How to Use ClickUp Software Development Templates
ClickUp software development templates give teams a fast way to standardize workflows, track progress, and improve collaboration from idea to release. This how-to guide walks you step-by-step through choosing, customizing, and using these templates for real projects.
Below, you will learn how to set up agile boards, manage backlogs, document requirements, and report on progress using prebuilt layouts based on the official ClickUp software development templates guide.
Why Use ClickUp for Software Development
Before you start applying templates, it helps to understand how ClickUp supports the entire software development lifecycle.
- Centralizes requirements, tasks, bugs, and documentation
- Supports agile frameworks like Scrum and Kanban
- Automates repetitive workflows with statuses and automations
- Improves visibility for product, engineering, and QA teams
Using the right template means you do not have to design your system from scratch. You can start from a proven structure and adapt it to your own stack, process, and team size.
Getting Started With ClickUp Development Templates
The first step is to choose the right template for your development process. ClickUp offers different templates to support planning, execution, and QA.
Step 1: Identify Your ClickUp Space
Decide where your development work will live inside ClickUp.
- Create or open a Space dedicated to Product or Engineering.
- Inside that Space, plan to create Folders for products, services, or major components.
- Within each Folder, you will add Lists using software development templates.
Having a clear hierarchy helps stakeholders find roadmaps, sprints, and bugs quickly.
Step 2: Choose the Right ClickUp Template Type
Different software teams need different structures. From the source material, here are common software development template styles to look for and apply:
- Agile Scrum or Sprint template for time-boxed iterations
- Kanban board template for continuous flow work
- Product roadmap template for long-term planning
- Bug and issue tracking template for QA and support
- Release management template for versioned deployments
Select templates that match how your team already works, then refine the details inside ClickUp rather than reinventing the process.
How to Apply a ClickUp Software Development Template
Once you have selected a template from the gallery or from the template picker in your Workspace, follow these steps to deploy it.
Step 3: Add the ClickUp Template to a Folder or List
- Open the Space and Folder where your project will live.
- Create a new List and choose the option to use a template.
- Search for the related software development template name.
- Preview the statuses, views, and example tasks.
- Apply the template to create your new List structure.
This process copies ready-made views, statuses, and sample tasks into your environment so you can begin configuring them.
Step 4: Customize Statuses and Fields in ClickUp
The default template will ship with generic development statuses and fields. Adjust them so they match your real workflow.
- Edit statuses to reflect your lifecycle, for example: Backlog, Ready, In Progress, Code Review, QA, Ready for Release, Done.
- Add Custom Fields such as Priority, Story Points, Environment, Component, or Sprint.
- Configure assignees based on your team members and roles.
Customizing at this stage ensures that every future story, task, or bug added to this List follows the same structure.
Using ClickUp for Agile Planning and Backlogs
After your base structure is ready, you can begin planning product work and populating your backlog inside ClickUp.
Step 5: Build Your Product Backlog
Use the List view or Board view from the template to capture all ideas and requirements.
- Create Epics or large features as parent tasks.
- Add user stories or technical tasks as subtasks.
- Include acceptance criteria in the task description.
- Use Custom Fields for estimates, impact, and priority.
The templates from the source article are designed to help you separate long-term ideas from sprint-ready work while still keeping them in one coherent system.
Step 6: Plan Sprints in ClickUp
Many development templates include sprint folders or special sprint Lists.
- Decide your sprint length (for example, two weeks).
- Create a new sprint List using the sprint template.
- Move or link selected stories from the backlog into the sprint.
- Verify each story has an estimate and owner.
Use ClickUp views such as Board, List, and Calendar to align your sprint scope and deadlines with the rest of your product schedule.
Managing Development Work With ClickUp Views
Each template uses multiple views so you can see the same development data in different ways.
Step 7: Track Work on Agile Boards
Open the Board view configured by your template to follow task progress.
- Drag cards across columns that represent your custom statuses.
- Filter by assignee to see what each developer is working on.
- Use swimlanes (for example, by Epic or priority) if available.
Board views give your engineering team a fast visual overview of the sprint or project state inside ClickUp.
Step 8: Use List and Gantt Views for Planning
Templates typically provide List and Gantt views for project managers and product leads.
- List view highlights details like estimates, due dates, and dependencies.
- Gantt view displays timelines, critical paths, and relationships between tasks.
- Calendar view helps align releases and milestones with external events.
Switch views frequently so you can spot schedule risks early and adjust scope or resources accordingly.
Handling Bugs and QA in ClickUp
Dedicated bug tracking templates let QA and support teams log, triage, and resolve issues without losing context.
Step 9: Configure a ClickUp Bug Tracking Template
- Create a new List using a bug or issue tracking template.
- Customize severity and priority fields.
- Set statuses like New, Triaged, In Progress, In QA, and Resolved.
- Link bug tasks to user stories or Epics they affect.
Because everything sits in the same Workspace, engineers can open a bug and immediately see related work, requirements, and release notes.
Step 10: Standardize QA Test Cases
Some templates support test case management within the same Space.
- Create tasks for specific test cases or suites.
- Use checklists for step-by-step test execution.
- Attach screenshots, logs, or recordings for failed tests.
- Relate test tasks to bugs and features for traceability.
This makes it easier to verify fixes and maintain a repeatable QA process in ClickUp.
Reporting on Development Progress in ClickUp
Software development templates also include views or configurations that support metrics and reporting.
Step 11: Monitor Velocity and Throughput
Use prebuilt dashboards and views to track how much work the team is completing each sprint.
- Report on completed story points or tasks.
- Review cycle time between statuses.
- Spot bottlenecks where tasks get stuck.
Even if you build dashboards from scratch, using the same task structure from templates ensures your analytics stay accurate and consistent.
Step 12: Share Stakeholder-Friendly Views
ClickUp templates usually include views tuned for non-technical audiences.
- High-level project or roadmap views for leadership.
- Release views that summarize versions, dates, and features.
- Simple status views that highlight risks and blockers.
Instead of exporting static reports, you can invite stakeholders to read live data directly in read-only views.
Best Practices for Adapting ClickUp Templates
To get long-term value from your software development templates, follow a few best practices.
- Start simple and only add complexity as your team matures.
- Standardize naming across Spaces, Folders, Lists, and statuses.
- Review your setup at the end of each release cycle and iterate.
- Train your team to use fields and statuses consistently in ClickUp.
If you need expert help configuring your workspace, you can work with implementation partners and consultants such as Consultevo to design scalable processes.
Next Steps With ClickUp Software Development Templates
Using ClickUp software development templates lets your team skip setup headaches and move straight into delivering value. Start by choosing a template that matches your methodology, customize statuses and fields, and then gradually expand into sprints, bug tracking, QA, and reporting.
By iterating on a proven template foundation, you create a consistent, transparent system that supports every stage of planning, building, testing, and shipping software.
Need Help With ClickUp?
If you want expert help building, automating, or scaling your ClickUp workspace, work with ConsultEvo — trusted ClickUp Solution Partners.
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