Customising Board Columns

Board columns keep board cards organised in their various stages of progress. They can be used to create a workflow where cards are easily dragged and dropped across columns between start and finish stages! Or, they can simply act as a place to keep track of the number of tasks are open at any given stage! 

By default, a new board has the following three columns:

• Not Started
• In Progress
• Completed

However, you can change these columns to reflect any status that your board requires. There is no limit to the number of columns you can add to a board, and they can be arranged as you like, to suit the workflow that the board requires.

NOTE: The status of the tasks in the right column of a board is always set to Completed, regardless of the column name. The status of the tasks in the preceding columns is set to Open.

Board settings page

You can customise board columns at the time of the board creation, or by navigating to the Board settings page if the board already exists. 

• To access the board settings page, click on the Edit button on the top right of the board, or backlog page.
  
  

Note: Only Board owners can access the board settings page and customise themes.

Customising board columns

The board column section of the board settings page allows you to create new columns, update the column definition, or delete existing columns.

• To add a new column, click on the Add Column button.
• To reorder columns, click and drag on the spine of the column card.
• To delete a column, click on the x icon.

Each column is defined by the following fields:

• Status: Each column must have a status name. The status indicates the current stage of tasks within the column (e.g., Not Started, In Progress, Done).   
• Mark As Complete: Indicates that tasks in this column are completed. Please refer to the Completed States section below to learn more about this field.
• Owners: Specifies the individuals responsible for overseeing the tasks within this column.
• Resolution Time: Sets a maximum duration that tasks should remain in this column before moving on.
• Automated Decisions: Automatically assign decisions to the designated column owners whenever tasks are moved into the column. Further details can be found in the dedicated section below.

NOTE: You need to save the changes for them to be applied. 

Enhanced Flexibility with Multiple 'Completed' States in Process Boards

Automated Decision Workflows

The Automated Decision Workflows within process boards can be used to enhance project management efficiency and support PMOs in maintaining rigorous governance and oversight. It allows board owners to configure specific columns so that when a card is moved into these columns, a decision is automatically created and assigned to the column owners.

Key Benefits:

• Automated Decision Triggers: When a card is moved to a particular column, a decision is automatically created and assigned to the column owners. This is particularly important in processes such as project intake or stage gate reviews, where approvals are required to move forward. This feature ensures that decisions are automatically initiated when needed. This helps avoid delays, as decisions are promptly assigned to the relevant owners without requiring manual intervention, keeping projects progressing smoothly through each stage.

• Tracking and Auditing: Automated decisions are linked directly to the associated task and appear in the owners' action dashboards, providing a clear and auditable trail. This enhances accountability and ensures that all decisions are documented and easily accessible for review.

• Improved Workflow Management: By integrating automated decision triggers directly into process boards, project managers and PMOs can ensure that critical decision points within workflows are consistently addressed. 

The automated decisions will be created as follow-on decisions on the specific board task and the owner of the column will receive the notification of the decision in their My Items.