Mokanata Docs
Kanban

Create and set up a board

Start a board from one of four kinds, then shape its statuses, labels, card limits, dates, lead and milestones.

A board starts from a kind (project, content calendar, lead pipeline or ad campaigns) with the statuses, labels and card fields that work needs. From there, its project manager renames it, adds or reorders statuses, sets card limits, and fills in its dates, lead and milestones.

  • Who can use it: Creating a board needs the Manage boards permission (Owners, Admins and Members by default). Whoever creates a board becomes its Project manager. Changing a board's settings, statuses, status, dates, lead and milestones needs Manage boards and being the board's project manager; owners and admins act as project manager on every board. Deleting a board also needs Delete boards (Owners and Admins by default). Everyone else sees the board's status as a plain label, no Board settings button, and only the menu items they can use. See Roles and permissions.
  • Before you start: Nothing.

Create a board

Open New board

On the Kanban page, click New board or press N. You can also click one of the Start a board tiles to open the dialog with that kind already picked.

Pick the kind of board

Under Kind of board, choose Project board, Content calendar, Lead pipeline or Ad campaigns. The line under the choices lists the statuses the board starts with, for example "Statuses: Backlog → To do → In progress → Review → Done". The kind can't be changed later.

The New board dialog with Project board picked, the four kinds with their descriptions, the starting statuses, and empty Name and Description fields

Name and describe it

Type a Name (up to 60 characters; no two boards can share one) and, if you like, a Description of what the board is for and who works on it (up to 280 characters).

The New board dialog with Content calendar picked, its statuses Ideas → Drafting → In review → Scheduled → Published, the name November content and a description

Create the board

Click Create board. The board opens on its Board tab with empty statuses, and a message confirms it's ready, for example "November content is ready" with "Content calendar with 5 statuses." under it.

The new November content board with empty Ideas, Drafting, In review and Scheduled statuses and the confirmation November content is ready

A new board starts In progress, with you as its only member and project manager, and every member able to see every card. Its card key, which prefixes card numbers such as NC-1, comes from the first letters of the board's name (or its first three letters for a one-word name).

If you close the dialog after typing, Mokanata asks Discard this board? Click Keep editing to go back or Discard to close it.

Rename a board and edit its labels

Open Board settings

On the board, click the Board settings button (the sliders icon next to New task), or open the ⋯ menu and choose Board settings.

The board's ⋯ menu with Members and roles, Share board, Board settings, Add status and Delete board

Change the name, description and labels

Edit the Name and Description. Under Labels, click a label's × to remove it, or type in New label and click Add (or press Enter). Labels can be up to 30 characters, and a name that's already there isn't added twice.

Board settings for Q4 website launch with the name, description, the labels Design, Engineering, Content, Operations, Bug and Research, and Accessibility typed as a new label

Save

Click Save changes. A message says "Board saved".

Removing a label takes it off every card

When you remove a label and save, it comes off every card on the board that had it, and out of any saved view that filtered by it.

Add a status

Open New status

Open the board's ⋯ menu and choose Add status.

Name it and choose what its cards are

Type a Name (up to 40 characters, unique on the board). Under Cards here are, choose what being in this status means:

ChoiceMeaning
Work in progressA normal stage of the work.
Scheduled to go out (posts here publish at their time)Content calendars only, one per board. Posts in this status publish automatically at their time.
Finished (done, won, published)Cards here count as done and are never overdue. A lead moved here gets a 100% chance to close; a post moved here is published.
Closed without a win (lost, cancelled)Cards here are closed and never overdue. A lead moved here gets a 0% chance to close.

The New status dialog with Blocked typed as the name and the Cards here are list open on Work in progress, Finished and Closed without a win

Add it

Optionally set a Card limit, then click Add status. The status is added at the end of the board; move it into place from its menu (below).

Set a card limit

A card limit (often called a WIP limit) keeps a status from filling up. When a status holds more cards than its limit, its count turns red, for example 5/4.

Edit the status

Open the status's ⋯ menu at the top of its column and choose Edit status.

Type the limit

In Card limit, type a whole number up to 999, or leave it empty for no limit. Click Save status.

The Edit In progress dialog with Cards here are set to Work in progress and a Card limit of 4

Reorder, collapse or delete a status

Open a status's ⋯ menu at the top of its column:

The Review status menu with Edit status, Move left, Move right, Collapse status and Delete status

  • Edit status: rename it, change what its cards are, or set its card limit.
  • Move left / Move right: move the column one place.
  • Collapse status: fold the column into a narrow strip with its name and count. Click the strip to expand it again. Collapsing is saved with the board, so everyone on it sees the column folded.
  • Delete status: remove the status. Its cards move to the status before it (or the one after, if it was the first), and Mokanata asks you to confirm.

The confirmation Delete Review? Its 2 tasks move to In progress, with Cancel and Delete status

Deleting the Scheduled status on a content calendar

Posts in a deleted Scheduled status move with their times kept, but they no longer publish on their own. Mark another status as Scheduled to go out and schedule them again.

Set the board status

Next to the board's name, click its status (for example In progress) and choose Planning, In progress, At risk, On hold or Completed. The status shows on the Kanban page, where you can filter boards by it.

The board status menu under Q4 website launch with Planning, In progress (ticked), At risk, On hold and Completed

Set the dates, lead and milestones

Open the Overview tab

On the board, click the Overview tab. The right-hand column has the board's Details, Lead, Members and Milestones.

Fill in the details and lead

In Details, change the Status or click Dates to pick the board's start and end. The Card key is shown for reference. In Lead, choose a person under Choose a lead by name (or Change the lead by name); click × on the lead's row to remove them.

The Details panel with Status In progress, Dates Sep 20 – Nov 9 and Card key WEB, and the Lead panel with Priya Raman, Project manager, and Change the lead by name

The board's end date is its Due date on the Kanban page, and the Overview's Progress panel counts down to it.

Add a milestone

Under Milestones, type a name in New milestone, click Pick a day to choose its date, then click Add. To remove one, point to it and click its ×.

The Milestones panel listing Site map signed off (past, in grey), Developer handoff and Public launch, with a new milestone being typed

Milestones show as diamonds on the Timeline; past ones turn grey.

Delete a board

Choose Delete board

Open the board's ⋯ menu and choose Delete board.

Confirm

Mokanata asks you to confirm and says how many cards go with it. Click Delete board.

The confirmation Delete Q4 website launch? Its 10 tasks go with it. You can undo right after.

You're taken back to the Kanban page. Click Undo in the message to bring the board back with all of its cards.

Deleting a board removes all of its cards

The board's cards, comments, files and activity go with it. Undo is only offered right after. To put a board aside instead, set its status to On hold or Completed.

Troubleshooting

Next steps

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