5 Great Ideas for the Usage of Kanban-Boards

In the modern task management world, there really is no better presentation format for the organization of tasks for teams than the Kanban-View. In reality, behind this expression hides a method for the control of the production process, which creates an efficient structure of the value chain. Sounds complex, but modern Online-Tools really simplify your work by using these processes: various columns represent different statuses, with the first column showing the initial state of a task. New tasks, in the form of a card, are first stored in this first column, and pass through the different statuses/columns of Kanban-Boards during their processing. The great advantage of this: It results into a clear process for task management. In order to simplify the usage of Kanban-Boards even further, we reveal below some creative ways of using the Kanban-Board:

1. Sales-Funnel

• Columns: Identified, Contacted, Lead, Won, Lost
• Colors: Dependent on the size of the deal or the likelihood of occurence
• Sorting: Dependent on the size of the deal or the likelihood of occurence

Starting from the identification of a deal and until its completion, all the required steps of the process are displayed within the Kandan-Board. The allocation by processing statuses also facilitates the estimation of how full the sales funnel is at a certain point in time.

2. Mini editorial system for blog posts

• Columns: Idea, In Progress, Ready, Published, Discarded
• Colors: Dependent on the relevance/rating of the idea
• Sorting: Dependent on the due date/release date

Similarly to the previous example, it is obvious what a clear process is created with the Kandan-Board. From the idea and up to its release, all steps are clearly structured – and no idea or step gets lost anymore. By the way, we use the same system for our contributions. Consequently, the assigning of tasks to the competent person for writing, proofreading, etc. has greatly simplified the management of our contributions.

3. The management of property items

• Columns: Living room, Dining Room, Kitchen, etc.
• Colors: Contractor/Craftman
• Sorting: Due date of the basic steps that need to performed first

As it might be difficult to work with all service partners and to assign tasks while managing construction sites, it is also possible to identify respective contractors by labels/colors. On Stackfield, you can create a filter for this purpose, which lets you see directly what tasks a certain contractor has yet to perform.

4. Recruiting/HR

• Columns: Application, Phone Interview, Invited, Hired, Rejected
• Colors: Vacancies
• Sorting: Dependent on the evaluation of the candidate

The advantage of the filter and card is particularly evident in this example: A separate filter can be created for each job offer, which shows only the relevant candidates for that position. For this purpose, a label/color is assigned to each position. A ranking can also be created through sorting. Additionally, individual candidates can be assigned to a person to review or interview them.

5. Support/Ticket System

• Columns: New, In Progress, Waiting for Feedback, Waiting for Solution, Resolved
• Colors: Theme-Categories
• Sorting: Dependent on the priority of the support request

The customer support in a company is always a team effort – and this can be simplified with the Kandan-Board, as well. Each person that can assist in solving the requests can simply be added to the support room. All new filed support requests arrive in the „New“ column, where a support agent is also being assigned. Support requests can be further categorized in categories by assigning them labels. Through this usage of the labels, common problems can be easily identified through filtering. Once the status of a support request changes, for example because a response has been sent to the customer, the card/task is simply shifted to the appropriate column. The priority of the support request can be changed within each column using a flexible sorting method. An important support request can simply be dragged and dropped all the way to the top – this priority change is visible to all participants.

The Kanban-View can be used for almost any field! The examples given are just a small fraction of the possible scenarios! How do you use Kanban-Board? We look forward to reading your creative solutions in the comments section!