A story map that isn't your Jira board.
CardBoard is a user story map that links to Jira without being made of Jira. Easy Agile TeamRhythm draws its map from your board: epics form the backbone, rank sets the order, and every drag changes a Jira field. In CardBoard you can map before the issues exist, place each card where the user's journey needs it, and sync title, description, status, and assignee both ways. Easy Agile fits better if you want the map and the backlog to be one thing, inside Jira.
One tool reads Jira. The other writes the plan Jira follows.
Easy Agile TeamRhythm is a well-liked Jira app, installed on more than 3,000 sites. It turns a Jira board into a story map: epics across the top, issues beneath them, sprints or versions as rows. Change the map and you've changed Jira. For a team whose plan already lives in the backlog, that's exactly right.
Story mapping was invented for the step before that. Jeff Patton's method starts with the user's journey and asks what the smallest useful release would be, often before anyone writes a ticket. CardBoard, built in 2012 by David Hussman alongside Patton, is made for that step, and keeps the map linked to Jira once the work is real.
CardBoard vs Easy Agile TeamRhythm.
| CardBoard | Easy Agile | |
|---|---|---|
| The map | ||
| Where it lives | Its own app, linked to a Jira project | Inside Jira, drawn from a Jira board |
| What's on it | Any card you add. Link a card to a Jira issue when the work is real. | The issues the board's filter returns. Every card is a Jira issue. |
| The backbone | Any activities you name | Epics, with an optional level above them such as Initiative |
| Moving a card | Changes nothing in Jira | Changes the issue's epic, sprint or fix version, or rank |
| Other maps | More than twenty map types, from retrospectives to opportunity trees | Story map only, alongside retrospectives and planning poker |
| Jira | ||
| Fields | Title, description, status, assignee, and story points both ways. | It is the Jira issue. Summary, estimate, assignee, status, priority, and type edit inline. |
| Sprints and versions | Stay in Jira | Swimlanes are sprints or versions, and dragging updates them |
| Hosting | Jira Cloud | Jira Cloud, Data Center, and Server |
| Other trackers | Azure DevOps, Linear, Shortcut, Trello | Jira only |
| People | ||
| Who can see the map | Anyone you invite, with or without Jira | People with access to the Jira board |
| Guests | Free on every plan, and can edit the map | No guest access documented |
| Live collaboration | Live cursors, visible selections, follow a teammate | Not documented |
| Plans and AI | ||
| Free | Free plan with three boards | Free for Jira sites up to 10 users |
| Who you pay for | Members who author. Guests are free. | Every user on the Jira site |
| Jira sync starts at | Pro, $10 a month billed annually | $2.80 per Jira user a month, lower per user on large sites |
| AI | MCP server on every plan. Agent edits arrive as proposals a member accepts. | Team Insights explains flow metrics for retros. No AI on the map. |
Easy Agile facts from its own site and help center, checked September 28, 2026: Board configuration, Editing on the map, Issue hierarchy, Swimlanes, Permissions, Team Insights, Marketplace listing and pricing. CardBoard facts from our docs and pricing.
What changes when the map isn't the board.
Map before anything is in Jira
Every card on an Easy Agile map is a Jira issue, so the map starts after the backlog exists. A story mapping session usually starts before that, with sketches nobody wants in Jira yet. In CardBoard, cards stay plain until the team commits, then you link them or send them to Jira as new issues.
The layout answers to the user, not the board
In Easy Agile, a card's column is its epic, its row is its sprint or version, and its height is its rank. That keeps the map honest about delivery. It also means you can't set a story beside the step it serves unless Jira already agrees. CardBoard never lets Jira move a card, so the map can show the journey while the board shows the plan.
Everyone in the room can take part
An Easy Agile map is visible to people with access to the Jira board. Customers and designers outside Jira can't open it. CardBoard guests are free on every plan and can edit the map. Edits to Jira-linked fields still go through a workspace member's own Atlassian account.
Field by field, with setup: story mapping with Jira.
Stay with Easy Agile if:
- You want the story map and the Jira backlog to be the same data, with no second tool and no sync.
- You want sprints and fix versions as the map's rows, and dragging a card to plan the sprint.
- You run Jira Data Center or Server. CardBoard connects to Jira Cloud only.
- You want retrospectives and planning poker in the same app, with retro actions becoming Jira issues.
- Your Jira site has ten users or fewer, so the app is free, or so many users that the per-user price is tiny.
Frequently asked questions
- What's the best Easy Agile alternative for story mapping?
- It depends on whether you want the map to be your Jira board. If you do, Easy Agile TeamRhythm and other Jira apps are built for it. If you want to map before the work is in Jira, place cards by the user's journey, or bring in people without Jira accounts, a standalone story mapping tool that syncs with Jira fits better. CardBoard and StoriesOnBoard both work that way. The full field is on our comparison of story mapping tools.
- Does moving a card in CardBoard change my Jira sprint or rank?
- No. Position, release slice, and color never sync. Title, description, status, assignee, and story points sync both ways. You can recut a release on the map and your Jira sprints stay where they are.
- Can I start a CardBoard map from my Jira board?
- Yes. Connect a board to a Jira project, optionally narrowed by a saved Jira filter, then drag issues from the tracker drawer onto the map or import several at once. Parent links are read on the way in.
- Is CardBoard on the Atlassian Marketplace?
- Not yet. You connect Jira from inside CardBoard, and each member who edits linked cards signs in with their own Atlassian account.
- What does CardBoard cost compared with Easy Agile?
- Easy Agile is billed for every user on your Jira site, and it's free up to ten. CardBoard charges for members who author maps, from $10 a month on Pro, and guests are always free. Which is cheaper depends on the size of your Jira site and how many people build maps.
Comparing more tools? See the best user story mapping tools or CardBoard vs StoriesOnBoard.
Map the release before you ticket it.
Start a map free and invite the whole room. Connect Jira when the plan is ready, from $10 a month.