Kanban Board View

Difficulty: Beginner

Overview

The Kanban view is the default and most popular view in Waymaker taskboards, providing a visual, column-based interface for managing your workflow. Inspired by the Toyota Production System and adapted for knowledge work, Kanban boards help teams visualize work, limit work-in-progress, and optimize flow.

In Waymaker's Kanban view, tasks appear as cards that move horizontally across columns (sections) representing different stages of your workflow. This visual approach makes it immediately clear what work is in progress, what's blocked, and what's been completed.

What You'll Learn

• How the Kanban view organizes tasks visually
• Drag-and-drop mechanics for moving tasks through your workflow
• Column (section) management and customization
• Using swim lanes to organize tasks by layer
• Card details and quick actions
• WIP (Work-In-Progress) limits
• Filtering and focusing your Kanban view
• Keyboard shortcuts for power users

Prerequisites

• A Waymaker account with access to taskboards
• A taskboard created (see Creating Your First Taskboard)
• Basic understanding of taskboard concepts

Understanding the Kanban View

What is Kanban?

Kanban is a Japanese word meaning "visual signal" or "card." In project management, a Kanban board is a visual system that uses cards (tasks) and columns (workflow stages) to represent work moving through a process.

The core Kanban principles:

1. Visualize work - Make all work visible on the board
2. Limit WIP - Restrict how many tasks can be in progress simultaneously
3. Manage flow - Optimize how smoothly work moves through stages
4. Make policies explicit - Define clear rules for moving tasks between columns
5. Improve collaboratively - Continuously refine your process

Waymaker's Kanban view implements these principles while adding powerful features like layers, dependencies, and real-time collaboration.

The Kanban Layout

A typical Waymaker Kanban board consists of:

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│  Backlog  │   To Do   │ In Progress │  Review  │    Done    │
├───────────┼───────────┼─────────────┼──────────┼────────────┤
│ Task A    │ Task D    │   Task G    │ Task J   │  Task M    │
│ Task B    │ Task E    │   Task H    │ Task K   │  Task N    │
│ Task C    │ Task F    │   Task I    │ Task L   │  Task O    │
│           │           │             │          │            │
└───────────┴───────────┴─────────────┴──────────┴────────────┘

Columns (Sections): Vertical divisions representing workflow stages Cards (Tasks): Individual work items displayed as cards Swim Lanes (Layers): Optional horizontal divisions for organizing cards

Default Sections

New taskboards come with five default sections:

1. Backlog - Tasks identified but not yet ready to work on
2. To Do - Tasks ready to be started
3. In Progress - Tasks currently being worked on
4. Review - Tasks awaiting approval, testing, or feedback
5. Done - Completed tasks

You can customize these sections completely to match your workflow (see Board Settings).

Navigating the Kanban View

Accessing Kanban View

The Kanban view is the default view when you open any taskboard. If you're in a different view:

1. Look for the view switcher in the top-right area of the taskboard
2. Click the Kanban icon or button
3. The board will switch to Kanban layout

Keyboard Shortcut: Press K to quickly switch to Kanban view.

Board Header

The header contains:

• Board name and description
• View switcher (Kanban, List, Gantt, Calendar, Dashboard)
• Filter controls (filter by assignee, layer, priority, labels)
• Search box (find tasks by name or content)
• Add task button (quickly create new tasks)
• Board menu (settings, share, export options)

Section Columns

Each section appears as a vertical column with:

• Section name at the top
• Task count showing number of cards in the section
• Add task button (+) to create a task directly in that section
• Section menu (•••) for section-specific actions
• Task cards stacked vertically

Task Cards

Each task appears as a card displaying:

• Task title (bold, clickable)
• Assignee avatar (if assigned)
• Priority indicator (color-coded border or flag)
• Due date (if set, with overdue warnings)
• Layer badge (if task belongs to a layer)
• Checklist progress (e.g., "2/5 items complete")
• Comment count (speech bubble icon with number)
• Attachment count (paperclip icon with number)
• Dependency indicators (chain link icon)
• Quick action buttons (appear on hover)

Drag-and-Drop Task Management

The Kanban view's most powerful feature is intuitive drag-and-drop task management.

Moving Tasks Between Sections

To move a task to a different workflow stage:

1. Click and hold on a task card
2. Drag the card horizontally to the target section column
3. Drop the card in the desired position within the column
4. The task status updates automatically

Visual Feedback:

• The card being dragged becomes semi-transparent
• A ghost placeholder shows where the card will drop
• Valid drop zones highlight with a colored border
• Invalid drop zones remain unchanged

Real-time Sync: Changes sync immediately to all team members viewing the board.

Reordering Tasks Within a Section

To change task priority within a section:

1. Click and hold on a task card
2. Drag the card vertically within the same column
3. Drop the card in the new position
4. Task order is saved automatically

This allows you to prioritize tasks by position—top tasks are typically highest priority.

Moving Multiple Tasks

To move several tasks at once:

1. Hold Shift and click multiple task cards to select them
2. Drag any selected card
3. All selected cards move together to the new section

Note: Multi-select is currently in development. Check the feature roadmap for availability.

Drag-and-Drop Best Practices

DO:

• Move tasks left to right as work progresses
• Use vertical ordering to indicate priority
• Update task status by dragging to appropriate sections
• Drag tasks immediately after status changes

DON'T:

• Move tasks backwards without good reason (indicates process issues)
• Leave tasks in "In Progress" for extended periods
• Overcrowd columns (suggests need for WIP limits)
• Move tasks without updating details (assignee, due date, etc.)

Column Management

Adding New Sections

To add a workflow stage:

1. Click Board Settings (gear icon) in the header
2. Navigate to Sections tab
3. Click Add Section button
4. Enter section name (e.g., "Deployed", "Blocked", "Testing")
5. Choose section position (before/after existing sections)
6. Select completion status (whether tasks in this section are considered complete)
7. Click Create Section

Editing Sections

To modify an existing section:

1. Click the section menu (•••) on any section
2. Select Edit Section
3. Update name, position, or completion status
4. Click Save

Deleting Sections

To remove a workflow stage:

1. Click the section menu (•••) on the section to remove
2. Select Delete Section
3. Choose what happens to tasks in that section:
   • Move to another section (select target section)
   • Archive all tasks (removes from board)
4. Confirm deletion

Warning: Deleting sections with tasks requires choosing a destination. Archived tasks can be recovered from the archive view.

Section Color Coding

Visual distinction helps teams quickly identify workflow stages:

1. Access Board Settings → Sections
2. Click on a section to edit
3. Choose a section color from the palette
4. Save changes

Color Recommendations:

• Backlog: Gray (neutral, waiting)
• To Do: Blue (ready to start)
• In Progress: Yellow (active work)
• Review: Purple (awaiting feedback)
• Done: Green (completed)
• Blocked: Red (requires attention)

Section WIP Limits

Work-In-Progress (WIP) limits prevent overload and improve flow:

1. Access Board Settings → Sections
2. Click on a section (typically "In Progress")
3. Set WIP Limit (e.g., 5 tasks maximum)
4. Save changes

Visual Indicators:

• Section shows task count vs. limit (e.g., "3/5")
• Exceeding limit highlights section in warning color (orange/red)
• Team receives notification when limit is reached

Benefits of WIP Limits:

• Prevents team from taking on too much simultaneously
• Improves focus and completion rate
• Highlights bottlenecks in your process
• Encourages finishing work before starting new tasks

Swim Lanes and Layer Organization

Swim lanes divide your Kanban board horizontally, creating rows for different categories of work.

What are Swim Lanes?

Swim lanes are horizontal divisions across all sections, typically representing:

• Layers - Epics, sprints, phases, or custom groupings
• Priority levels - High, medium, low priority work
• Team members - Work assigned to specific people
• Work types - Bugs, features, technical debt

In Waymaker, swim lanes are primarily driven by layers, though you can filter to create temporary swim lanes.

Enabling Layer Swim Lanes

To organize your board by layers:

1. Ensure your taskboard has layers created (see Creating Layers)
2. Click the view options menu (⚙️) in the Kanban view
3. Toggle Group by Layer ON
4. The board reorganizes into horizontal swim lanes per layer

Visual Layout:

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│              │ Backlog │  To Do  │ In Progress │    Done    │
├──────────────┼─────────┼─────────┼─────────────┼────────────┤
│ Epic: Auth   │ Task A  │ Task D  │   Task G    │  Task M    │
│              │ Task B  │         │             │  Task N    │
├──────────────┼─────────┼─────────┼─────────────┼────────────┤
│ Epic: Dash   │ Task C  │ Task E  │   Task H    │  Task O    │
│              │         │ Task F  │   Task I    │            │
├──────────────┼─────────┼─────────┼─────────────┼────────────┤
│ Sprint 10    │         │ Task J  │   Task K    │  Task P    │
│              │         │         │   Task L    │            │
└──────────────┴─────────┴─────────┴─────────────┴────────────┘

Collapsing and Expanding Swim Lanes

To focus on specific layers:

1. Click the collapse icon (▼) next to a layer name
2. The swim lane collapses, hiding all tasks in that layer
3. Click the expand icon (▶) to show tasks again

Use Cases:

• Hide completed sprint layers to focus on current work
• Collapse low-priority layers when planning high-priority work
• Temporarily hide layers to reduce visual clutter

Ungrouped Tasks

Tasks not assigned to any layer appear in an "Ungrouped" swim lane at the top or bottom of the board (depending on your settings).

Best Practice: Minimize ungrouped tasks by assigning them to appropriate layers, or create a "General" layer for miscellaneous work.

Card Details and Quick Actions

Viewing Task Details

To see full task information:

Quick Preview:

• Hover over a task card
• A tooltip shows extended details (description, checklist, comments)

Full Task View:

• Click on a task card
• Task detail panel opens (can be side panel or modal)
• View and edit all task properties

Quick Actions on Cards

Hovering over a task card reveals quick action buttons:

• Edit (pencil icon) - Open task editor
• Move (arrows icon) - Quick-move menu to select target section
• Assign (person icon) - Assign or reassign to team member
• Priority (flag icon) - Set or change priority level
• Complete (checkmark icon) - Mark task complete
• Menu (•••) - Additional actions (duplicate, delete, archive)

Keyboard Shortcut: Press E to edit the selected task, C to mark complete.

Card Customization

You can customize what information appears on task cards:

1. Access Board Settings → Card Display
2. Toggle options:
   • Show/hide assignee avatars
   • Show/hide due dates
   • Show/hide priority indicators
   • Show/hide layer badges
   • Show/hide checklist progress
   • Show/hide comment/attachment counts
3. Adjust card size (compact, normal, expanded)
4. Save preferences

Compact Cards: Show only title and assignee (fits more on screen) Expanded Cards: Show full details including description preview

Filtering and Focusing Your View

Large boards can become overwhelming. Filtering helps you focus on relevant work.

Filter Panel

Access filters from the header:

1. Click the Filter button (funnel icon)
2. Filter panel opens with options:
   • Assignee - Show only tasks assigned to specific people
   • Layer - Show only tasks in selected layers
   • Priority - Filter by priority level (high, medium, low)
   • Labels - Filter by task labels/tags
   • Due Date - Show overdue, due this week, etc.
   • Status - Show only tasks in specific sections
3. Select filter criteria
4. Board updates to show only matching tasks

Multiple Filters: Apply multiple filters simultaneously (AND logic). For example, "assigned to me" AND "high priority" AND "due this week".

Saved Filters

Create reusable filter combinations:

1. Configure your desired filters
2. Click Save Filter button
3. Name the filter (e.g., "My High Priority Work")
4. Filter appears in Quick Filters dropdown
5. Apply saved filters with one click

Common Saved Filters:

• "My Tasks" (assigned to me)
• "Overdue Tasks" (past due date)
• "Current Sprint" (tasks in active sprint layer)
• "Blocked Tasks" (tasks with blockers)

Clearing Filters

To return to full board view:

1. Click Clear All Filters button
2. Or click the X on individual filter badges

Visual Indicator: Active filters show as colored badges in the header, making it obvious when viewing a filtered subset.

Keyboard Shortcuts

Power users can navigate faster with keyboard shortcuts:

Shortcut	Action
K	Switch to Kanban view
N or C	Create new task
F	Open filter panel
S	Focus search box
← →	Move selected task left/right between sections
↑ ↓	Navigate between tasks vertically
Enter	Open selected task details
E	Edit selected task
D	Mark selected task complete/done
Del	Delete selected task (with confirmation)
Esc	Close task detail panel or clear selection
/	Show keyboard shortcuts help

Tip: Press ? or / to display the full keyboard shortcuts overlay.

Real-Time Collaboration

The Kanban view supports seamless real-time collaboration:

Live Updates

Automatic Sync: Changes made by any team member appear instantly for all users viewing the board.

Visual Indicators:

• Avatars show who else is viewing the board (top-right corner)
• Card highlights briefly flash when another user moves a task
• Typing indicators show when someone is editing a task you're viewing

Conflict Prevention

Task Locking: When you start editing a task, other users see a "locked" indicator and can view but not edit simultaneously.

Move Conflicts: If two users try to move the same task simultaneously, the first action wins and the second user receives a notification.

Undo: Accidentally moved a task? Click Undo (Ctrl/Cmd + Z) to revert the last change.

Best Practices for Kanban View

Visual Clarity

• Limit columns to 5-7 - More sections make horizontal scanning difficult
• Use color coding consistently - Same colors mean the same thing across all boards
• Keep card titles concise - Long titles clutter the view
• Leverage layers - Use swim lanes to organize, not section proliferation

Workflow Optimization

• Pull, don't push - Team members pull work from "To Do" rather than being assigned tasks
• Limit WIP - Set and honor work-in-progress limits to improve flow
• Clear definitions - Define what each section means (when to move tasks)
• One-piece flow - Finish tasks before starting new ones

Team Practices

• Daily standup at the board - Review the Kanban view together each day
• Update in real-time - Move tasks as soon as status changes
• Blocked column optional - Consider adding a "Blocked" section for stuck work
• Regular retrospectives - Continuously improve your board structure

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Too many columns - Leads to confusion about where tasks belong
• No WIP limits - Results in too much concurrent work and context switching
• Stale cards - Leaving tasks in "In Progress" for weeks without updates
• Ignoring backlog - Letting the backlog column grow to hundreds of unmanaged tasks
• Section name ambiguity - Unclear when to move tasks between sections

Kanban Metrics

The Kanban view enables key flow metrics:

Lead Time

Lead time is the total time from when a task enters the board until it's complete.

• Measured from Backlog → Done
• Helps predict delivery timeframes
• Lower lead time = faster delivery

Cycle Time

Cycle time is the time from when work starts until it's complete.

• Measured from To Do → Done (or In Progress → Done)
• Excludes waiting time in Backlog
• Focus on optimizing cycle time

Throughput

Throughput is the number of tasks completed in a given period.

• Count tasks moved to Done per week/sprint
• Higher throughput = more productive flow
• Track trends over time

View these metrics in the Dashboard View with Kanban-specific analytics.

When to Use Kanban View

Best Use Cases

Kanban view excels for:

• Visual workflow management - See work flow across stages
• Daily standup meetings - Review progress with the team
• Prioritization - Reorder tasks by dragging vertically
• WIP management - Quickly see how much is in progress
• Team collaboration - Shared understanding of status
• Continuous flow - Work that doesn't fit into sprints

When Other Views Are Better

Consider alternatives when:

• List view - Better for bulk editing, sorting, filtering large task lists
• Gantt view - Better for timeline-based planning with dependencies
• Calendar view - Better for due date management across time
• Dashboard view - Better for analytics and progress reporting

See Switching Between Views for guidance on choosing the right view.

Troubleshooting

Tasks Won't Drag

Issue: Can't drag and drop task cards.

Solutions:

• Check that you have edit permissions on the board
• Try refreshing the browser (Ctrl/Cmd + R)
• Check that your browser allows JavaScript
• Disable browser extensions that might interfere (ad blockers, etc.)
• Try a different browser to isolate the issue

Board Performance Slow

Issue: Kanban view lags or feels sluggish with many tasks.

Solutions:

• Use filters to reduce visible tasks (show only current sprint/layer)
• Archive completed tasks to reduce board size
• Switch to List view for bulk operations (faster rendering)
• Close other browser tabs consuming memory
• Check your internet connection speed

Sections Not Appearing

Issue: Created sections don't show in Kanban view.

Solutions:

• Refresh the browser
• Check board settings to ensure section wasn't accidentally hidden
• Verify section was saved properly (check for error messages)
• Check if a filter is hiding the section

Changes Not Syncing

Issue: Updates don't appear for other team members.

Solutions:

• Check internet connection is stable
• Have team members refresh their browsers
• Check Waymaker status page for service issues
• Verify users are on the same board (not a duplicate)

Related Articles

• List View for Task Management
• Gantt Chart View
• Calendar View
• Switching Between Views
• Board Settings
• Creating Layers
• Using Layers for Agile Projects

Need More Help?

• Video Tutorial: Mastering Kanban View (coming soon)
• Community: Share your Kanban board setups with other users
• Support: Contact support@waymakerone.com for assistance
• Templates: Explore pre-built Kanban board templates

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Ready to optimize your workflow? → Explore List View or Learn About Swim Lanes