Kanban View

Kanban View is one of the main interfaces for managing work in TaskRay. With flexible controls and dynamic options for managing work, you can shape your Kanban workspace to support the workflow that works best for you. 

In this article, we provide an overview of the main functionality of Kanban View and showcase how users can incorporate the view into their daily workflows.

Kanban View | Guided Walkthrough

Kanban View | Functionality Review

Kanban Layouts

Kanban presents two layout options to organize tasks on the board: 

• Columns: Traditional Kanban board where tasks are organized into columns representing task statuses. 
• Rows: Streamlined, list-based visualization where tasks across all status lists are placed into a single column.

You can switch between these layouts using the control in the top right corner of the view header:

Columns Layout

The Columns layout organizes tasks into columns that represent different status lists, providing a quick visual representation of how the work is distributed on projects. Out of the box, TaskRay comes pre-configured with four columns/status lists: Holding, Prioritized, Started, and Finished. Tasks can be moved between columns throughout the course of a project to progress of work.

You can temporarily hide a column and all of its tasks from the view using the Columns filter found at the top of the board. As an example, this can be useful if you would like to hide all of the finished tasks to keep your view focused on open work.

Rows Layout

The Rows layout organizes tasks across all status lists into a single column. This is a great option for simplified visualization of work, allowing you to quickly scan rows of tasks and work through them in a list-like format.

Task Details

In Kanban view, the tasks are represented by cards in the Columns layout, and as rows in the Rows layout. In both layouts, you will find key information displayed for each task, allowing you to reference important task details at a glance. You can hover over the elements on the card to view additional information.

Task Card in Columns Layout

Task Row in Rows Layout

Task Sorting and Grouping

In Kanban View, you can leverage the Sort By and Group By controls to dynamically organize tasks. These controls can be used together, giving you flexibility in how you can view and manage work on projects.

Task Sorting

Tasks can be re-sorted within columns using the Sort By control found in the top right corner of the view:

Out of the box, TaskRay provides a set of default options for sorting, allowing you to organize tasks in any way necessary for your workflow. Most sorting options are based on task field values. For example, you can sort tasks by Estimated End Date to place the tasks nearing their assigned due dates at the top within each column. Another example is to sort tasks by Priority, which will allow you to pinpoint the tasks that are designated as high priority quickly.

In the Columns layout, you can also use a special sorting option, which is Whiteboard Sort. Whiteboard Sort provides additional flexibility to move and place tasks in any order within the columns. You can use this option to organize tasks in a custom order that is necessary for your workflow and prioritization purposes.

Grouping

You can also leverage the Group By feature to reorganize tasks into sections based on various criteria. This is a helpful option for visualizing work in a more focused way.

To do this, use the Group By menu found at the top of the view and select one of the available options. The following options are available for grouping: Task Group, Task Owner, Priority, Project, and Estimated End Date. Additionally, in the Rows layout, you can also group by List.

Once a grouping option is selected, the board will visualize sets of tasks in horizontal sections according to the selected criteria. For example, if the Priority option is selected, tasks will be organized into sections according to their assigned Priority values, such as Low, Normal, or High. Similarly, if the Task Group option is selected, tasks will be organized into the sections that represent their assigned task groups.

When the view is set to group by, the tasks within each grouping will be sorted according to the selected option in the Sort By menu.

When using the group by functionality, it is possible to move tasks between groupings to update relevant field values. For example, if the tasks are grouped by Priority, moving a task from one grouping (e.g., Normal) to another (e.g., High) will update the task's Priority value accordingly. Similarly, it is also possible to create tasks within specific groupings, which will automatically pre-populate applicable field values on the newly created tasks. For more information, see the section on creating tasks.

Filtering

Kanban View incorporates robust filtering options in the left sidebar to help you stay organized and quickly refine visible projects and tasks. Filters can help streamline your workflow by providing efficient ways to locate your work or view needed subsets of projects and tasks.

Task Management

Manage and Complete Tasks

When managing assigned tasks, it is important to keep their statuses aligned with the current progress of work. Keep in mind: if you ever need to review detailed information or make field-level updates to the task as it is being worked on, double-click on the task card to open the task's detail modal.

Kanban View provides several options for managing task status updates and designating work as complete.

Columns Layout

In the Columns layout, you can move tasks across different columns to update their statuses as you work through them. When the work reaches completion, tasks can be moved to the column representing the final stage (e.g. Finished).

Rows Layout

In the Rows layout, you have a couple of options for managing task status updates, both of which leverage the Group By functionality:

1. Group By List: The List option is exclusive to the Rows layout. When this option is selected, tasks will be organized into groupings representing each status value. To update tasks, simply move them into the groupings that represent their progress of work.
2. Group By Estimated End Date: When using this option in the Rows layout, you will find a Completed grouping. You can move tasks into this grouping to designate them as finished.

Create Tasks

There could be times when you might need to create new tasks on projects, such as to account for an ad-hoc activity or other relevant work. When creating a new task in Kanban View, you have the option to either add it directly to a grouping or create it as ungrouped. 

In Kanban View, the quickest approach to create tasks is when viewing a single project or when a Group By selection is applied. 

1. Navigate to the project that you would like to add the new task to. This is done via the left sidebar using filters. 

   1. Option 1: Leverage the Single Project Search option and navigate to the project directly.

      

   2. Option 2: Select a specific project in the PROJECTS section in the left sidebar.
2. With the applicable project selected in Kanban View:
   1. If Kanban is not grouped by any criteria: To add a new task to the project, click on the plus icon in the top left corner above the tasks.
   2. If Kanban is grouped by any criteria: 
      1. In the top right corner, set Group By to the applicable option.
      2. Locate the applicable grouping and click on the plus icon in its header.
3. This will expose the Create Task field. Type the name of the new task and hit Enter on your keyboard. This will create a new card for the task.

Kanban View | In-App & Lightning Component

Kanban View is available as an in-app view and as a Lightning component. The Lightning component can be added to record pages in Salesforce, such as on Accounts and Opportunities. The component will function within the context of the record where it is viewed, displaying projects and tasks related to the record.