Back in 2007 we were a chaotic little web development agency struggling to track the dozens of details in each project and organize our work. We couldn’t find the tools we needed, so we built Teamwork Projects, which has gone from basic level task management to a fully fledged collaborative pm tool.
Over the years, we’ve added features that allowed you to create your own process for managing a project. In order to maintain that flexibility, it means that we don’t stick to one project management methodology. Instead, we like to take key concepts and add them without constraints to the app. For our latest feature release we have once again adopted this way of thinking and now, we’d like to tell you all about the latest gem that sits among the Teamwork Projects feature set.
The eagle eyed among you will have noticed a new icon appear on the app at the very end of last week. For those who didn’t though, we are absolutely buzzing to tell you that we have just released one of our most sought after features in recent years: Board View for Tasks.
With this latest addition, you can create a visual workflow for your tasks so you can easily see the progress of any project. Now you and and your entire team can organize your work in cards akin to virtual sticky notes and move them across columns as work progresses or statuses change. Best of all, this feature co-exists with the existing task management hierarchy so you can move easily between List View and Board View on your Teamwork Projects site.
How can Board View improve my team’s performance?
We live in a visual world, and you’ll find that Board View for Tasks gives managers and team members the chance to create, change and view tasks in progress quickly and intuitively. Here’s how Board View will improve your team’s efficiency:
Easily and instantly identify the progress of a project and watch the statuses of various tasks change as they move from column to column.
Know the status of every task on the Board and understand who’s working on what, this is particularly useful for anyone working with a large volume of tasks daily.
Reveal the logistics of your project.
For many people, the project’s “aha!” moment comes only when seeing their actual process presented visually and how they fit into the ecosystem of that project.
Set up a board very quickly to suit each project and the process you use within it. Board View allows you to instantly visualize a workflow that you have created.
Get an immediate sense of accomplishment and motivation watching your project move along the various stages of completion across your board!
How to Use Board View
To get started with your first board, you’ll need to switch to Board View. To do this, go to the tasks section in the project where you’d like to create your board. On the top right hand corner of the screen, directly underneath the Add Task List button, you will see the list and board view options. The short video below will help you create your first board.
Explore the features of Board View
Choose Your View: The great thing about having Board View and List View coexist is that you’re not tied to using either one. You can switch between views at anytime. One really useful thing to note is that even if you’re viewing your tasks elsewhere — like the ‘Everything’ area — you’ll see a label for their current column so you don’t need to switch back to Board View to check where they are. This option is not available in many of the existing apps in the market place.
Drag and drop: You can easily move cards across columns to show a change in status. This is really helpful as you watch your project progress. For example, you might move a card from the “in progress” column to the “done” column. Customize your card: Show as much or as little detail as you like on your cards by selecting the column settings menu and customizing the information you want to see.
Automatic Sort: There is also a sorting option that creates an automatic sort on each of your columns so that it shows your cards in groups based on particular criteria. If you like your information displayed in a certain way for easier reading, then you’ll love this feature.
Archive completed cards: Unlike the List View where completed tasks are hidden when you reload the page, the archive feature gives you control over which completed cards are displayed on the board view. This means that you can always see what has and has not been completed until you choose to clean up your board.
Filters: Whether you want to search a single column for something specific or search all columns at once, you can easily filter data on the new board view. WebHooks: We are always improving Teamwork Projects, but we understand the need for custom functionality. We have added WebHook support to round off this feature and help you make Teamwork Projects completely your own. More information on WebHooks can be found here. Default Columns: If you have standard columns that you’d like to add to the board view on all your new projects, you can create these in the templates area of your site settings so you don’t need to add them every time you create a new project.
Speed: Last but not least , Board View is lightning fast. You’ll be creating columns and moving cards in an instant. It’s on Mobile!* : Our mobile app is going from strength to strength and the addition of Board View is on mobile is a testament to that. This beautifully designed feature means that when you’re on the move, you can intuitively interact with the cards with just a few taps and get the perfect snapshot of how your project is progressing. Available on IOS and Android will be available by the end of this week.
* Board View on mobile is available to paid users only.
Try Board View Now
With that, let you explore this exciting new feature. There lots of useful information available in this article from our help docs site should you need it. We’re also available through support@teamwork.com. This is the first release of Board View for Tasks, but we will be adding more amazing elements to it as time goes on. If you’ve been using Board View since we released it last week, we’d love to hear your feedback and suggestions in the comments below. Is there something in particular that you love that’s already changing the way you work? Let us know!