Release Risk Board
Demo: https://release-risk-board.vercel.app (opens with example data; nothing you do there is stored on a server)
A planning board for release breakdown sessions: epics (grouped by saga) are split into FE / BE / UX milestones, which are dragged into the remaining cycles. Anything that won't fit lands in Release Risk.
Where the data lives
The board stores nothing on a server. It runs in your browser and reads/writes an Excel file you choose:
- Open Excel loads a board file (
.xlsx).
- The board opens in view mode: nobody can change anything by accident.
- Edit turns on editing. Every change (new milestone, drag to a cycle, epic edits) is saved into the open Excel file automatically within a second ("Saved to Excel 10:42"). Done editing switches back to view mode.
- Save (or Ctrl+S) is there for the first save of a new board, or in browsers that can't write into files (they download a copy instead). Automatic saving needs Edge or Chrome.
- Keep the file in a SharePoint/OneDrive folder that is synced to your laptop (so it shows up in File Explorer). The board saves into that local file and OneDrive syncs it to SharePoint.
- Close the file in the Excel app while you edit it on the board, otherwise Windows locks it and saving fails.
- Teammates open the same file (with View rights in SharePoint) to see the plan; they click Open Excel again to see the latest version.
The hosting (Vercel / GitHub Pages) only delivers this page's code. Epic data never leaves your computer.
Publish for team (no Excel step for viewers)
- In Edit mode, click Publish for team once and save
board-data.js in the same folder as index.html (the folder your team opens the board from).
- From then on, every change you make also updates
board-data.js automatically. Anyone opening the board sees the published plan ("Published plan · as of 20 Oct, 10:42") without opening Excel.
- The Excel stays the master copy;
board-data.js is a read-only copy of it for viewers.
board-data.js contains project data. It is listed in .gitignore so it is never pushed by accident. If the team opens the board via an internal GitHub Pages site, add it on purpose with git add -f board-data.js and push only to the internal repository.
Reconnect
The board remembers the last Excel file in this browser. When you open the board, click Reconnect to .xlsx to continue editing in one click.
Excel layout
| Sheet | Columns |
|---|
| Release | Release name |
| Cycles | Cycle, End date (YYYY-MM-DD) |
| Epics | ID (do not change), Priority, Saga, Key, Title, Size, Jira link, Release risk flag, Risk reason, Open questions |
| Milestones | Epic ID, Epic, Discipline (FE/BE/UX), Milestone, Column (Milestones / cycle name / Release Risk) |
You can edit the file in Excel too; the board reads it back.
Files
index.html – the whole boardvendor/ – bundled libraries (SortableJS for drag and drop, SheetJS for Excel), so nothing loads from external sites
Epic breakdown tracker (tracker.html)
A personal tracker for the BA breakdown work: one row per epic, grouped by saga, with the breakdown status per discipline (UX, BE, FE): To do → In discussion → Drafted → In backlog (or Not needed). An epic is ready when every needed discipline has its user stories in the backlog. The header shows progress against the deadline.
Data stays in the browser on this computer; Save to Excel makes a backup, Open Excel restores it.
