the work package into the project
- Plan vs actual and contribution margin stay up to date
- Completed work can be billed without re-entry
In the sprint
On the scrum board, the card is the work package itself.
A sprint is about planned work that gets done and billed. That is why the card on the scrum board is usually the real work package: the project planned in the Gantt chart and the work on the board hang on the same item.
- A work package from the project can move onto the board automatically and be worked on there in an agile way.
- In the work breakdown structure the same package stays planned the classic way, with progress, budget and owners.
- Whoever moves the card moves the real item: logged hours land on the package and feed the project's plan vs actual.
- Completed work can be billed without anyone copying hours into a second tool.
Anyone who keeps cards and hours in two worlds knows the collateral damage: cards without hours, hours without a card, corrections at month end. In a sprint it is one item.
In the flow
On the kanban board, the card often points to the item.
Where work keeps coming in, it is less about a single work package and more about the overview: what is open, what is running, what is stuck? For this a kanban board often carries its own cards, each pointing to what is actually being moved. The card then keeps its own status, independent of the linked item.
- Tickets from the service desk sit as cards on the support board and move from New to Closed, while the ticket itself carries the communication.
- Goals or milestones can be kept as cards to track a larger piece of work over several weeks.
- Whole projects sit on an overview board, one card per project, so management sees the state of every project at a glance.
- Example: a ticket is set to "answered", its card to "waiting for client". Two statuses that run separately.
That keeps the flow manageable without every item having to be a work package. When it is about the status of the work itself and about logged hours, teamspace shows the list of work packages directly as a board, which is the typical case in a sprint.
Choosing a method
Kanban or Scrum: both run here.
Kanban and Scrum are both agile methods; they differ in rhythm. Which one fits depends on the kind of work, and nobody has to commit for good.
- Kanban works continuously. Cards flow through the status columns as needed and often point to tickets, goals or projects. Strong for service and maintenance.
- Scrum works in fixed sprints, mostly with real work packages, with selection into the sprint and acceptance at the end of it. Strong when releases need to be predictable.
- In teamspace both sit side by side, and the same work package switches views when a team changes method.
Many teams use both in parallel: development in sprints, support in continuous flow. One thing you should know: reports such as a burndown chart or a velocity figure are not part of it. A board shows status in columns, not a sprint chart.
Scope
What the agile view brings along.
Boards fill from the project.
- Automatically or manually from a project, folder or employee
- Put tickets, work packages and documents straight on the board
- One item can sit on several boards
Planned in real hours.
- Every package carries its time budget in hours
- No converting abstract points into days
- Comparable with the project's plan vs actual
Billable work stays visible.
- A dedicated status for billable work
- Hours flow into billing, not into an extra tool
- Margin on fixed-price work in view
“We mostly work with the budget column.”
Method
What agile project management actually is.
Agile project management is a way of working that does not plan a project in full once, but delivers in short, visible steps and keeps adjusting the plan along the way. Instead of a rigid end plan there is a pool of tasks from which the team pulls the next one. The term goes back to the "Agile Manifesto" from software development in 2001, but has long since spread to project work of every kind.
Three ideas carry the method, whatever the tool:
- Make work visible: every task is a card on the board, so nobody has to check a list to see what is going on.
- Deliver in small steps: something finished at regular intervals rather than one big result at the end that nobody saw in between.
- Adjust the plan: priorities change, and the board moves with them instead of managing an outdated plan.
In teamspace you map this idea onto real project work packages, with kanban for the flow and Scrum for the rhythm. What both boards deliberately leave out are sprint reports such as burndown or velocity; they carry freely configurable status columns, not measurement charts. The real lever lies elsewhere anyway: the card stays a real item and the hour goes straight into the project.
From plan to card
How the agile view of a project comes about.
In five steps a planned work package becomes a card the team moves, and the hour lands back in the project.
- 1
Plan the project the classic way
Structure, phases and work packages are set up in the project, with budget and owners.
- 2
Choose a method
Kanban for continuous flow or Scrum for a sprint rhythm, both on the same work packages.
- 3
Put items on the board
In a sprint, work packages move onto the board as cards; in the flow, often tickets, goals or whole projects. Automatically or manually.
- 4
The team pulls the cards
Everyone moves their cards through the statuses and logs hours on the linked work package.
- 5
Steer and bill
Logged hours feed plan vs actual and contribution margin, and completed work becomes billable.
More from project management
The two boards and what sits next to them.
Agile working is one of several views of the same project. Here are the two boards and the areas that connect directly to them.
Kanban board
Continuous task flow without fixed sprint periods.
Learn moreScrum board
Sprint backlog and status columns for the sprint rhythm.
Learn moreWork breakdown structure software
Work packages that cards point to and hours are logged on.
Learn moreCapacity planning
Who carries how much load, calculated across all projects.
Learn moreProject controlling
Plan vs actual and margin from the logged hours.
Learn moreProject billing software
Billable work from the board into the invoice.
Learn moreYour questions
Which method suits your teams?
In 20 minutes we look at which of your work belongs in continuous flow and which in a sprint rhythm. You get clear first feedback on how agile working in teamspace fits your projects.
In overview
The board is one view of project management.
Boards move items in an agile way. How teamspace plans, steers and bills projects, from plan vs actual through earned value to the invoice from the project, is shown in the project management overview.
To project managementRelated modules
Three modules connect directly to the board.
Whoever moves tasks in an agile way almost always deals with the hour, the invoice and the contact. Here are the shortest routes there.
Online time tracking
Hours land on a card's work package and are the basis for plan vs actual and billing.
- Log time to a project, phase or ticket
- Billable and internal kept apart
- Approvals are traceable
Invoicing software
Completed work becomes the invoice, with hourly rates, flat fees and billing rules.
- Partial, instalment and final invoices
- ZUGFeRD and XRechnung
- Handover to DATEV Unternehmen online
CRM software
Contacts from a sales campaign sit as cards on the board and stay connected to the customer record.
- Contacts and tasks on one board
- Customer record on the running item
- Shared data, no double entry
First call
Bring your work onto the board.
You show us your projects and your status workflow, and we set up kanban or Scrum around it. At the end you know whether agile working in teamspace suits your teams.
Frequently asked questions about agile project management
What is agile project management?
Agile project management organises work in short, visible steps instead of a rigid end plan. Tasks sit as cards on a board and move through status columns. In teamspace this runs on real project work packages, with kanban for continuous flow and Scrum for a fixed sprint rhythm.
What agile methods are there in project management?
Two methods dominate day-to-day project work: Scrum works in fixed sprints, kanban in continuous flow without fixed periods. Both are agile methods that spread widely after the Agile Manifesto of 2001; there are other frameworks too, but in project business it is mostly these two. In teamspace you map both onto real project work packages, not in a separate tool.
What is the difference between kanban and Scrum?
Kanban steers a continuous flow of tasks without fixed periods; cards move on as soon as capacity frees up. Scrum works in fixed sprints, with selection into the sprint and acceptance at the end of it. teamspace supports both in the same system; kanban boards often suit service and maintenance teams, scrum boards suit development sprints.
Can I mix classic and agile in the same project?
Yes. The project planned in the Gantt chart and the work on the board hang on the same work package. A package stays planned the classic way in the work breakdown structure, with progress and budget, and at the same time moves onto the board as a card. Both views show the same item, and the data stays consistent.
Does teamspace include burndown charts or velocity?
No. teamspace plans agile work in real hours and capacity, not in abstract story points. The boards carry freely configurable status columns, not measurement charts. Sprint reports such as burndown charts or a velocity calculation are deliberately not part of the boards.
Is a board card always a work package?
No, that depends on the method. On the scrum board the card is usually a real work package from the project: whoever moves it changes the item, and logged hours flow into the project. On the kanban board the board often carries its own cards that point to an item in the flow, such as a ticket, a goal or a whole project, and keep their own status. teamspace can do both.
How do hours get from the board into billing?
A card that is a work package or points to one carries its project reference. Team members log hours on that work package, which then feed plan vs actual and contribution margin and, once the work is complete, become the basis for the invoice. That is the normal case in a sprint; in the kanban flow the status of a linked ticket or goal is often what matters more.
Where is the project data stored?
All data is processed in an ISO-27001-certified data centre in Frankfurt am Main, exclusively within the EU. teamspace is Made in Germany and GDPR compliant. The contracting partner is 5 POINT AG, a German public limited company based in Darmstadt.