Taiga: Open-Source Agile Project Management for Scrum and Kanban Teams

What is Taiga?

Taiga is an open-source agile project management platform built specifically for Scrum and Kanban teams. Built with Python and JavaScript, Taiga provides sprint planning, user story management, kanban boards, and team collaboration with a beautiful, intuitive interface. Software development teams worldwide use Taiga to manage agile projects, communicate changes, and track team velocity.

Unlike Jira ($7-14/user/month) or Azure DevOps ($6-45/user/month), Taiga provides agile project management without per-user licensing. Development teams deploy Taiga on-premises or self-hosted, maintaining data ownership while enabling agile practices.

Taiga serves as the central hub for agile development. Product owners define user stories and prioritize backlog. Development teams plan sprints, track progress, and measure velocity. Scrum masters monitor impediments and facilitate ceremonies. Stakeholders track project progress.

Key Features and Capabilities

Scrum Support

Sprint Planning: Define sprints with duration and goals
User Stories: Write user stories with acceptance criteria and estimation
Backlog Management: Prioritize product backlog and manage story planning
Sprint Board: Visual sprint board showing task progress
Burndown Charts: Track progress through sprint with burndown visualization
Sprint Metrics: Measure velocity and predict future sprint capacity
Sprint Review: Track completed stories and demonstrated features

Kanban Support

Kanban Boards: Visual workflow with customizable columns
WIP Limits: Set work-in-progress limits to improve flow
Card Management: Detailed cards with assignments and due dates
Flow Analytics: Analyze workflow efficiency and identify bottlenecks
Swimlanes: Organize cards by team member or other dimensions

Issue and Bug Tracking

Issue Tracking: Report, track, and resolve issues and bugs
Issue Types: Different issue types for bugs, features, and tasks
Severity Levels: Prioritize issues by severity
Assignment: Assign issues to team members
Workflow: Customize issue workflow and status transitions

Team Collaboration

Comments: Discuss stories, tasks, and issues with comments
Mentions: @mention team members for notifications
Attachments: Upload documents and images to stories and issues
Activity Stream: See team activities and project updates
Notifications: Get notified of changes and assignments

Documentation and Communication

Wiki: Maintain project documentation and knowledge base
Epic Documentation: Document epics and high-level requirements
Custom Fields: Add custom fields to stories and issues
Templates: Story templates for common story patterns

System Requirements and Technical Specifications

Server Requirements

Operating System: Linux (Ubuntu 18.04+, Debian 10+, CentOS 7+) or Docker
Python: Python 3.6+ with pip for backend execution
PostgreSQL: 10+ as primary database for Taiga
Redis: Required for caching and background jobs
Node.js: 12+ for frontend compilation and asset management
RAM: 2GB minimum for testing, 4GB+ recommended for production
Storage: 5GB+ for application and data
CPU: Single-core minimum, dual-core recommended

Client Requirements

Modern web browser: Chrome 70+, Firefox 65+, Safari 12+, Edge 79+
JavaScript enabled for interactive board
Minimum 1024×768 resolution, 1280×720 recommended
Optional: iOS 10+ or Android 5+ for mobile app

Installation and Deployment

Docker Compose Installation

# Clone Taiga Docker setup
git clone https://github.com/taigaio/taiga-docker.git
cd taiga-docker

# Configure environment
cp .env.example .env

# Start services
docker-compose up -d

# Access at http://localhost:9000

Linux Installation

# Install system dependencies
sudo apt-get install python3-pip python3-dev postgresql postgresql-contrib nodejs npm

# Clone Taiga backend and frontend
git clone https://github.com/taigaio/taiga-back.git
git clone https://github.com/taigaio/taiga-front-dist.git

# Install Python dependencies
cd taiga-back
pip install -r requirements.txt

# Configure database and run migrations
python manage.py migrate

# Run development server
python manage.py runserver 0.0.0.0:8000

Production Configuration

# Configure Gunicorn for application server
# Set up Nginx reverse proxy with SSL/TLS

# Enable PostgreSQL for production reliability
# Configure Redis for caching

# Set up automated backups and monitoring

Use Cases and Real-World Applications

Software Development Teams

Development teams use Taiga for sprint planning and agile project management. Backlog prioritization ensures high-value features develop first. Burndown charts track sprint progress and predict completion dates.

Distributed Teams

Remote teams use Taiga for asynchronous collaboration. Story comments enable discussions without synchronous meetings. Activity stream keeps distributed team members informed of progress.

Startups and MVPs

Startups use Taiga to manage product development efficiently. Sprint structure provides predictable delivery. User story prioritization enables rapid MVP development and validation.

Internal IT and DevOps Teams

Internal teams use Taiga for infrastructure projects and technical initiatives. Kanban view supports continuous delivery workflows. Issue tracking manages technical debt and improvements.

Advantages of Taiga

Agile Native: Built specifically for Scrum and Kanban methodologies
Beautiful UI: Modern, intuitive interface optimized for agile workflows
Developer Friendly: GitHub and GitLab integration for version control visibility
Flexible: Supports multiple agile frameworks and custom workflows
Cost Effective: Free self-hosted version with no per-user licensing
Customizable: Full source code allows customization for specific workflows
Data Ownership: All project data remains on your infrastructure
Mobile Apps: Native iOS and Android apps for mobile access
Community: Active community with plugins and integrations

Limitations and Considerations

Setup Complexity: Initial configuration requires technical expertise
Production Management: Self-hosted deployments require infrastructure management
Non-Agile Use Cases: Less suitable for traditional waterfall project management
Learning Curve: Best suited for teams already familiar with agile methodology
Support: Community support rather than dedicated enterprise support