Kanban board template for software development

The board has five stages. Backlog holds everything you might build, Ready is what you've picked for the current sprint or release, and In Progress is what someone is coding right now. In Review is waiting on a code review or a test pass, and Done is shipped.

What's in the template

A project made from Software Development starts with these fields. You can rename, remove or add fields before you create it, or later.

Title

The name of each task.

Status

Backlog, Ready, In Progress, In Review and Done. Moving a task to Done completes it.

Task Type

Feature and Bug.Suggests Improvement, Maintenance and Documentation while you set it up.

Priority

High, Medium and Low.

Date

A date, with a time, alert or repeat if you want one.

Subtasks

Smaller steps inside a task.

Attachments

Photos and files.

Tags

Frontend and Backend.Suggests Design, Testing, Security and Accessibility while you set it up.

Time Tracking

Timers and time added by hand.

Create it in Tasks

1. On iPhone, tap + at the bottom of the Home screen and choose Project. On Mac, press ⌥⌘N, or click + at the bottom of the sidebar and choose Project.
2. Type a name, pick a colour and an icon, then tap the checkmark.
3. Under Project Template, tap Software Development. The stages change to Backlog, Ready, In Progress, In Review and Done. Tap Next.
4. Check the fields the template brings, add anything else you want on every task, then tap the checkmark to create the project.

The projects guide shows each step with screenshots.

Download it

You can also download the template as a file and import it into Tasks. There are two versions. One is the board above with its 14 example tasks, so you can see how it works. The other is empty and ready for your own work. Both have every stage, field and tag, including the ones the app only suggests, and time tracking on every task.

• Download with the example tasks (Software-Development.tasks)
• Download the empty template (Software-Development-Template.tasks)

1. Download one of the files on your iPhone, iPad or Mac.
2. Tap the file, in your downloads or in Files. It opens in Tasks.
3. Import Data? tells you what it will add. Tap Import, and the project appears on the Home screen.

If tapping the file doesn't open Tasks, open Settings in Tasks, scroll down to Import Data under Data & Integrations, tap it and pick the file. The example dates are made up, so move them to your own schedule. The backup and import guide has more on importing.

Make it yours

Task Type starts with Feature and Bug. To track improvements, maintenance and docs as well, tap Task Type on the Fields step while you set up the project, then tap Improvement, Maintenance or Documentation under Suggested Tags. Tags starts with Frontend and Backend and suggests Design, Testing, Security and Accessibility the same way. Both downloads below already include them.

To keep every open bug in one place, create a Smart List with Task Type set to Bug and Hide completed tasks turned on. It updates itself as bugs come in, across every project you pick. Smart Lists are part of Tasks Plus, and the views guide shows how to make one.

If you code with an AI assistant such as Claude Code or Codex, you can connect it to Tasks, add a Collaborators field and assign it a ticket the way you would a teammate. It can read the task, comment when it needs you and move it to In Review when it's done. For how Tasks compares with a dedicated issue tracker, see Tasks vs Linear.