If you are working on a Task Board, the Board Settings dialog’s Column tab can now let you hide or show columns.
To use this feature, open the Board Settings dialog by clicking on the gear button that appears on the top-right corner when you are viewing a Task Board, and then switching to the COLUMNS tab.
When you hover over any column in the list an options button (three dots) will appear:
Click on that and you will see the Actions menu.:
The Columns tab of Board Settings dialog for Task Boards
This makes it easier to manage boards with large numbers of columns.
Deadlines are the invisible threads that tie projects together, ensuring that tasks are completed on time and teams stay aligned. Whether you’re working on a single task or breaking down a project into smaller, actionable steps, clear due dates make all the difference.
Efficient deadline management starts with the ability to set due dates on tasks and their components. Here’s how it works:
Set Due Dates on Task Cards
Open the task card you’re working on.
Click the “Due” button to access the calendar view.
Select a due date or adjust existing ones as needed.
This ensures the task is anchored within the project timeline and keeps everyone updated.
Break Down Bigger Tasks with Checklists
Use the Checklist feature to divide a large task into smaller, more manageable items.
Each checklist item can have its own due date, making it easy to track progress at a granular level.
Assign specific checklist items to different teammates, clarifying individual roles while staying within the context of the larger task.
Best Practices for Deadline Management
Be Specific: Avoid vague timelines, set exact dates to avoid confusion.
Prioritize Realistically: Balance workloads by assigning due dates that reflect the complexity of tasks.
Regularly Review: Update deadlines as project scopes evolve to maintain realistic expectations.
Conclusion
Integrating due dates into task management, whether for full tasks or individual checklist items, helps teams maintain clarity, focus, and productivity. By thoughtfully setting and managing deadlines, you create a workflow that adapts to your team’s needs while ensuring that nothing falls through the cracks.
When juggling multiple tasks across different stages of a project, staying organized is essential. Tags are a powerful tool that can bring structure to your workflow, helping you quickly identify, categorize, and prioritize tasks.
Whether you’re managing design mockups, backend development, or testing stages, tags make it easier to focus on what matters most.
Here’s how you can use tags to streamline your project management:
Tags act like visual markers, giving you instant insights into a task’s category or status. Here’s how you can apply them to individual task cards:
Open the Task Card: Select the task card you want to categorize.
Set Tags: Click on the Tags section in the card details. From here, you can choose from existing tags or create a new one.
Visual Cues: Once applied, the tag appears at the top of the task card, providing an at-a-glance indicator of its category or priority.
Pro Tip: Use consistent color coding for tags to make it easy to distinguish between categories, like green for “backend” tasks or blue for “design.”
How to Create Custom Tags
Custom tags allow you to tailor categorization to your team’s needs. Here’s how you can create tags:
Access Tag Settings: Go to the Settings tab of your board and select Tags.
Add a New Tag: Click on the + Add New Tag option. Give your tag a name that reflects its purpose, like “urgent,” “mockups,” or “pending.”
Pick a Color: Choose a color to make your tag visually distinct.
Save and Apply: Save the tag, and it’s ready to be used across your board.
Pro Tip: Keep tag names short and intuitive. This ensures everyone on your team can easily understand and use them effectively.
Benefits of Using Tags
Effortless Task Categorization: Tags help you group related tasks, making it easier to filter and locate them.
Enhanced Focus: Highlight tasks that need immediate attention or belong to a specific category.
Team Clarity: Ensure everyone on the team understands the task’s purpose at a glance.
Wrap-Up
Tags are more than just labels, they’re a way to simplify and enhance your task management. By using tags effectively, you can categorize, prioritize, and focus on tasks with ease, keeping your team aligned and productive.
Managing projects efficiently starts with a well-organized workflow. Breaking down your tasks into clearly defined stages can help you and your team stay aligned and productive. A structured workflow makes it easier to track progress, identify bottlenecks, and prioritize tasks effectively.
Let’s dive into how you can set up columns in your task board to maximize efficiency using the example board provided.
Columns are the backbone of your workflow. Each column represents a stage in your project, helping you visualize the flow of tasks from start to finish. The key is to ensure that your columns align with the nature of your project and the way your team works.
Steps to Set Up Workflow Columns
1. Define Your Workflow Stages
While defining Workflow Stages. think about the natural progression of your tasks.
For example:
Project Strategy: For initial planning stages, such as defining requirements or setting goals.
Project Design: Tasks related to visual and structural planning, like logo design or layout creation.
Project Development: For execution phases like coding or creating functionalities.
Testing: For ensuring everything works as expected before launching.
Completed: A final stage to send tasks that are fully done.
2. Translate Stages into Columns
Once your workflow stages are defined, turn them into columns on your task board. Start with broad categories and refine them as you better understand your team’s needs.
For example:
You can begin with essential columns like “To Do,” “In Progress,” and “Completed” to establish the basic flow.
Gradually expand these into more specific columns aligned with your workflow stages, such as “Project Strategy,” “Project Design,” “Project Development,” and “Testing”.
This approach ensures your columns are intuitive, adaptable, and tailored to the natural progression of your tasks
3. Use Columns for Specialized Needs
Consider creating columns that add value to your workflow:
Backlog: A space for tasks that are planned but not yet ready to enter the main workflow. This helps prioritize tasks when the team is ready to take on more work while keeping the active columns clean and focused.
Resources: A column to store links, documents, or other materials that support your tasks. This makes it easy for the team to access everything they need without cluttering individual task cards.
4. Remember To Keep it Simple and Intuitive
Avoid overloading your board with too many columns. Aim for clarity and simplicity so your team can easily follow the workflow.
Conclusion
A well-organized workflow begins with thoughtful column setup. By tailoring your columns to reflect your project’s natural stages and including supportive columns you can improve team efficiency and maintain clarity in your process. Start organizing your workflow today and experience the benefits!
Keeping tasks organized is essential for smooth workflows, especially when managing a high volume of items. Task numbering can add clarity and make referencing specific tasks more efficient. But manually numbering tasks? That’s time-consuming and prone to errors.
This is where Auto-Numbering comes in. With this feature, each task card is automatically assigned a unique number as soon as it’s created, ensuring every task is identifiable at a glance.
Let’s dive into how auto-numbering works and how you can enable it to streamline your projects.
Auto-numbering assigns a sequential number to each new task card on a board. This numbering is unique to the board and helps teams quickly refer to tasks in discussions, reports, or updates without confusion.
How to Enable Auto-Numbering
Access Board Settings: Click on the gear icon in the top-right corner of the board to open the settings menu.
Enable the Option: Under the Settings tab, toggle the Auto-Numbering of Tasks option to activate it.
See It in Action: From now on, every new task card created on the board will automatically display a unique number in the title area.
Why Auto-Numbering Matters
Quick Task Reference: Numbers make it easier to reference specific tasks during meetings or while collaborating with teammates.
Clear Communication: Instead of describing tasks in detail, simply refer to them by their assigned number for faster communication.
Efficient Organization: Task numbering adds an extra layer of structure to your board, making it easier to track and manage.
Real-Life Applications
Project Reporting: Quickly list task numbers in updates or documentation for clarity.
Team Discussions: Refer to tasks by their number during team meetings to avoid confusion.
Progress Tracking: Easily identify which numbered tasks are completed or still in progress.
Conclusion
Auto-numbering brings simplicity and order to task management, eliminating the hassle of manually keeping track of task identifiers. Whether you’re managing a complex project or a small workflow, this feature ensures every task is easily recognizable and trackable.
We have had a 30-day free trial period for new users for a very long time, but we have long seen that people don’t really need the full 4 weeks to make up their mind about whether Kerika is what they are looking for, or not.
In fact, a trial period has a disadvantage in that people tend to forget they are in a free trial until they start getting reminders that the trial is about to end!
A more practical — and industry-standard — approach is to offer 14-day free trial from now on. This should provide ample time to make up your mind about whether Kerika is the best way for your remote team to get more done!
When managing tasks in any project, bottlenecks can slow progress and make it difficult to identify where attention is needed most. That’s where Work-in-Progress (WIP) Limits come in.
By setting clear limits on how many tasks can be in progress at any given time, WIP Limits help you manage workload effectively, ensuring smooth task flow across your projects.
Let’s break down how WIP Limits work and how they can improve your team’s efficiency.
WIP Limits set a cap on the number of tasks allowed in specific columns on your board. For example, if a column is titled “In Progress,” you can set a limit of 5 tasks, ensuring the team doesn’t overload themselves or lose focus.
This method aligns with lean project management practices, helping teams balance capacity and avoid unnecessary delays.
How to Set WIP Limits
Open the Board Settings: Click on the gear icon in the top-right corner of your board to access the board settings.
Enable WIP Limits: Under the Settings tab, toggle the “Work-in-Progress (WIP) Limits” option to activate it.
Set Column-Specific Limits: Go to the Columns tab and assign specific WIP Limits to each column based on your team’s workload.
Why WIP Limits Work
Prevent Overload: Limiting tasks ensures your team focuses on what’s already in progress before starting new ones.
Identify Bottlenecks: When a column reaches its WIP Limit, it’s a signal that tasks need attention before more can be added.
Improve Task Flow: WIP Limits help your team work efficiently, moving tasks through the pipeline without overwhelming any stage of the process.
Real-World Benefits
Balanced Workload: Teams stay focused and productive without the stress of too many tasks piling up.
Improved Collaboration: Clear limits encourage teams to finish tasks collaboratively before starting new ones.
Better Task Prioritization: Focus shifts naturally to high-priority tasks to keep the workflow moving.
Conclusion
Work-in-Progress Limits bring structure and clarity to task management, making it easier to identify bottlenecks and maintain a steady workflow.
Managing access to your project boards is a key part of keeping your work organized and secure. Whether you’re working on a private team project or something meant for wider collaboration, privacy settings let you control who can see and use your boards.
Only People on the Team:This setting ensures that only the people explicitly added to the board can see or interact with it. It’s perfect for projects where confidentiality is critical, like sensitive internal workflows or restricted client projects.
Everyone in Account Team:Need a little more visibility without opening it up to the whole world? With this setting, all members within your account team can view the board. It’s ideal for internal projects where team-wide transparency is helpful, but control is still important.
Anyone with the Link:Want maximum accessibility? This option allows anyone with the board’s link to view it – even if they don’t have a Kerika account. However, keep in mind that while they can see the board, they won’t be able to make changes unless they’re explicitly added as a team member or admin.
Key Things to Know:
Public Boards and File Visibility:When you set a board to “Anyone with the Link,” all files attached to the board become publicly accessible. If you’re using integrations like Google Drive, this means those documents will also be open to anyone with the link.
Account-Specific Restrictions:If you’re using a paid Google Workspace account, Google’s policies may prevent you from setting a board to “Anyone with the Link.” This ensures compliance with organizational security protocols.
How to Adjust Privacy Settings:
Open your board and go to Settings.
Under the Privacy section, choose the level of access that fits your needs.
Save your changes, and you’re good to go!
Conclusion: Privacy settings give you the flexibility to manage who can see and interact with your boards, making collaboration secure and seamless. Whether you’re sharing with a small team or opening a board for public viewing, you’re in full control.
Assigning tasks clearly and efficiently is the cornerstone of effective teamwork. But here’s the thing: not all tools make it easy to assign tasks to more than one person. And let’s face it, many tasks often require collaboration from multiple people to get done right.
Some tools let you assign tasks to just one person, which can leave teams scrambling to figure out responsibilities. However, there’s a way to assign tasks to multiple team members effortlessly, ensuring everyone stays in sync and collaboration flows naturally.
Here’s how task assignment works and how you can break big tasks into smaller, manageable pieces using checklists:
For larger tasks that need to be broken into smaller steps, Using checklists, you can assign subtasks to specific team members, ensuring every detail is handled:
Add a Checklist to the Task: Open the task and navigate to the Checklist tab.
Break It Down: Add each subtask as a checklist item.
Assign Subtasks: Assign individual checklist items to one or more team members, ensuring every step has a clear owner.
Why It Works:
Simplifies big tasks by organizing them into smaller, actionable steps.
Ensures accountability at every level of the task.
Wrapping up
Efficient task assignment is key to fostering collaboration and ensuring accountability within a team. By assigning tasks to multiple teammates or breaking them into smaller subtasks with checklists, you create clarity and streamline workflows. These features allow teams to stay organized, align responsibilities, and work together seamlessly to achieve their goals.
We have noticed attempts by Chinese spammers to exploit Kerika, and we are taking some measures to reduce this hassle. We used to block these spammers one-by-one, but that is obviously time-consuming, especially when a bunch of them try the same trick, which is sending out dozens or hundreds of invitations to people to join them in their Kerika boards.
These spammers are using VPNs to appear as if they are from other countries, but there was a pattern to their use of Kerika: all the team invitations they sent out involve the same destination: qq.com, which is a major Chinese web portal operated by Tencent, primarily known for its instant messaging service, QQ.
While we support Chinese as a language, we don’t have any legitimate users in China since China blocks Google and so many other services. Which means that there will never be a legitimate use to add people from the qq.com domain to a Kerika board.
There’s a simple block we are introducing: we will keep a blacklist of domains, including qq.com, where the system will stop you from adding team members. This will help cut off Chinese spammers who are targeting other people from China.
