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Feature guide

Kanban boards

Visualize operational work by stage, manage rich board items, and synchronize board movement with tasks and workflows.

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Complete feature description

Understanding kanban boards in UserTasks

Kanban boards turn operational work into a visual flow. A board represents one process or team workspace, its ordered columns represent real stages, and each item represents a unit of work with its own fields, owner, dates, priority, image, ordering, and history.

Kanban is not a separate copy of task work. Items can be linked to UserTasks tasks, and workflow User Task activities can create linked cards automatically. This gives operators a visual planning surface while the task remains the accountable work record with assignment, forms, outcomes, reminders, and SLA behavior.

Board and item events can start workflows when work is created, updated, moved, or deleted. The event context includes the board, source and target columns, item, and linked task so automation can respond without polling the board.

When to use this feature

  • A team benefits from seeing work grouped by its current stage.
  • Operators need to prioritize and reorder work visually.
  • Task owners and managers need different views over the same accountable work.
  • Moving work into a stage should start validation, notification, or another workflow.

What you can build

  • Service-delivery boards
  • Approval and review pipelines
  • Incident and exception boards
  • Content or document production flows
  • Customer onboarding boards
  • Workflow-driven task projections

Production design notes

  • Use columns for meaningful process states rather than individual people.
  • Keep the number of stages small enough that the complete flow is understandable.
  • Link cards to tasks when assignment, outcomes, forms, reminders, or SLAs matter.
  • Treat board-event workflows as idempotent because users may move an item more than once.

Core concepts

Boards and columns

A board represents one operational flow; ordered columns represent the real stages work moves through.

Items and fields

Items carry a title, description, priority, dates, assignee, images, custom values, ordering, and links to related work.

Task synchronization

A workflow User Task can create and link a Kanban item so task and board context remain connected.

Board events

Item creation, updates, movement, and deletion can trigger workflows with board, column, item, and task identifiers.

Actions and capabilities

What designers and operators can do in this product area.

Kanban boards and items

Create visual work stages, manage items, connect accountable tasks, and automate board changes.

Kanban boards and items

Create a board

Create a board for one process and define its name, description, ownership, and audience.

Example: Track service requests from Backlog through Review and Done while each card stays linked to its assigned task.
Configuration inputs
  • The board and column that represent the correct process and current stage.
  • Item values such as title, description, priority, due date, assignee, image, and custom fields.
  • Optional linked task, workflow event subscription, permissions, and ordering behavior.
How to use it
  1. 1.Open Kanban from the main navigation and create or select the board for this process.
  2. 2.Choose “Create a board” and select the relevant board, column, item, or linked task.
  3. 3.Complete the required values and confirm the target column matches the real operational stage.
  4. 4.Perform the action and verify item order, field values, task linkage, and visible board state.
  5. 5.When automation is configured, inspect the resulting workflow run and confirm event identifiers were mapped correctly.
Expected results
  • The board shows the current work stage and preserves links to the task or workflow that owns the work.
  • Item movement and edits remain visible to authorized board users in deterministic column order.
  • Configured board events provide board, column, item, and linked-task context to workflows.

Kanban boards and items

Configure columns

Add, rename, reorder, and remove the stages that represent how work actually progresses.

Example: Track service requests from Backlog through Review and Done while each card stays linked to its assigned task.
Configuration inputs
  • The board and column that represent the correct process and current stage.
  • Item values such as title, description, priority, due date, assignee, image, and custom fields.
  • Optional linked task, workflow event subscription, permissions, and ordering behavior.
How to use it
  1. 1.Open Kanban from the main navigation and create or select the board for this process.
  2. 2.Choose “Configure columns” and select the relevant board, column, item, or linked task.
  3. 3.Complete the required values and confirm the target column matches the real operational stage.
  4. 4.Perform the action and verify item order, field values, task linkage, and visible board state.
  5. 5.When automation is configured, inspect the resulting workflow run and confirm event identifiers were mapped correctly.
Expected results
  • The board shows the current work stage and preserves links to the task or workflow that owns the work.
  • Item movement and edits remain visible to authorized board users in deterministic column order.
  • Configured board events provide board, column, item, and linked-task context to workflows.

Kanban boards and items

Create an item

Add work with a title, details, priority, due date, assignee, image, and custom field values.

Example: Track service requests from Backlog through Review and Done while each card stays linked to its assigned task.
Configuration inputs
  • The board and column that represent the correct process and current stage.
  • Item values such as title, description, priority, due date, assignee, image, and custom fields.
  • Optional linked task, workflow event subscription, permissions, and ordering behavior.
How to use it
  1. 1.Open Kanban from the main navigation and create or select the board for this process.
  2. 2.Choose “Create an item” and select the relevant board, column, item, or linked task.
  3. 3.Complete the required values and confirm the target column matches the real operational stage.
  4. 4.Perform the action and verify item order, field values, task linkage, and visible board state.
  5. 5.When automation is configured, inspect the resulting workflow run and confirm event identifiers were mapped correctly.
Expected results
  • The board shows the current work stage and preserves links to the task or workflow that owns the work.
  • Item movement and edits remain visible to authorized board users in deterministic column order.
  • Configured board events provide board, column, item, and linked-task context to workflows.

Kanban boards and items

Move and reorder items

Change an item stage or priority visually while preserving deterministic ordering within each column.

Example: Track service requests from Backlog through Review and Done while each card stays linked to its assigned task.
Configuration inputs
  • The board and column that represent the correct process and current stage.
  • Item values such as title, description, priority, due date, assignee, image, and custom fields.
  • Optional linked task, workflow event subscription, permissions, and ordering behavior.
How to use it
  1. 1.Open Kanban from the main navigation and create or select the board for this process.
  2. 2.Choose “Move and reorder items” and select the relevant board, column, item, or linked task.
  3. 3.Complete the required values and confirm the target column matches the real operational stage.
  4. 4.Perform the action and verify item order, field values, task linkage, and visible board state.
  5. 5.When automation is configured, inspect the resulting workflow run and confirm event identifiers were mapped correctly.
Expected results
  • The board shows the current work stage and preserves links to the task or workflow that owns the work.
  • Item movement and edits remain visible to authorized board users in deterministic column order.
  • Configured board events provide board, column, item, and linked-task context to workflows.

Kanban boards and items

Edit or delete an item

Maintain item details throughout its lifecycle or remove work that should no longer appear on the board.

Example: Track service requests from Backlog through Review and Done while each card stays linked to its assigned task.
Configuration inputs
  • The board and column that represent the correct process and current stage.
  • Item values such as title, description, priority, due date, assignee, image, and custom fields.
  • Optional linked task, workflow event subscription, permissions, and ordering behavior.
How to use it
  1. 1.Open Kanban from the main navigation and create or select the board for this process.
  2. 2.Choose “Edit or delete an item” and select the relevant board, column, item, or linked task.
  3. 3.Complete the required values and confirm the target column matches the real operational stage.
  4. 4.Perform the action and verify item order, field values, task linkage, and visible board state.
  5. 5.When automation is configured, inspect the resulting workflow run and confirm event identifiers were mapped correctly.
Expected results
  • The board shows the current work stage and preserves links to the task or workflow that owns the work.
  • Item movement and edits remain visible to authorized board users in deterministic column order.
  • Configured board events provide board, column, item, and linked-task context to workflows.

Kanban boards and items

Create items from workflows

Configure a User Task action to create an item in a selected board and starting column automatically.

Example: Track service requests from Backlog through Review and Done while each card stays linked to its assigned task.
Configuration inputs
  • The board and column that represent the correct process and current stage.
  • Item values such as title, description, priority, due date, assignee, image, and custom fields.
  • Optional linked task, workflow event subscription, permissions, and ordering behavior.
How to use it
  1. 1.Open Kanban from the main navigation and create or select the board for this process.
  2. 2.Choose “Create items from workflows” and select the relevant board, column, item, or linked task.
  3. 3.Complete the required values and confirm the target column matches the real operational stage.
  4. 4.Perform the action and verify item order, field values, task linkage, and visible board state.
  5. 5.When automation is configured, inspect the resulting workflow run and confirm event identifiers were mapped correctly.
Expected results
  • The board shows the current work stage and preserves links to the task or workflow that owns the work.
  • Item movement and edits remain visible to authorized board users in deterministic column order.
  • Configured board events provide board, column, item, and linked-task context to workflows.

Kanban boards and items

Trigger workflows from board events

Start automation when items are created, updated, moved between columns, or deleted.

Example: Track service requests from Backlog through Review and Done while each card stays linked to its assigned task.
Configuration inputs
  • The board and column that represent the correct process and current stage.
  • Item values such as title, description, priority, due date, assignee, image, and custom fields.
  • Optional linked task, workflow event subscription, permissions, and ordering behavior.
How to use it
  1. 1.Open Kanban from the main navigation and create or select the board for this process.
  2. 2.Choose “Trigger workflows from board events” and select the relevant board, column, item, or linked task.
  3. 3.Complete the required values and confirm the target column matches the real operational stage.
  4. 4.Perform the action and verify item order, field values, task linkage, and visible board state.
  5. 5.When automation is configured, inspect the resulting workflow run and confirm event identifiers were mapped correctly.
Expected results
  • The board shows the current work stage and preserves links to the task or workflow that owns the work.
  • Item movement and edits remain visible to authorized board users in deterministic column order.
  • Configured board events provide board, column, item, and linked-task context to workflows.

Kanban boards and items

Control board access

Use tenant permissions and intended navigation placement to expose boards only to the correct operators.

Example: Track service requests from Backlog through Review and Done while each card stays linked to its assigned task.
Configuration inputs
  • The board and column that represent the correct process and current stage.
  • Item values such as title, description, priority, due date, assignee, image, and custom fields.
  • Optional linked task, workflow event subscription, permissions, and ordering behavior.
How to use it
  1. 1.Open Kanban from the main navigation and create or select the board for this process.
  2. 2.Choose “Control board access” and select the relevant board, column, item, or linked task.
  3. 3.Complete the required values and confirm the target column matches the real operational stage.
  4. 4.Perform the action and verify item order, field values, task linkage, and visible board state.
  5. 5.When automation is configured, inspect the resulting workflow run and confirm event identifiers were mapped correctly.
Expected results
  • The board shows the current work stage and preserves links to the task or workflow that owns the work.
  • Item movement and edits remain visible to authorized board users in deterministic column order.
  • Configured board events provide board, column, item, and linked-task context to workflows.

Potential use cases

Patterns you can adapt to your own operating model.

Service request delivery

Give an operations team a visual view of requests while each card remains linked to accountable task work.

Request submitted
Workflow creates task and card
Move to In progress
Complete task form
Move to Done

Approval pipeline

Represent review stages visually and launch automation when work reaches a controlled decision stage.

Create approval item
Reviewer claims task
Move to Review
Board event starts workflow
Record decision

Exception management

Track failed or unusual cases through investigation and resolution without losing runtime evidence.

Workflow failure
Create exception card
Assign owner
Attach evidence
Resolve and close