Lucid Software unveils new tools for agile workflows

Lucid Software has introduced new capabilities within its visual collaboration suite designed to enhance agile workflows for both team-level and program-level planning.

The newly announced features aim to help teams respond to change, make quicker decisions, and deliver value more efficiently, according to a statement by the company. The updates include provisions for private mode during agile events, improved sprint planning, streamlined big room planning, and a dependency management tool that supports real-time visualisation and proactive risk mitigation.

Lucid Software's CEO, Dave Grow, commented, "At Lucid, we understand that agility isn't just about following specific frameworks—it's about how teams collaborate, iterate, and deliver value. Whether a team identifies as Agile or simply seeks ways to work faster and smarter, our new capabilities are designed to further enhance collaboration and drive alignment. As the journey toward business agility evolves, we're committed to evolving with our users and empowering teams to work together more effectively than ever before."

Lucid's enhancements to team-level coordination include facilitation of agile events through templates crafted by agile experts, integration with Jira issues, and tools such as laser pointers and timers. Central to these improvements is the introduction of a private mode, which encourages anonymous input from team members during agile events, promoting inclusive decision-making by ensuring an environment where all voices are heard.

The update also offers a streamlined approach to sprint planning wherein teams can collaboratively assess tasks in terms of effort, complexity, or risk, using a poker-planning style method synchronised with platforms like Jira and Azure DevOps. Team spaces have been introduced to create dedicated virtual environments that can house key resources and serve as central hubs for collaboration, similar to physical team rooms.

Program-level planning tools have been designed to support large-scale operational coordination across multiple teams. This includes the provision of big room planning templates to facilitate cross-functional coordination, with curated spaces for agendas, team rosters, and breakout sessions. Real-time dependency mapping brings new capabilities by allowing teams to visualise and manage dependencies directly from Jira and Azure DevOps, thereby helping to identify and address potential risks early during the planning stages.

Integrations with popular record systems such as Jira and Azure DevOps ensure data synchronisation across platforms, providing real-time updates to reflect accurately the most current information. These integrations streamline the planning process and reduce dependency on manual data transfers.

Another feature to support agile decision-making is Visual Activities, which allow teams to prioritise tasks and conduct confidence votes to ensure team alignment and consensus among stakeholders.

These updates are intended to equip teams with the tools required to manage agile workflow complexities from everyday coordination tasks to extensive program planning. Lucid Software continues its development in visual collaboration platforms catering to modern team requirements.