Aha! Develop | Whiteboards
Whiteboards are a critical tool for each stage of the product development lifecycle. They help you build out and refine concepts in a visual form ā an important first step in building lovable products. Create beautiful diagrams, journey maps and user flows, and collaborate with your team to develop and visualize new concepts. And when the time is right, convert whiteboard elements into actionable items on your product roadmap.
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Add a whiteboard
There are three different ways to create a blank whiteboard.
Add a personal whiteboard to your My work page the same way you would add a personal note.
Add a new whiteboard to your team notes. Keep whiteboards neatly organized in your nested notes hierarchy and add as many new whiteboards as you choose.
Map out a user flow for a new feature or illustrate phases of a new initiative with a flowchart by embedding a whiteboard in a note or in the description field of most Aha! records ā like initiatives, features, and requirements ā so you can add visual context to the work your team is doing.
Note: You cannot yet add a whiteboard to the description of an idea.
Create a new whiteboard
From your team or personal Notes, click + Create and select Whiteboard. Your new untitled whiteboard will open automatically. Update the name by editing its Title. The whiteboard will appear in your document hierarchy below the note you currently have selected. You can drag and drop it to change its location.
Create a copy of a whiteboard
To create a copy of a note, right click the note from the List view and select Copy note. A copy of the note will open and will appear in the List view below the the original note.
Embed a whiteboard in an Aha! Develop record
Add a whiteboard to an existing note or other Aha! Develop record from the text editor. While editing a note or record, click the + dropdown and select Whiteboard. The new whiteboard will appear one space below your cursor. Click inside the whiteboard or click the arrow icon in its top-right corner to expand the whiteboard window. Click the X in the top-right corner to close it and return to the note.
Navigate your whiteboard
The Aha! whiteboard provides infinite space to ideate, sketch, and diagram. As you add objects, your whiteboard will expand to provide even more space for you to use. You can navigate around your whiteboard and between any frames you add by using the navigation toolbar in the bottom-right corner.
Scroll around your whiteboard by selecting the Pan button or hit the Space bar.
Adjust the Zoom level with the plus and minus buttons or by pressing Ctrl and scrolling.
Navigate to a specific frame on your whiteboard by clicking the Zoom % and select a frame from the list in your frame navigation.
Scroll through frames quickly by using the Next frame and Previous frame options or by using the Space bar.
Use the toolbar
The whiteboard toolbar remains static on the left side of your screen, even as you resize your whiteboard. Use it to add objects and text, draw, and build diagrams. Just click an icon from the toolbar to select it or double-click to select and retain a tool for extended use.
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Frame
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Stamp emoji
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Create diagrams
Diagrams, flowcharts, decision trees. All are great visual aids to illustrate sequences, processes, structures, and hierarchies. Your Aha! whiteboard tools empower you to build attractive diagrams that are both customizable and easy to construct.
Diagrams are made of objects and connectors. Add objects to your whiteboard. Then join them together using connectors and arrows to show relationships, map processes and user journeys, diagram an organizational structure, or illustrate sequences.
Objects
An object can be a shape, sticky note, uploaded image, text box, emoji, or icon. Most objects have various connection points around their borders to neatly add connectors. Although you can join any objects with connectors, shapes are the most commonly used objects in diagrams and flowcharts.
Add a shape by clicking the Shape icon on your toolbar and choose a shape. Then click and drag it to your desired dimensions.
Resize a shape by selecting and dragging its corners.
Rotate a shape by selecting the rotation icon and dragging it to your desired angle.
Format a shape using the customization options above it ā you can edit the fill color and opacity or the line weight, color, and style
Add text to an object by double-clicking the object, then begin typing. Align text you have added to an object by selecting the object and clicking the Align button.
Connectors
A connector can be an arrow or a line. Connectors can be used to join objects together or on their own as simple arrows and lines.
Add a connector by selecting the connector icon on your toolbar, then click and drag it to your desired length. You can also add a connector directly from a shape by clicking one of the connection points along an object's border.
Note: Double-click the shape icon on your toolbar and then click a connection point on an existing shape to add both a connector arrow and additional shape with one click.Resize a connector by selecting and dragging its endpoints.
Manipulate a connector's angles or curves by clicking and dragging the midpoints on the connector.
Connect shapes by selecting the endpoint of a connector and dragging and dropping it to a connection point on an object's border.
Use advanced shapes
The Advanced section of your Shapes menu offers functional objects designed for specific tasks. Use Advanced shapes together to build beautiful early-stage roadmaps and structure content on your whiteboard.
Annotations
Use the annotation shape to add context to any object or area of your whiteboard ā so you can highlight key concepts that you want to point out or discuss further with your collaborators.
Access your Shapes toolbar and select the annotation shape. Drag the end of the shape's connector to the object or area of your whiteboard that you need to comment on. Double-click the annotation shape to add text. Right-click to format its color, border, and text.
Milestones
Add the milestone shape to your whiteboard to signal deadlines or significant dates. Paired with the timeline and progress bar shapes, the milestone can represent important dates like release dates, kickoff or launch dates, or the beginning or end of a time frame.
Select the milestone from the Advanced section of the Shapes menu and click your whiteboard to add the milestone. Use its toolbar to customize its color, shape, and the location of its label.
Progress bars
Add progress bars below a timeline to represent work you want to accomplish. Use them to represent initiatives, epics, features, themes, or events. Then edit their fill to show progress on those work items.
Select the progress object from the Advanced section of the Shapes menu. Then click your whiteboard to add the progress bar. Use the toolbar to customize your progress bar:
Change the progress bar's color, font color, style, text location, and text alignment from its toolbar.
Double-click the progress bar to edit text.
Drag the handle below the progress bar to adjust its fill.
Add an additional progress bar connected by an arrow by clicking the blue dot at either end of the bar. This can help you show a relationship ā like a next step or a dependency ā between the items the bars represent.
Icons
Add icons to your whiteboard to represent specific themes or add personality to your whiteboard content. Icons can add context to your plans and are useful for scanning on expansive whiteboards that have a lot of content.
Select the icons option from your Advanced shapes menu. Click your whiteboard to add an icon. Then use its toolbar to select which icon you would like to display. There are many icons to choose from ā use the search bar to narrow your choices. After you have selected your icon, you can use the toolbar to change its color, opacity, and border.
Tables
Tables provide a flexible way to visualize and structure information on your whiteboard. Use tables for strategic activities like tracking dependencies, managing timelines, and prioritizing work. Or use them to structure content like project plans and meeting agendas.
To add a table, open the Shapes menu, then choose the table icon. Click your whiteboard to add a 3x3 table. Use the table's formatting bar to change its color or border. Change a column or row's dimensions by dragging gridlines between cells. Use the guides at the top of a column or the beginning of a row to rearrange its place in the table. You can also format cells individually ā select a cell and right-click to change its color or add rows and columns relative to its position in the table.
You can add any type of content to the cells in your table. Drag a sticky note, shape, or text box into your table to add it to a cell. Once you have added an object to a cell, it will remain in that cell even as you rearrange columns, rows, or move your table to another area of your whiteboard. Drag and drop objects you have added to your table to move them to different cells.
Note: If you want to add text to a cell, add a text box from your Shapes menu.
Timelines
Whiteboards are a great tool for brainstorming and ideation, but they are also very useful for early-stage planning. Add timelines to your whiteboard to visualize a time frame for work you would like to deliver. Then add progress bars to represent the work you want to accomplish during that time frame.Select the timeline object from the Advanced section of the Shapes menu. Then click your whiteboard to add a timeline.
By default, your timeline will be set for a three month time frame. Use its toolbar to format your timeline's color and opacity. You can also use the toolbar to select the time frame displayed on your timeline:
Select the time increments you want displayed in the dropdown menu in your toolbar. You can choose from Quarters, Months, Weeks, or Days. The Auto option will be selected by default and displays increments based on the size of your timeline.
Select a time frame. You can choose between 3M, 6M, 1Y, and Custom. The Custom option provides a calendar date selector for you to choose your own start and end dates.
Expand your timeline to expose more dates by dragging the handles at either end ā use the left handle to add more dates at the beginning of your timeline and the right handle to add more dates at the end of your timeline.
After you have configured your timeline, you can add progress bars or the annotation shape to add details about what you plan to accomplish when.
Add images
Select the Image tool on your whiteboard toolbar. Select an image from your computer and click Open. Your image will appear on your whiteboard. From there, you can resize, rotate, or move your image.
Note: Supported file types include .png and .jpg.
Group, align, and reorder objects
Once you have added multiple items to a whiteboard, you can customize your whiteboard's layout by grouping, aligning, and ordering objects. Aligning objects can help you create neater, more visually appealing diagrams, flowcharts, and mind maps. And if you have multiple overlapping objects, select their order to show dimension or illustrate sequences.
Group objects
To group objects, select the area around the objects or hold the Shift key and click them one by one. Then use the Group button to group objects. Use the Ungroup button to reverse your action. Double-click an image in a group to edit it individually without ungrouping.
Align objects
To align objects, select the area around the objects or hold the Shift key and click them one by one. Then use the Align button to align the objects.
Reorder objects
If you have placed objects that are on top of one another or overlapping, you can customize their order by selecting and object and clicking the More options button. From here, you can choose to Bring to front or Send to back.
Use whiteboard templates
Your Aha! subscription includes a library of prebuilt whiteboard templates with a range of product uses. These purpose-built templates were designed to support every step of the product development lifecycle. Add as many templates to a whiteboard as you want and organize them with frames to keep your whiteboard neat and easy to navigate.
Add a template to your whiteboard
Select the Template icon on your toolbar. From here, you can use the search bar at the top to find a specific template or select a template category on the left. Click a template to see its description. Click Use template to add the template to your whiteboard.
10Ps marketing matrix
Define the essential elements of your go-to-market strategy.
Useful for: ā Strategy
How to use the 10Ps marketing matrix template:
Capture the fundamentals
Build out the matrix
Assemble your team
Plan and share
2x2 prioritization matrix
Identify the most valuable projects to work on next with a 2x2 prioritization matrix.
Useful for: ā Research ā Strategy ā Planning
How to use the 2x2 prioritization matrix:
Create sticky notes to represent each upcoming project
Place sticky notes in the appropriate matrix section
Share findings with your team
Brainstorming session
Quickly capture ideas, group them into themes, and identify solutions to any problem.
Useful for: ā Ideation ā Meetings
How to use the brainstorming session template:
Define the problem
Create sticky notes for each idea
Assign a color to each person
Organize your ideas into themes
Create sticky notes for solutions
Use š to vote on the best ideas
Business model
Align on how your company creates value by answering fundamental questions.
Useful for: ā Strategy
How to use this template:
Research the market
Build out components
Customize your template
Get to work
Customer journey map
Collaborate with your team to identify improvements across the customer journey.
Useful for: ā Research
How to use the customer journey map:
Discuss each step of the customer journey row by row
Complete Actions for all steps before moving on to Touchpoints
Use sticky notes to capture data in each section
Identify solutions that will improve each step
Use š to vote on the best ideas and solutions
Share findings with your team
Kanban
Track tasks by status to stay on top of work in progress.
Useful for: ā Planning
How to use the kanban template:
Visualize your workflow
Limit WIP
Visualize roadblocks
Share with your team
Lean canvas
Take a problem-focused approach to making an actionable business plan.
Useful for: ā Strategy
How to use this template:
Solve the problem
Position your product
Optimize workflows
Mind map
Diagram each component of your customer experiences.
Useful for: ā Brainstorming
How to use the mind map:
Choose a central topic for your mind map to focus on
Break out related thoughts by adding branches
Click on one thought and select the blue dot to connect it to a new thought
Porter's 5 forces
Analyze the market and competitive landscape as you plan for the future of the business.
Useful for: ā Strategy
How to use this template:
Conduct market research
Evaluate the competition
Apply your learnings
Product roadmap
Communicate your product vision and put product plans into action.
Useful for: ā Planning ā Strategy
How to use the product roadmap:
Identify strategic initiatives
Identify key epics
Identify core features
Set a timeline
Use the Aha! Roadmaps roadmapping guide for inspiration.
Pros and cons list
Be confident in your choices by weighing the positives and negatives.
Useful for: ā Research
How to use the pros and cons table:
Outline each choice with a name and brief description
List pros and cons on individual sticky notes
Summarize and share your recommendation
SAFe PI board
Align on team goals, foster collaboration, and boost productivity. Facilitate your PI planning meeting and coordinate the delivery of your upcoming increment.
Useful for: ā Planning
How to use the SAFe PI board template:
Prepare for PI planning
Share your PI board
Create a high-level plan
Finalize the details
SAFe PI planning
Use these four program increment (PI) planning templates to coordinate delivery across multiple agile teams.
Useful for: ā Planning
How to use this template:
Plan your program increment
Organize sprints by team
Assess program risks
Conduct a planning retrospective
SAFe PI retrospective
Reflect on your PI planning session and take actionable steps to improve.
Useful for: ā Planning
How to use the SAFe PI retrospective template:
Share the whiteboard
Reflect on proceedings
Apply your learnings
SAFe ROAM board
Categorize the risks in your SAFe program by resolved, owned, accepted, and mitigated work items.
Useful for: ā Planning
How to use the SAFe ROAM board template:
Identify the risks
Categorize and prioritize
Mitigate and update
SAFe team sprint planning
Help each team in the agile release train create a sprint plan so they can effectively deliver the PI on time.
Useful for: ā Planning
How to use the SAFe team sprint planning template:
Outline the work
Create a sprint plan
Commit and regroup
Segment profile
Define each group of customers, the market value of serving them, and a plan for your approach.
Useful for: ā Strategy
How to use the Segment profile template:
Define the segment
Research the potential
Outline your approach
Sprint retrospective
Reflect on completed work as a team and identify ways to improve.
Useful for: ā Meetings
How to use the sprint retrospective template:
Reflect on the previous sprint
Assign a color to each person
Use sticky notes to share input
Use š to vote on others' notes
Discuss as a team
Identify and assign action items
Sticky note pack
Jot your ideas down on sticky notes.
Useful for: ā Ideation ā Design
How to use the sticky note pack:
Add your thoughts to a sticky note
Place the sticky note anywhere you need to point out relevant details
SWOT analysis
Identify what you do well, what you can improve, and how you compare.
Useful for: ā Research
How to use the SWOT analysis:
Identify your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats
Use š to vote on the most important items
User story map
Virtually map out a user journey, and break it into prioritized user stories.
Useful for: ā Ideation ā Planning
How to use the user story map:
Frame the problem
Understand the product's users
Map activities and user stories
Flow and prioritize
Plan sprints and releases
Organize your whiteboard
Use frames
You can keep your whiteboard tidy by adding frames. Use frames to organize your diagrams, templates, and other objects. Add frames and build diagrams within them or draw a frame around an area to group items together.
From your toolbar, select the frame icon and draw your frame. Then rename your frame by editing its Title field. The label you enter here will be used for the frame navigation in the lower right corner of your whiteboard.
Note: Your frame will be named by default as "Frame" plus a number, with the first frame being "Frame 1" and so on. Frames will appear in your navigation in the order that they were added to your whiteboard.
Share a whiteboard
Invite new collaborators to your whiteboard with a shareable link. Once your recipients click the link, they will see your whiteboard in their own Aha! account, where they can view your work and, if they have the appropriate permissions, collaborate with you in real time. If they do not have an Aha! account, they will be prompted to sign up for a free Aha! Create account ā so they can view notes and whiteboards and create and share documents in a digital notebook of their own.
Anyone can share a personal whiteboard that they have created. Owners or Contributors can also share team whiteboards ā but Viewers and Reviewers cannot share team notes.
To share a whiteboard:
Open the whiteboard and click the Share button in the upper right corner.
Click Get shareable link.
Share the link.
From the same Share menu, you can also choose whether anyone with the link can View only or Edit the whiteboard.
The shareable link will expire six days after it is first generated. If you want to share your whiteboard with someone else after the link is expired, you will need to generate a new link. You can disable the link whenever you choose. If you disable the link, anyone who has the link but has not yet accepted access to the whiteboard will not be able to access it.
You can change a viewer's permissions to Edit or View only access by clicking next to their initials in the People who have access section of the Share menu. You can remove access to your whiteboard for any viewer by hovering over their initials and clicking the trash icon that appears.
Viewing and editing permissions
You can change someone's permissions to Edit or View only access by clicking next to their initials in the People who have access section of the Share menu. You can remove access to your whiteboard for any viewer by hovering over their initials and clicking the trash icon that appears.
Note: Aha! user permissions will always supersede the Edit permissions you set for a whiteboard. For example, users with viewer and reviewer permissions will be able to access a team whiteboard even if you do not share it when them. But they will not be able to edit team whiteboards, even if you give them permission to edit from the Share menu.
Accept a whiteboard
Your colleague will provide you with a link when they want to share a whiteboard with you. Click the link to open the invitation to view the document. You can then select an option to View the document or Ignore the document.
Note: If you do not have an Aha! account, you can sign up for a free Aha! Create account to view it. You will be prompted to log in or sign up if you choose to View the document.
When you choose to view a document, where the document opens depends on whether the whiteboard shared with you is a personal whiteboard or a team whiteboard. Shared personal whiteboards will appear in the Shared with me section of the List view in your personal notes on the My work page, and the person who shared the document with you has control of your viewing and editing access for the document. Shared team whiteboards will open within the team in which they are located, but your account permissions and team access will determine your viewing and editing access.
To see who has access to a shared whiteboard and will potentially see any edits you make, click the Shared icon at the top of the document next to its title.
Note: Accessing a shared document via a free Aha! Create account counts towards your document limit.
Configure sharing settings
Account administrators can navigate to Settings Account Security and single sign-on and uncheck the box next to Enable document sharing at any time to turn off link sharing for documents. Doing so will turn off all link sharing in the account for notes and whiteboards. Any links that were generated prior to disabling this setting will stop working, and both personal and team notes and whiteboards will no longer be shareable with users outside of your Aha! account.
When document sharing is enabled, anyone in your Aha! account can share a personal whiteboard that they have created. Owners and Contributors can share team whiteboards. Viewers and Reviewers cannot share whiteboards located in a team.
Export a whiteboard as an image
You can export any whiteboard you have access to as an image for use in email, Slack, or other tools. Right click into an empty area of your whiteboard and select Export to SVG or Export to PNG to download a whiteboard as an image.
Collaborate with your team
Whiteboards are built for collaboration. Your team can navigate, edit, and add new details to your whiteboard at the same time. This makes your whiteboard a great place to gather remotely for collaboration sessions. Use one of our prebuilt templates for a team meeting or brainstorming session. Vote on your next move as a team using the stamp emoji. Build out concepts visually together in real-time on collaborative flowcharts and diagrams.
Note: Users will need Contributor permissions to edit team whiteboards. Users with Viewer and Reviewer permissions will be able to view whiteboards, but they will not be able to edit them. You can set editing permission by individual for personal whiteboards.
To share a whiteboard with someone else, send them the whiteboardās URL. They will be able to see any whiteboard that belongs to a workspace or team they have permission to access.
When multiple users are editing a whiteboard simultaneously, you will see an avatar for each user as they navigate the whiteboard.
Convert a whiteboard object to an Aha! record
Creative tools like whiteboards are great for sparking inspiration. In fact, that is how many product teams use them. The next brilliant idea may stem from a collaborative session, a weekly team meeting, or a personal whiteboard. Put that idea into action by promoting items on your whiteboard to work on your product roadmap immediately ā then go back later and add in important details.
On your whiteboard, an object that has been converted to a record will display a link icon in its lower left corner. Clicking the link will open the record's drawer view, where you can edit and update the record's details.
Convert to features
Use the More options button or right-click on a shape, sticky note, or text box and select Convert to feature.
Select a Release. You can select any release in any workspace or workspace line that you have access to.
Edit the feature's Name.
Click Create feature.
You will find your newly created feature record in release and workspace you selected. You will find a link to the whiteboard where the feature originated from its Related tab.
Convert to epics
Use the More options button or right-click on a shape, sticky note, or text box and select Convert to epic.
Select a Release. You can select any release in any workspace or workspace line that you have access to.
Edit the epic's Name.
Click Create epic.
You will find your newly created epic in the release and workspace you selected. You will find a link to the whiteboard where the epic originated in its Related tab.