Mural | September 2023 – June 2024
Overview
To meet growing demand for integrated planning tools, at Mural we developed the Smart Planner—a visual, flexible canvas object designed for task and project management. It brought together data handling, timeline tracking, team coordination, and two-way sync with external tools, all within Mural’s canvas.
The Problem
While Mural excelled at brainstorming and collaboration, teams struggled with planning and execution. Key issues included:
- Fragmented Tools: Switching between platforms caused inefficiencies.
- No Visual Task Tracking: Sticky notes lacked structure for assignments, deadlines, and progress.
- Limited Integration: Planning wasn’t seamlessly connected to execution tools.
Teams needed a unified, visual solution that blended project tracking with Mural’s collaborative strengths.
The Solution
The product team set out to build Smart Planner—a feature combining visual task management with real-time collaboration. The goal: allow teams to plan, organize, and track work within Mural, with seamless syncing to tools like Jira and Azure DevOps.
The Process
User Research
We interviewed users across R&D roles—PMs, agile coaches, team leads—to uncover key needs:
- Seamless integration with existing tools
- Visual project timelines and task tracking
- Easy assignment, progress updates, and collaboration
Key MVP Features
- Drag-and-drop task boards
- Color-coded progress indicators
- Commenting, attachments, @mentions
- Column customization
- Two-way sync with Jira and Azure DevOps
Alpha Testing
Select users tested an early version focused on core functionality. Their feedback helped refine features, fix bugs, and shape the final experience.
Iteration & Integration
We enhanced usability and UI polish, merged efforts across teams, and built robust two-way sync support—making the smart planner fully integrated and execution-ready.
Beta & Launch
Moderated beta testing confirmed the value of the smart planner. After resolving final bugs, we launched the feature to all users.
Results
- 35% Increase in Engagement within 3 months among smart planner users
- Improved Team Coordination with centralized planning, task tracking, and visual timelines
- Faster Decision-Making through better visibility into blockers and schedules
- Enhanced Collaboration with built-in comments, @mentions, and task-level updates
