Business Use Cases

How teams use BoardAPI for meetings, workshops, and collaboration.

BoardAPI is built for visual collaboration in business contexts: brainstorming, retrospectives, planning sessions, and remote workshops. Here's how teams use our platform.

Brainstorming Session

The Challenge

Traditional brainstorming sessions have common problems:

Ideas get lost in chat or verbal discussion
Dominant voices overshadow quieter team members
No structure leads to scattered, unfocused results
Manual grouping of ideas wastes time
Hard to track who contributed what

The Solution

Use BoardAPI's Frames + Zones + AI for structured, inclusive brainstorming.

Setup:

javascript

// Create board with 3 frames for structured session
const board = await boardapi.boards.create({
  title: "Q4 Product Ideas Brainstorm",
  frames: [
    { name: "1. Individual Ideation", lockMode: "soft" },
    { name: "2. Group & Discuss", lockMode: "none" },
    { name: "3. Vote & Prioritize", lockMode: "soft" }
  ]
});

// Create individual zones in Frame 1 (one per participant)
const zones = await boardapi.zones.bulkCreate({
  boardId: board.id,
  frameId: frames[0].id,
  participants: team.members.map(m => ({
    participantId: m.id,
    name: m.name
  }))
});

// Enable AI Agent for auto-clustering ideas
await boardapi.agents.create({
  boardId: board.id,
  preset: "moderator",
  config: {
    triggers: ["frame:navigate"], // When moving to Frame 2
    actions: ["cluster_similar_ideas", "generate_summary"]
  }
});

Session Flow:

Frame 1 - Individual Ideation (10 min)
- Each participant has their own zone
- No one can see others' ideas (honest input)
- AI Timer sends reminder: "5 minutes left"
Frame 2 - Group & Discuss (20 min)
- Host navigates to Frame 2 (Follow Me mode)
- AI Agent automatically clusters similar ideas
- Team discusses grouped themes
- AI Moderator generates summary
Frame 3 - Vote & Prioritize (10 min)
- Voting component for each idea cluster
- Real-time results visible to all
- Export action items automatically

Results

Teams using this approach report:

45 min sessions vs 2+ hours traditional brainstorms
30% more ideas due to individual zones (psychological safety)
Zero time spent on manual clustering (AI handles it)
Higher participation from quiet team members

Key Features Used

Feature	How it's used
Frames	Structure the 3-phase process
Student Zones	Individual privacy for honest ideas
AI Agents	Auto-cluster ideas, manage time
Presenter Modes	Follow Me for synchronized transitions
Custom Components	Voting component, Timer widget

Sprint Retrospective

The Challenge

Agile retrospectives often fail to surface real issues:

Team members afraid to criticize openly (peer pressure)
Repeating same discussions without actionable outcomes
No pattern recognition across sprints
Action items get forgotten or lost
Remote teams struggle with engagement

The Solution

Anonymous feedback zones + AI analysis + automated action tracking.

Setup:

javascript

// Create retro board with anonymous zones
const board = await boardapi.boards.create({
  title: "Sprint 42 Retrospective",
  frames: [
    { name: "What went well", lockMode: "soft" },
    { name: "What didn't go well", lockMode: "soft" },
    { name: "Action Items", lockMode: "soft" },
    { name: "Vote on Actions", lockMode: "soft" }
  ]
});

// Enable anonymous mode for honest feedback
await boardapi.zones.bulkCreate({
  boardId: board.id,
  anonymousMode: true, // Names hidden
  participants: team.members
});

// AI Facilitator to analyze sentiment and patterns
await boardapi.agents.create({
  boardId: board.id,
  preset: "facilitator",
  config: {
    triggers: ["frame:navigate"],
    actions: [
      "analyze_sentiment",
      "identify_recurring_issues",
      "generate_action_items"
    ]
  }
});

Session Flow:

Anonymous Feedback (15 min)
- Team adds cards to "went well" / "didn't go well" frames
- Names are hidden (anonymous zones)
- Honest feedback without fear
AI Analysis (automatic)
- AI Agent analyzes all feedback
- Identifies patterns: "3 people mentioned slow CI/CD"
- Generates sentiment report
- Suggests action items
Discuss & Decide (20 min)
- Review AI-identified patterns
- Discuss recurring issues
- AI Secretary creates concrete action items
Vote & Commit (10 min)
- Vote on which actions to tackle first
- Export to Jira/GitHub automatically

Results

Retrospectives become more effective:

Honest feedback due to anonymous zones
Pattern recognition AI finds systemic issues across sprints
Concrete actions auto-generated and tracked
Integration with existing tools (Jira, Slack, GitHub)

Integration Example

javascript

// Webhook: Auto-create Jira tickets from action items
app.post('/api/webhooks/boardapi', async (req, res) => {
  const { event, data } = req.body;

  if (event === 'frame:navigate' && data.frameName === 'Action Items') {
    // AI generated action items
    const actionItems = await boardapi.objects.list({
      boardId: data.boardId,
      frameId: data.frameId,
      type: 'action-item'
    });

    // Create Jira issues
    for (const item of actionItems) {
      await jira.issues.create({
        fields: {
          project: { key: 'TEAM' },
          summary: item.data.title,
          description: item.data.description,
          issuetype: { name: 'Task' },
          labels: ['retro', `sprint-${currentSprint}`]
        }
      });
    }
  }
});

Key Features Used

Feature	How it's used
Frames	Organize retro phases (well/not-well/actions)
Anonymous Zones	Honest feedback without fear
AI Agents	Pattern analysis, action generation
GPT Generation	Auto-summarize discussions
Webhooks	Integrate with Jira/GitHub

Planning Poker

The Challenge

Agile estimation sessions need privacy and honesty:

Group think: juniors copy seniors' estimates
Anchoring bias: first estimate influences others
Physical cards don't work for remote teams
No history of estimates for learning
Time-consuming reveal process

The Solution

Use Custom Components with Private Storage for true Planning Poker.

Setup:

javascript

// Create board with Planning Poker component
const board = await boardapi.boards.create({
  title: "Sprint 43 Planning",
  components: [
    {
      type: 'planning-poker',
      config: {
        allowedValues: [1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21], // Fibonacci
        revealMode: 'manual', // Host controls reveal
        discussionTime: 300 // 5 min per story
      }
    }
  ]
});

// Add user stories as frames
for (const story of backlog.stories) {
  await boardapi.frames.create({
    boardId: board.id,
    name: story.title,
    metadata: {
      storyId: story.id,
      jiraKey: story.key
    }
  });
}

// AI Summarizer for divergent estimates
await boardapi.agents.create({
  boardId: board.id,
  preset: "summarizer",
  config: {
    triggers: ["poker:reveal"],
    condition: "estimateVariance > 5", // Large disagreement
    actions: ["summarize_discussion"]
  }
});

Component Implementation (Developer)

javascript

// Planning Poker component uses SDK's Private Storage
export default {
  async mounted() {
    // Each user's vote is private until reveal
    this.myVote = await this.board.storage.getPrivate('myVote');
  },

  methods: {
    async vote(value) {
      // Private storage - others can't see
      await this.board.storage.setPrivate('myVote', value);
      this.hasVoted = true;
    },

    async reveal() {
      // Host triggers reveal
      const allVotes = await this.board.storage.getAllPrivate('myVote');

      // Display results
      this.results = allVotes;
      this.average = calculateAverage(allVotes);
      this.variance = calculateVariance(allVotes);

      // If large disagreement, AI summarizes discussion
      if (this.variance > 5) {
        const summary = await this.board.agents.trigger('summarize_discussion');
        this.discussionSummary = summary;
      }
    }
  }
};

AI Summarizer Action (when estimates diverge)

When estimates range from 3 to 21 for a story, AI Agent:

Analyzes chat discussion during the round
Identifies key arguments "for high" vs "for low" estimates
Generates summary: "High estimates cite unknown dependencies. Low estimates assume existing code can be reused."
Displays summary to help team align

Results

Estimation sessions become more accurate:

Honest estimates due to private storage (no group think)
Fast reveals automatic, no manual card flipping
AI insights when estimates diverge widely
Learning loop history shows who estimated accurately over time
Remote-friendly works perfectly for distributed teams

Export & Analytics

javascript

// After session, export estimates for analysis
const sessionData = await boardapi.boards.export({
  boardId: board.id,
  format: 'json'
});

// Analyze estimation accuracy over time
const accuracy = calculateAccuracy(sessionData.estimates, actualTime);

// Feed back to team: "Sarah's estimates were 95% accurate last quarter"

Key Features Used

Feature	How it's used
Custom Components	Planning Poker component
Private Storage	Hide votes until reveal
Frames	One frame per user story
AI Agents	Summarize discussions on divergence
Follow Me	Synchronize team on current story
Export	Historical data for learning

Feature Comparison: Business Use Cases

How BoardAPI stacks up against alternatives for business collaboration:

Feature	BoardAPI	Miro	Figma	Mural
Anonymous Zones	✅ Unique	❌	❌	⚪ Partial
AI Agents	✅ Unique	❌	⚪ AI beta	⚪ AI beta
Private Storage (Poker)	✅	⚪ Plugin	❌	⚪ Plugin
Stealth Spectate	✅ Unique	❌	⚪ Observe	❌
Custom Components	✅ Full SDK	⚪ Limited	❌	⚪ Apps
Webhooks	✅ Full	✅	⚪ Limited	✅
Frames + Lock Modes	✅	⚪ Frames only	⚪ Sections	✅
Pricing	$99/mo	$499/mo	$144/mo	$349/mo

Why BoardAPI wins for business:

Privacy-first: Anonymous zones, private storage (unique in market)
AI automation: Agents automate facilitation (no competitor has this)
Developer-friendly: Full SDK for custom components
Integrations: Webhooks + API-first architecture
Price: 50-80% cheaper than alternatives

Getting Started

Try these business use cases:

Sign up for Professional plan ($99/mo, 14-day trial)
Use our Templates:
- Brainstorming Session template
- Sprint Retrospective template
- Planning Poker template
Follow setup guides:

Need Help?

Additional Resources

Frames Documentation - Structure your sessions
Student Zones Guide - Enable anonymous feedback
AI Agents Platform - Automate facilitation
Custom Components SDK - Build your own tools
Webhooks & Integrations - Connect to your stack

Business Use Cases ​

Brainstorming Session ​

The Challenge ​

The Solution ​

Results ​

Key Features Used ​

Sprint Retrospective ​

The Challenge ​

The Solution ​

Results ​

Integration Example ​

Key Features Used ​

Planning Poker ​

The Challenge ​

The Solution ​

Results ​

Export & Analytics ​

Key Features Used ​

Feature Comparison: Business Use Cases ​

Getting Started ​

Additional Resources ​

Business Use Cases

Brainstorming Session

The Challenge

The Solution

Results

Key Features Used

Sprint Retrospective

The Challenge

The Solution

Results

Integration Example

Key Features Used

Planning Poker

The Challenge

The Solution

Results

Export & Analytics

Key Features Used

Feature Comparison: Business Use Cases

Getting Started

Additional Resources