Waymaker
Taskboards

Task Tags & Custom Fields

Learn about Task Tags & Custom Fields in WaymakerOS.

TagsLabels

Task Tags & Custom Fields

Tags and custom fields enable flexible task organization beyond the standard workflow. Create custom taxonomies, track domain-specific data, and build powerful views for your unique workflows.

Tags Overview

Tags are simple, flexible labels that help categorize and filter tasks across multiple dimensions.

When to Use Tags

Use Tags For:

  • Cross-cutting categories (e.g., "bug", "feature", "urgent")
  • Temporary classifications (e.g., "needs-review", "blocked")
  • Team-specific organization (e.g., "frontend", "backend", "design")
  • Release grouping (e.g., "v2.0", "beta")
  • Client identification (e.g., "client-acme", "client-techcorp")

Don't Use Tags For:

  • Workflow status (use sections instead: "To Do", "In Progress", "Done")
  • Assignee information (use assignee field)
  • Due dates (use due date field)
  • Priority levels (use priority field)

Creating Tags

During Task Creation:

  1. Create new task
  2. Click "Tags" field
  3. Type tag name
  4. Press Enter to create
  5. Select tag color (optional)

From Task Details:

  1. Open task
  2. Click "+ Add Tag"
  3. Type tag name or select existing
  4. Press Enter

Bulk Tag Creation:

  1. Board Settings → Tags
  2. Click "Create Tags"
  3. Enter tag names (one per line)
  4. Assign colors
  5. Save

Tag Naming Conventions

Best Practices:

  • ✅ Lowercase with hyphens: needs-review, high-priority
  • ✅ Consistent prefixes: type:bug, type:feature, client:acme
  • ✅ Short and descriptive: urgent, backend, v2.0
  • ✅ Standardized across team: Define tag guidelines

Avoid:

  • ❌ Spaces: "needs review" → needs-review
  • ❌ Special characters: @urgent, #priority
  • ❌ Too generic: misc, other, stuff
  • ❌ Personal tags: sarahs-tasks (use assignee instead)

Tag Organization Strategies

1. Category-Based Tags:

Type Tags:
├── type:bug
├── type:feature
├── type:enhancement
├── type:documentation
└── type:refactor

Area Tags:
├── area:frontend
├── area:backend
├── area:database
├── area:api
└── area:infra

Priority Tags:
├── priority:critical
├── priority:high
├── priority:medium
└── priority:low

2. Prefix-Based Taxonomy:

client:acme
client:techcorp
client:startup-inc

env:production
env:staging
env:development

platform:web
platform:mobile
platform:desktop

version:v1.0
version:v2.0
version:v2.1

3. Status Tags (Supplementary):

needs-review
needs-testing
blocked
waiting-feedback
ready-to-deploy
merged

4. Domain-Specific Tags:

Software Development:

  • security, performance, ui-ux, accessibility
  • breaking-change, backward-compatible
  • tech-debt, quick-win

Marketing:

  • social-media, email-campaign, seo
  • content-creation, analytics, paid-ads

Design:

  • wireframe, mockup, prototype
  • user-research, usability-testing, branding

Managing Tags

Editing Tags:

  1. Board Settings → Tags
  2. Find tag to edit
  3. Update name, color, or description
  4. Save changes (applies to all tasks)

Merging Tags:

  1. Board Settings → Tags
  2. Select multiple similar tags
  3. Click "Merge"
  4. Choose primary tag name
  5. All tasks updated automatically

Example: Merge bug, bugfix, defect → type:bug

Deleting Tags:

  1. Board Settings → Tags
  2. Find tag to delete
  3. Click Delete
  4. Confirm (removes from all tasks)

Tag Colors:

Red: Urgent, critical, bugs
Orange: High priority, warnings
Yellow: Needs attention, pending
Green: Completed, approved, ready
Blue: Information, documentation
Purple: Features, enhancements
Gray: Low priority, backlog

Filtering by Tags

Single Tag Filter:

  1. Click filter icon
  2. Select "Tags"
  3. Choose tag
  4. View matching tasks

Multiple Tag Filter (AND):

  • Tasks must have ALL selected tags
  • Example: type:bug AND priority:critical
  • Narrow, focused results

Multiple Tag Filter (OR):

  • Tasks have ANY selected tag
  • Example: type:bug OR type:enhancement
  • Broader results

Tag Exclusion (NOT):

  • Exclude tasks with specific tags
  • Example: All tasks EXCEPT archived
  • Use negative filter

Saved Tag Filters:

  1. Create filter combination
  2. Click "Save Filter"
  3. Name filter (e.g., "Critical Bugs")
  4. Access from "Saved Filters" dropdown

Custom Fields

Custom fields allow tracking domain-specific data beyond standard task properties.

Available Field Types

1. Text Field:

  • Short text input (max 255 characters)
  • Use for: Customer names, ticket IDs, URLs

2. Long Text / Textarea:

  • Multi-line text (max 5000 characters)
  • Use for: Detailed notes, technical specs, acceptance criteria

3. Number Field:

  • Integer or decimal numbers
  • Use for: Story points, effort estimates, counts

4. Date Field:

  • Calendar date picker
  • Use for: Release dates, review deadlines, contract dates

5. Dropdown (Single Select):

  • Choose one option from list
  • Use for: Environment (dev/staging/prod), severity levels

6. Multi-Select:

  • Choose multiple options from list
  • Use for: Affected platforms, related modules

7. Checkbox:

  • Boolean true/false
  • Use for: Requires review, breaking change, needs migration

8. User Field:

  • Select user from organization
  • Use for: Reviewer, stakeholder, QA tester

9. URL Field:

  • Validated URL input
  • Use for: Design mockups, documentation links, related tickets

Creating Custom Fields

1. Board-Level Custom Fields:

Board Settings → Custom Fields → Add Field

Field Name: Customer Name
Field Type: Text
Required: No
Default Value: (empty)
Show in card: Yes
Description: Name of customer this feature is for

2. Organization-Level Custom Fields:

Organization Settings → Custom Fields → Add Field

  • Available across all boards
  • Consistent data structure
  • Shared dropdown options

3. Template-Based Custom Fields:

Create field templates for common use cases:

Bug Report Template:

Fields:
- Severity: Dropdown (Critical, High, Medium, Low)
- Environment: Dropdown (Production, Staging, Development)
- Browser: Multi-select (Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge)
- Reproducible: Checkbox
- Steps to Reproduce: Long Text
- Expected Behavior: Long Text
- Actual Behavior: Long Text

Feature Request Template:

Fields:
- Customer: Text
- Business Value: Dropdown (High, Medium, Low)
- Implementation Effort: Number (story points)
- Target Release: Date
- Success Metrics: Long Text

Using Custom Fields

Adding Field Values:

  1. Open task details
  2. Scroll to "Custom Fields" section
  3. Fill in field values
  4. Save task

Bulk Editing Fields:

  1. Select multiple tasks
  2. Click "Bulk Edit"
  3. Choose custom field
  4. Set value for all selected tasks
  5. Apply changes

Field Visibility:

Compact Card View:

  • Show 0-2 most important fields
  • Displayed below task title
  • Uses icons for recognition

Expanded Card View:

  • Show all custom fields
  • Full values displayed
  • Available on hover or click

List View:

  • Custom fields as columns
  • Sortable and filterable
  • Resizable column widths

Filtering and Sorting by Custom Fields

Filter by Custom Field:

  1. Click filter icon
  2. Select custom field
  3. Choose value or range
  4. Apply filter

Text Field Filters:

  • Contains text
  • Exact match
  • Starts with
  • Ends with
  • Is empty / Is not empty

Number Field Filters:

  • Equals
  • Greater than / Less than
  • Between (range)
  • Is empty / Is not empty

Date Field Filters:

  • Is before / Is after
  • Is between dates
  • Is today / this week / this month
  • Is in the past / future
  • Is empty / Is not empty

Dropdown Filters:

  • Is / Is not
  • Is any of (multiple selection)
  • Is none of
  • Is empty

Sort by Custom Field:

  1. Click sort dropdown
  2. Select custom field
  3. Choose ascending or descending
  4. Tasks reordered

Custom Field Examples

Software Development:

Story Points (Number): 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13
Acceptance Criteria Met (Checkbox): Yes/No
Code Review URL (URL): https://...
Deployed To (Dropdown): Dev, Staging, Prod
Related PRs (Text): #123, #456
Technical Debt (Checkbox): Yes/No

Marketing:

Campaign (Dropdown): Q1 Launch, Summer Sale, Holiday
Target Audience (Multi-select): Enterprise, SMB, Startup
Budget Allocated (Number): $5,000
Launch Date (Date): 2025-03-15
Success Metrics (Long Text): CTR > 2%, Conversions > 100
Owner (User): @sarah

Customer Support:

Ticket ID (Text): SUP-12345
Customer Name (Text): Acme Corporation
Priority (Dropdown): P0, P1, P2, P3
SLA Deadline (Date): 2025-01-15
Escalated (Checkbox): Yes/No
Resolution Time (Number): 4.5 (hours)

Sales:

Account Name (Text): TechCorp Inc.
Deal Value (Number): $50,000
Close Date (Date): 2025-02-28
Stage (Dropdown): Prospecting, Qualified, Proposal, Negotiation, Closed Won
Account Owner (User): @mike
Probability (Number): 75 (%)

Design:

Design File (URL): https://figma.com/...
Reviewer (User): @sarah
Responsive (Checkbox): Yes
Accessibility Tested (Checkbox): No
Design System Version (Dropdown): v1.0, v2.0, v3.0
Device Tested (Multi-select): Mobile, Tablet, Desktop

Advanced Tag and Field Usage

Automation with Tags and Fields

Auto-Tagging Rules:

Create rules to automatically apply tags:

Rule: Tag as "needs-review" when moved to "In Review"
Trigger: Task section changed to "In Review"
Action: Add tag "needs-review"

Rule: Tag as "overdue" when past due date
Trigger: Due date passed
Action: Add tag "overdue", send notification

Rule: Tag by assignee domain
Trigger: Task assigned
Condition: Assignee email ends with "@design.team"
Action: Add tag "area:design"

Auto-Populate Custom Fields:

Rule: Set environment based on task creation source
Trigger: Task created via GitHub integration
Action: Set "Environment" = "Production"

Rule: Set priority from tags
Trigger: Tag "urgent" added
Action: Set priority field to "High"

Reporting with Tags and Fields

Custom Field Reports:

Bug Severity Distribution:

Critical: 3 bugs (10%)
High: 12 bugs (40%)
Medium: 10 bugs (33%)
Low: 5 bugs (17%)

Total: 30 bugs
Average resolution time: 2.3 days

Feature Business Value Analysis:

High Value: 8 features (320 story points)
Medium Value: 15 features (450 story points)
Low Value: 5 features (75 story points)

Total: 28 features (845 story points)
Recommendation: Prioritize high-value features

Customer Request Tracking:

Customer requests by account:
- Acme Corp: 12 tasks
- TechCorp: 8 tasks
- StartupInc: 5 tasks

Most requested features:
1. API webhooks (5 requests)
2. SSO integration (4 requests)
3. Mobile app (3 requests)

Tag and Field Best Practices

Tag Guidelines:

✅ Do:

  • Establish team tag conventions
  • Document tag purposes
  • Review and clean up unused tags monthly
  • Use colors consistently across boards
  • Limit tags per task to 3-5 maximum

❌ Don't:

  • Create duplicate or similar tags
  • Use tags for temporary statuses (use sections)
  • Let tags proliferate without governance
  • Use personal tags (assign to yourself instead)

Custom Field Guidelines:

✅ Do:

  • Choose appropriate field types
  • Provide clear field descriptions
  • Set sensible default values
  • Make critical fields required
  • Use dropdown fields for standardized data

❌ Don't:

  • Create too many custom fields (max 10 per board)
  • Use text fields when dropdown is better
  • Make everything required (increases friction)
  • Duplicate standard fields (priority, assignee, etc.)
  • Change field types after data is entered (data loss)

Migration and Cleanup

Tag Cleanup Process:

  1. Audit: List all tags with usage counts
  2. Categorize: Group similar tags
  3. Merge: Combine duplicates and similar tags
  4. Archive: Remove unused tags (0 tasks)
  5. Document: Update team tag guidelines

Custom Field Cleanup:

  1. Review: Check field usage and value distribution
  2. Consolidate: Merge redundant fields
  3. Archive: Disable unused fields (retain data)
  4. Standardize: Align field types and options across boards
  5. Document: Update field descriptions and guidelines

Integrations

Import Tags from External Systems

Jira Import:

  • Map Jira labels → Waymaker tags
  • Map Jira components → Custom dropdown field
  • Import custom fields (compatible types only)

GitHub Import:

  • GitHub labels → Waymaker tags
  • GitHub milestones → Waymaker layers
  • GitHub assignees → Task assignees

CSV Import:

Task Title,Tags,Custom Field 1,Custom Field 2
"Implement login","backend,auth,v2.0","High","Joe Smith"
"Design dashboard","frontend,ui,v2.0","Medium","Sarah Lee"

Export Tags and Custom Fields

Export Options:

  • CSV with all custom field columns
  • JSON with complete field data
  • Excel with formatted columns

Report Exports:

  • Tag usage statistics
  • Custom field value distributions
  • Filtered views with custom columns

Conclusion

Tags and custom fields enable:

  • Flexible organization beyond standard workflows
  • Domain-specific tracking for your unique needs
  • Powerful filtering and reporting
  • Custom views for different stakeholders
  • Data-driven insights from custom metrics

Start simple with a few key tags and fields, then expand as your needs evolve. Regular cleanup and standardization keeps your system organized and useful.

Last updated: January 10, 2025