The Task Board is a tool for managing all of your tasks for a project. Project tasks are placed in columns on a page, with each column, or 'list', representing a stage of progression.

Tasks typically begin in the first column, which represents tasks that have had no progression yet. As soon as progress is made, the task is moved to the next column. There are no limit to the amount of columns you can have, but each column should represent a logical step in progress. The last column should represent completed tasks (100%).

Tasks and the board are combined into a single Tasks page, with Table and Board as switchable views of the same data.

Configuring columns (Program)

Although the board is a project level tool, its columns are configured via the program configuration. Every project for this program will use the same configuration.

1. Navigate to your parent program
2. Click on Configuration > Task Board
   
   
3. Switch on the Enable Task Board toggle
   

Once enabled, there are several options for configuring your columns. By default, 4 columns will be created. The first column can not be deleted (but it can be moved) and there must be at least 2 columns.

• The six dots icon on the left allows you to click and drag an item to reorder them
  
• Click on the column name to rename it
  
• Click on the coloured circle to open the colour picker and change the colour of the column
  
• Click on the trashcan icon to remove a column
• Click on Add Stage to add a new column

The configuration automatically saves as changes are made.

Configuring columns (Initiative)

For initiatives, the board is enabled and its columns configured via the administration section of Amplify:

1. Navigate to the Administration section
2. Navigate to Classifications from the side menu
3. Either create a New Classification or scroll down to Initiative Classifications and Edit an existing one.
4. On the General Configuration tab, ensure the Enable Tasks option is checked.
5. Click Save if you had to check the option.
6. In the Initiative Classification configuration, navigate to the Task Board tab.

Once enabled, there are several options for configuring your columns. By default, 4 columns will be created. The first column can not be deleted (but it can be moved) and there must be at least 2 columns.

• The six dots icon on the left allows you to click and drag an item to reorder them
  
• Click on the column name to rename it
  
• Click on the coloured circle to open the colour picker and change the colour of the column
  
• Click on the trashcan icon to remove a column
• Click on Add Stage to add a new column

The configuration automatically saves as changes are made.

Note the configuration tab is named Task Board on both the program configuration and the initiative classification. The columns you define there are the ones the Task Board uses when Column by is set to Status.

The Task Board

The board is located under Tools > Tasks. The Tasks page opens on the table by default; use the board button at the left of the toolbar to switch to the board, and the table button to switch back.

The board belongs to initiatives. Enabling the Task Board on a program does not give the program itself a board, so on a program the Tasks page offers the table only.

The board is comprised of two areas:

• The toolbar
• The board itself

The toolbar

The toolbar is used to manage the way you view the board as well as perform overall functions for it.

The toolbar carries these controls, in this order from the left: the table and board view buttons, the view selector, the save and view-options split button, then Sort by, Column by, Swimlanes and Colour by, and a filter button. New Task and the full-screen button sit at the right.

Use the New Task button to create a new task for the board. This will open a sidesheet with several options for your new task.

Click the overflow button to open any additional controls for the view.

Click on the expand button to view your board in full screen.

See Task Board Views for how saved views work. Saved board views are listed alongside table and ledger views under Administration > User Views.

Column headers

Each Column header contains useful information and functions.

• The name of the Stage. On the Task Board this is the value the board is grouped by — the status, where Column by is set to Status.
• A counter for the total number of tasks in this column. This includes tasks that may be hidden by filters and serves as an indicator that some tasks may be hidden.
• A minimise/maximise button to change the width of the column. This is useful to reduce columns that may not be currently relevant or for boards with a large amount of columns.

Each column carries the colour set for it in the configuration. The columns are driven by the Column by setting rather than by the configured board columns alone. Cards with no value in the field the board is grouped by are collected in an N/A column at the left of the board. See Setting up the board view.

Setting up the board view

The toolbar controls how the board is arranged. Each setting draws on the fields available on the Task classification mapped to the initiative classification you are working in, or to any of its configured child classifications — so the options you see depend on how your instance is configured.

Column by

Column by determines what each column represents. You can group by:

• Any select field on the task, including the standard Priority field.
• The Owner field.
• Any traffic light select field.

Cards with no value in the field you group by are collected in an N/A column at the left of the board.

Multi-select fields cannot be used to create columns — this includes the Tags field — and neither can multi-user fields.

Columns have a minimum and a maximum width. Where the columns together are wider than the screen, the board scrolls horizontally.

Swimlanes

Swimlanes divide the board into horizontal bands. You can create swimlanes from:

• Any select field on the task, including the standard Priority field.
• Any user select field, including the standard Owner field.
• Any traffic light select field.
• Any linked select field.

A lane is produced for each value of the field you group by. Cards with no value in that field are collected in an N/A lane at the foot of the board. Multi-user fields cannot be used to create swimlanes.

Note setting Swimlanes to None turns swimlanes off, so the board shows columns only. That is different from the N/A lane, which appears when swimlanes are switched on and some tasks have no value in the field you grouped by.

Colour by

Colour by sets which field drives the colour bar on each card. You can colour by the standard Priority field or by any traffic light select field. Where the chosen field has no value on a task, that card shows no colour bar.

Sort by

Sort by sets the order of cards within each column. You can sort by:

• The task Name.
• Any user select field, including Owner.
• Any select field, including Priority.
• The End Date.

Cards cannot be placed in a manual order.

Filtering the board

Use the filter button to narrow what the board shows. You can filter by:

• The Name of the task.
• The task's Parent Initiative, by selecting one or more initiatives. This is useful where the board shows tasks from child initiatives.
• Any user multi-select field, including Owner.
• Any select field, including Priority.
• Any traffic light select field.
• Any multi-select field, including Tags, by choosing which of its options to include.
• Assigned Resources.
• Whether tasks are scheduled (have dates) or unscheduled (do not).

Filtering narrows which cards are shown. It does not change how the board is grouped by Column by or Swimlanes.

Moving a task on the board

Dragging a card from one column to another changes the value of the field the board is grouped by. If you are grouping by Priority, moving a card into the High column sets that task's Priority to High; if you are grouping by Owner, moving a card reassigns the task.

Cards cannot be dragged between columns built from a linked select field.

Clicking a card opens the task in a side sheet. Where you change a value that affects the arrangement — the field driving the columns or swimlanes, the sort field, or a field the view filters on — the board updates when you save, and the card moves or drops out of view accordingly.

Tasks from child initiatives

The board shows the tasks of child initiatives alongside those of the initiative you are viewing, so a parent initiative's board reflects all the work beneath it. Where an initiative has no child initiatives, the board shows only its own tasks.

• The columns come from the initiative classification of the initiative whose board you are on, not from the child initiative's classification. Where a rolled-up task's value does not match any column, the card is placed in the N/A column.
• Each card shows the name of the initiative the task belongs to, so you can tell where it comes from.
• Clicking a card opens the task side sheet, as it does for the initiative's own tasks.
• To show the tasks of particular child initiatives only, use the filter button and select them under Parent Initiative.
• Access is checked for each task against its own initiative, not the initiative you are viewing the board from. Where you have no access to Tasks on a child initiative, its tasks do not appear on the parent board, even if you have Full access to Tasks on the parent. A card for a task you cannot update on its own initiative is read-only.
• The status options in the Edit Task side sheet come from the task's own initiative. A task with no status must be given one before it can be saved.
• The Task Board widget on the project and performance dashboards counts only the tasks you have read access to, and counts a rolled-up task in the column of the same name that the board shows it in.

What you can do depends on your permissions

Access follows your combined roles on the initiative you are viewing the board from:

• None — the board is not available to you.
• Read — you can open the board, arrange it however you like, and open a card to see the task's details in a read-only side sheet. You cannot change the task.
• Full — you can open the board, arrange it, and open a card to edit the task's properties.

Task cards

Card content

A card on the Task Board shows, from the top:

• Colour by — a colour bar across the top edge of the card, reflecting the board's current Colour by selection. No bar displays where the selected field has no value on that task.
• Task Name.
• Initiative — the name of the initiative the task belongs to. Hovering it shows the full name.
• Due Date — shown beside the initiative name with a calendar icon, in the negative colour when it falls before today and in the default colour when it is today or later. No due date displays where task dates are disabled for the task.
• Tags — every tag applied to the task, each shown as a chip.
• Task ID — prefixed with #, at the foot of the card.

• Priority — an indicator showing the task's Priority, which updates as the value changes. Hovering it shows the Priority.

  • Extreme — a double chevron pointing up
  • High — a single chevron pointing up
  • Medium — two horizontal bars
  • Low — a single chevron pointing down

  No indicator displays where no Priority is set. The indicator takes its colour from the priority level, using your instance's theme colours.

• Progress — a ring showing the task's progress as a percentage, with the figure displayed inside it. The ring fills as progress increases and is shown complete at 100%.
• Owner — an avatar, shown where an owner is assigned. Hovering it shows the owner's name.
• Assigned Resources — a stacked list of avatars, separated from the owner by a divider. Where more than five resources are assigned, five avatars display followed by a count of the remainder.

Adding a Task

To add a new task to the board, click on the New Task button in the toolbar.

A side sheet opens, headed Create Task. It is arranged in three groups: the task's details at the top, then Assigned Resources and Scheduling, each of which can be collapsed using the chevron in its header.

Details

• Type — what kind of item you are creating. This is set to Task by default.
• Name — the name of the task, shown on the card. This is required.
• Description — a description of the task, as brief or as detailed as you need.
• Task Board Status — the column the task will sit in on the board.
• Priority — the task's priority, which drives the priority indicator and, where the board is coloured by Priority, the colour bar on the card.
• Tags — one or more tags, shown as chips on the card.
• Owner — the person responsible for managing the task. Their avatar is shown on the card.

Assigned Resources

Use this section to record who is working on the task, alongside the owner. The section header shows how many resources are currently assigned.

• Resources — the person assigned.
• Resource Type — the role they are assigned under.
• Allocation Status — whether that resource has been allocated.
• Effort — the proportion of their effort given to this task.

Use the + button beneath the table to add a resource, and the bin button to remove the ones you have selected.

Scheduling

• Apply Task Dates — switch this on to give the task dates. Start Date and Due Date are then both required.
• Start Date — when the task should be started.
• Due Date — when the task should be completed by. This is the date shown on the card.
• Complete Before — select a task that this one must be completed before.
• Complete After — select a task that must be completed before this one.
• Display on Schedule — switch this on to show the task on the initiative's schedule.
• Display on Dashboard — switch this on to show the task on the dashboard.
• Progress — drag the slider to set how far through the task is. This is the figure shown in the progress ring on the card.

Once you have finished, click Create. To abandon the task without creating it, click Discard.

Editing a Task

To edit a task on the board, click on the task card. A side sheet opens, headed Edit Task, holding the same Details, Assigned Resources and Scheduling groups used when creating a task.

Change whatever you need to, then click Save. To close the side sheet without keeping your changes, click Cancel.

A task can be moved to another column either by dragging its card on the board or by changing its Task Board Status here. Where you change a value that the board is grouped, sorted or filtered by, the card moves or drops out of view when you save.

To delete the task, click the bin icon at the top right of the side sheet. The task is deleted everywhere it appears, not only from the board.