{"id":24254,"date":"2026-10-04T21:14:39","date_gmt":"2026-10-04T15:44:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nimblework.com\/knowledge-base\/nimble\/?post_type=article&p=24254"},"modified":"2026-10-07T11:01:30","modified_gmt":"2026-10-07T05:31:30","slug":"release-planning-at-the-program-level","status":"publish","type":"article","link":"https:\/\/www.nimblework.com\/knowledge-base\/nimble\/article\/release-planning-at-the-program-level\/","title":{"rendered":"Release Planning at the Program Level"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Skip Ahead to:<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
1<\/span>Overview<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
2<\/span>Navigation<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
3<\/span>How to Plan a Release Across the Program?<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
4<\/span>Layout of the Program Release Planning Board<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
5<\/span>Rules You Should Know<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
6<\/span>What Is Different at the Program Level<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table><\/div>\n

Overview<\/h2>\n

Release Planning at the program level works like the board you already use on a single project. The difference is its reach. One board now covers the program and every child project under it.<\/p>\n

The board is a grid. Each row is a project. Each column is a release. A cell holds the cards that project has planned into that release.<\/p>\n

So you can see what every project has committed to in the same release, side by side. You can also move a card from one project to another without leaving the board.<\/p>\n

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i<\/span>Where This Board Appears<\/p>\n

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Release Planning is available on every project. What changes is what it shows you.<\/p>\n

Open it on an ordinary project and you get that one project’s board. Open it on a project whose Project Category is Program<\/strong>, and you get the across-projects view described here. That view gives one row to the program, and one row to each linked child project.<\/p>\n

If the rows are missing, the category is not set to Program, or no child projects are linked yet. See How to Set Up a Program Project<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n

Navigation<\/h2>\n

Navigate to the breadcrumb at the top. Hover over the program name, expand the Agile Planning<\/strong> module, then select Release Planning<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

How to Plan a Release Across the Program?<\/h2>\n

To plan a release across the program, perform the following steps –<\/p>\n

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1<\/span>Select the release you want to plan from the All Current and Future Releases<\/strong> list. Leave it on All Current and Future Releases to see every release at once.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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2<\/span>Share the release with the child projects that will contribute to it. Hover over the release column header and select the share icon. Tick the projects, then select SHARE<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\"Share<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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3<\/span>Narrow the board to the projects you are planning with. Hover over the Projects<\/strong> column header and select the filter icon, then tick the projects you want to see.<\/p>\n

\"Filter<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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4<\/span>To add a card, select ADD → Add Card<\/strong>. To bring in a card that already exists, select ADD → Add from Backlog<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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5<\/span>Fill in the card. Choose the project it belongs to, its card type, a name and the release. Then select ADD<\/strong>. Select MORE OPTIONS instead if you want the full card form.<\/p>\n

\"Add<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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6<\/span>Drag and drop the cards between release columns to move them to a different release.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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7<\/span>Drag and drop a card into another project’s row to move it to that project’s release.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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8<\/span>Compare Planned against Capacity on each release header to see how loaded the release is. Capacity shows the average of the last three releases. The bar plots planned against capacity.<\/p>\n

\"Release<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Sharing a Release With Child Projects<\/p>\n

Releases are created at the program level. A child project does not get one automatically, so you share it first.<\/p>\n

Hover over the release column header and select the share icon. The Share with project<\/strong> panel lists the program and all its child projects. Tick the ones you want, then select SHARE.<\/p>\n

Nimble then creates the same release, with the same dates, inside each project you ticked. Their cards can now be planned into it, and those cards appear on this board.<\/p>\n

Until you share a release with a project, that project’s cell under the release shows Add release to this project<\/strong> instead of a card area.<\/p>\n

Adding Cards<\/p>\n

Add Card<\/strong> opens a short form. Pick the project the card belongs to, its card type, a name and the release.<\/p>\n

The project list covers the program and every child project. So you decide which row the new card lands in. The program itself is a valid choice, because a program can hold its own cards.<\/p>\n

Release is mandatory here. It lists only the releases already shared with the project you picked. Change the project and the release and card type lists reload.<\/p>\n

Add from Backlog<\/strong> pulls in cards that already exist instead of creating one.<\/p>\n

Moving Cards Between Releases<\/p>\n

Drag and drop a card from one release column to another, within the same project row. This simply re-plans the card, exactly as it does on a single-project board.<\/p>\n

Moving Cards Between Projects<\/p>\n

Dropping a card into a different project’s row does more. The two projects are separate workspaces, so the card cannot simply move across.<\/p>\n

Instead, Nimble closes the card in the source project. It then creates a new card of the same card type in the destination project. This is the Transfer Card behaviour, and it runs on its own when you drop the card. Both the closure and the new card appear in the card’s Activity Log.<\/p>\n

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!<\/span>This Cannot Be Reversed<\/p>\n

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Check the destination row before you drop. Once the card transfers, the original is closed and you cannot reopen it.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n

\nWhat happens to attributes, effort and links<\/summary>\n
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