CardBoard

CardBoard is designed for rapid adoption and ease of use, especially by product teams practicing Agile, Scrum, or SAFe frameworks. The implementation process is straightforward and typically involves the following steps:

• Sign Up: New users can start by signing up for a free trial. No credit card is required for activation, making the onboarding process frictionless.

• Invite Team Members: If you are invited by an existing user, you simply follow the invitation link to create your own member account and join the workspace.

• Create Boards: Once logged in, users can immediately begin creating story maps, roadmaps, and other product discovery frameworks using digital sticky notes and structured board links.

• Integrate with Existing Tools: CardBoard supports integration with other tools to enhance backlog management and storytelling. Integration is typically self-service and can be configured from within the platform.

• Collaborate and Customize: Teams can collaborate in real time, segment boards with dividers, and prioritize work. The tool is designed to be intuitive, so minimal setup is required before teams can start mapping out their projects.

• Access Support and Training: Email and Intercom chat support are available to all users. CardBoard provides direct assistance and resources to help new users become productive quickly.

• Flexible Board Design: Users can create and modify boards, story maps, and workflows to match their team’s processes. Boards can include custom titles, detailed text, images, annotations, and color coding, making it easy to visualize different journeys, workflows, or test paths.

• Integration with Popular Tools: CardBoard integrates with project management platforms like Jira, Confluence, TFS, VersionOne, and Pivotal Tracker. This allows teams to sync data and visualize progress within their existing tool ecosystem.

• Custom Templates: The platform provides customizable templates that teams can adapt to standardize and streamline their processes.

• User Roles and Access Levels: CardBoard supports different user roles, including read-only access, which can be configured to suit team structures and collaboration needs.

• Enterprise Features: For larger organizations, the Enterprise plan includes advanced options like Single Sign-On (SSO), static IP whitelisting, and onboarding support, which are important for security and compliance customization.

• API Availability: CardBoard does not currently offer an API, which means some types of deep system integration or automation may not be possible.

• Subscription Fees: CardBoard uses a subscription pricing model:
  • Essential: $10 per user per month
  • Professional: $12 per user per month
  • Enterprise: $15 per user per month

  • Starter and Team plans are also available, with Starter at $9 per month and Team at $29 per month (or $299 per year).

• Free Trial: There is a 14-day free trial, allowing teams to test the software before committing.

• Setup Fees: There are no setup fees for standard onboarding or account creation.

• Maintenance Fees: Ongoing maintenance, updates, and new features are included in the subscription cost. No separate maintenance fees are charged.

• Support Charges:
  • Essential and Professional plans include standard support (chat, email/help desk, FAQs, and phone support).

  • Enterprise and AWS GovCloud plans include premium support and onboarding, which are bundled into the higher subscription fee.

• Customization Fees: There are no extra charges for customizing boards, templates, or integrations within the existing features. However, highly specialized custom development or unique feature requests may require negotiation and could incur additional costs, though this is not explicitly stated.

• No API-related Costs: Since there is no API, there are no charges related to API access or custom integrations.

• No Hidden Fees: There are no references to hidden fees for standard features, integrations, or support.

CardBoard provides several options to help new users get started and succeed:

• Email and Chat Support: All users can access support via email and chat. The support team is available to answer questions, resolve issues, and provide guidance.

• Onboarding Assistance: New users, whether joining as individuals or as part of a team, receive onboarding help. This includes support during account setup and initial use of the platform.

• Resource Availability: While there is no mention of formal training courses or extensive documentation, CardBoard emphasizes responsive, direct support. Users are encouraged to reach out for help, and the team provides tailored assistance.

• Enterprise Onboarding: For enterprise customers, onboarding support is included in premium plans. This ensures large teams can adopt and integrate CardBoard smoothly into their workflows.

CardBoard implements a range of security measures to safeguard user data:

• Data Encryption: All data is encrypted both in transit (using SSL) and at rest (using AES-256 encryption), protecting information from unauthorized access.

• Secure Infrastructure: The platform operates on secure cloud infrastructure, with services and databases accessible only within a private network and not exposed to the public internet.

• Authentication: CardBoard supports Single Sign-On (SSO) and can enforce Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) for added account security. Support for hardware tokens and modern authentication methods is also available.

• Payment Security: Payment processing is handled by trusted third-party providers, ensuring that CardBoard does not store any payment card data. These providers are certified to the highest industry standards.

• Disaster Recovery: CardBoard maintains continuous database protection and can restore data from backups up to 30 days in the past. Automated monitoring and redeployment help ensure high availability.

• Employee Security: Employees undergo background checks and receive ongoing security training to minimize risks.

• Penetration Testing and Audits: Regular penetration testing is performed, and CardBoard has undergone independent security audits to maintain high security standards.

• Audit Logging: All server requests are logged and retained for 30 days to support incident investigation and response.

• Continuous Updates: CardBoard applies software upgrades and security patches continuously, keeping the platform secure and up to date.

• No Fixed Public Release Schedule: There is no set schedule for feature updates or major releases, but the platform is maintained and improved on an ongoing basis.

• Downtime Management: In the event of outages, CardBoard has monitoring and redeployment procedures to minimize downtime and maintain business continuity.

Data Ownership:

• CardBoard explicitly states that it claims no ownership rights over the content submitted or created exclusively by users in their CardBoard Service account. Any content that belongs to the user remains their property. CardBoard only retains the limited rights necessary to provide its service, such as storing and processing the data for platform functionality.
• Reporting data collected from user activity also remains the property of the user. CardBoard may use anonymized, non-identifiable data for benchmarking or aggregated reporting, but this does not affect user ownership of their own content.

Data Portability:

• As the data owner, users have the right to request the return or deletion of their data. Upon termination of the service or upon user request, CardBoard is obligated to delete or return all personal data, subject to legal requirements for data retention (such as financial or regulatory compliance).
• The Data Processing Agreement further ensures that, upon request, all personal data will be deleted or returned to the user (data controller), except where retention is required by law.
• These rights are in line with GDPR requirements, ensuring users can control, export, or remove their data as needed.

• CardBoard’s terms allow organizations to adjust their usage as needs change. Users can modify their subscription level, adding or removing users or features according to their current requirements.

• There are no specific penalties or restrictions mentioned for scaling up or down. Subscription changes typically take effect in the next billing cycle, allowing organizations to respond flexibly to growth or reduction in team size.

• The Terms of Service and Data Processing Agreement remain in effect as long as the account is active. If an organization decides to terminate its use of CardBoard, the agreement ends, and data handling obligations (such as deletion or return of data) are triggered.

• CardBoard notifies users of any material changes to terms, and continued use of the service signifies acceptance of updated terms.

Cancellation:

• Users are solely responsible for cancelling their CardBoard account. Cancellations must be performed directly from the “My Communities” page by the Community Owner or authorized Administrators. Requests via email or phone will not result in cancellation.
• Cancellation takes effect immediately. If users wish to continue accessing their account until the end of the billing cycle, they should not cancel until that cycle is complete. Once cancelled, the account is deactivated or deleted, and all content is removed. Cancelled accounts cannot be recovered or restored.
• CardBoard may retain residual account information in backups or archives for a limited time but will make reasonable efforts to delete information as soon as possible after cancellation is communicated.
• No refunds are issued for unused portions of the subscription term.
• CardBoard reserves the right to terminate free accounts with no activity for 60 days or paid accounts without a payment method 30 days after expiration.
• CardBoard may also suspend or terminate accounts for breach of terms, resulting in immediate loss of access and deletion of all content.

Renewal:

• Subscription contracts typically renew automatically at the end of each billing cycle unless cancelled by the user before the renewal date.
• Users can scale their subscription up or down as organizational needs change, with changes generally taking effect in the next billing cycle.

• GDPR Compliance: CardBoard operates under a Data Processing Agreement that meets the requirements of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). This agreement covers the processing, retention, and deletion of personal data and ensures data subjects’ rights are protected.

• PCI DSS Compliance: CardBoard uses third-party payment processors (such as Stripe and Adyen) that are certified to PCI DSS Service Provider Level 1, the highest standard for payment data security. CardBoard itself does not store or process payment card data.

• KYC/AML Compliance: For financial management features, CardBoard supports Know Your Customer (KYC) and Anti-Money Laundering (AML) requirements, ensuring regulatory compliance for organizations that need it.

• Security Best Practices: CardBoard employs industry-standard security frameworks and practices, including data encryption (SSL in transit, AES-256 at rest), SAML-based Single Sign-On (SSO), Two-Factor Authentication (2FA), and regular penetration testing.

• Independent Audits: CardBoard undergoes periodic independent security audits and ranks highly among peer platforms for security.