Custom Task Statuses and Workflow Design
Your process is not To Do, Doing, Done. Create the statuses your team really uses, decide which moves are allowed, and control who is permitted to make them.
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What is a custom workflow?
A custom workflow is the set of statuses a piece of work moves through, plus the rules about which moves are allowed and who can make them. Orangescrum lets you define your own statuses per project and, in the self-hosted edition, design the transitions between them visually, so the tool matches your process instead of forcing your team to adapt to a fixed one.
Why default statuses do not fit
Workflows that match your process
01Statuses
Your own names and colours
Create the statuses your team uses, each with its own name and colour, instead of a fixed set.
Three types behind them
Every status is New, In Progress, or Closed underneath, which is how the board, reports, and closed date know what it means.
A progress value each
Say what percentage complete a status represents, so progress rollups reflect your process rather than a guess.
Drag them into order
Reorder the statuses freely, with the closed status always held at the end where it belongs.
Safe to delete
A status still carrying work cannot be removed, and the tool names what is using it.
02Workflows
One master, many projects
Build a workflow once for the company and give each project its own copy, so one project's changes do not disturb another.
A separate one for defects
A project can run one workflow for tasks and a different one for bugs, because they rarely follow the same path.
On templates and methods
Attach a workflow to a project template or a methodology so every new project of that kind starts with the right process.
Duplicate a whole one
Copy a workflow with its statuses, transitions, rules, and permissions, then adjust the copy. Available in Self-Hosted.
26 ready made ones
Start from a template such as Bug Triage, Code Review, Recruitment Pipeline, or IT Incident Management, across eleven categories. Available in Self-Hosted.
Six shipped to start with
Default, Bug Tracking, Content Management, Task tracking, Recruitment, and Procurement are seeded and ready to use.
03Designer
Draw the workflow
Lay statuses out as nodes and drag from one to another to create the move between them. Available in Self-Hosted.
Arrange, zoom, and map
Auto arrange the diagram, zoom and fit, use the minimap, and your node positions are saved. Available in Self-Hosted.
Edit from the diagram
Rename a status, change its colour, or change its type without leaving the picture. Available in Self-Hosted.
A preview in Cloud
The Cloud settings screen shows your workflow as a flow, lanes, a pipeline, or a stepper, so the process is visible even without the editor.
04Rules
Which moves are allowed
Define each permitted move, or mark one as reachable from any status. Available in Self-Hosted.
Conditions that hide a move
Show a move only when the task has an assignee, when a field holds a given value, or after it has sat in the status long enough. Available in Self-Hosted.
Fields that must be filled
Block the move until the fields you nominate are set, including your own custom fields. Available in Self-Hosted.
A comment before you move
Require a written note of a minimum length, so a status change always carries its reason. Available in Self-Hosted.
Tied to your Git activity
Require a linked Git issue, or a branch, a commit, an open pull request, or a merged one, before work can move on. Available in Self-Hosted.
A minimum age
Stop work moving on until it has spent a set number of days in its current status. Available in Self-Hosted.
05Permissions
By role or by person
Allow a move for named roles, for named individuals, or leave it open to everyone. Available in Self-Hosted.
No quiet override
The rule is checked when the record is saved, and it applies to owners and admins as well. Available in Self-Hosted.
06Limits
A minimum and maximum
Cap how many items a status may hold, and set a floor, with the count shown against the cap on the board. Available in Self-Hosted.
Warn or refuse
Choose soft enforcement, which highlights a full column, or hard, which refuses the move outright. Available in Self-Hosted.
A day limit per status
Give a status a maximum age and have overdue work flagged, or moved automatically to a status you nominate. Available in Self-Hosted.
07In use
Your statuses are the board
Every status becomes a board column in its own colour, and you can add a status straight from the board.
Grouping and filtering
The backlog and the board group and filter by workflow status, so the process you designed is how people slice the work.
Every change recorded
A status change is written to the task history with the old and new names in plain words. Available in Self-Hosted.
Rules that fire on a change
When a status changes, assign the task or notify someone automatically. Available on the Pro plan and above, and in Self-Hosted.
How to build a workflow
Workflows for different teams
Which edition includes what
| Capability | CloudManaged SaaS | Self-HostedOn-premise / private cloud | Open SourceCommunity Edition |
|---|---|---|---|
| Custom task statuses with colour and progress | Pro | ✓ | ✓ |
| Reorder statuses and safe delete | Pro | ✓ | ✓ |
| Custom board columns | Pro | ✓ | ✓ |
| Six seeded workflows | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| A separate workflow for defects | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Workflows on project templates and methodologies | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Clone a workflow | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ |
| Workflow preview diagram | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ |
| Rules on status change | Pro | ✓ | ✗ |
| Visual workflow designer | ✗ | ✓ | ✗ |
| 26 workflow templates | ✗ | ✓ | ✗ |
| Transition rules and conditions | ✗ | ✓ | ✗ |
| Required fields and comments on a move | ✗ | ✓ | ✗ |
| Git branch and pull request rules | ✗ | ✓ | ✗ |
| Transition permissions | ✗ | ✓ | ✗ |
| Work in progress limits per status | ✗ | ✓ | ✗ |
| Status aging, flag or auto move | ✗ | ✓ | ✗ |
| Status change history with readable names | ✗ | ✓ | ✗ |
Custom status and workflow FAQ
Can I create my own task statuses in Orangescrum?
Yes. You can create the statuses your team actually uses rather than being limited to a fixed set. Each one carries a name, a colour, a progress percentage, and a type of New, In Progress, or Closed, and they become the columns on your Kanban board.
Which editions include this?
Custom task statuses are available in every edition. In Cloud they are on the Pro plan and above, and they are included in Self-Hosted and in the free Community Edition. The visual workflow designer with transition rules, permissions, work in progress limits, and status aging is available in the Self-Hosted edition.
What is the visual workflow designer?
It is a diagram editor where you lay out your statuses as nodes and drag from one to another to create a move. You can auto arrange the layout, zoom, use a minimap, and rename or recolour a status without leaving the picture. Node positions are saved, so the diagram looks the same next time.
Are there ready made workflows?
Yes. Six workflows are seeded in every edition: Default, Bug Tracking, Content Management, Task tracking, Recruitment, and Procurement. The Self-Hosted edition adds a gallery of 26 templates in eleven categories, covering software, Git, marketing, HR, sales, support, operations, finance, product, and IT service management.
Can I stop people skipping a step?
Yes. Transition rules define which status can move to which, so a task cannot jump from In Progress straight to Done if your process requires review first. You can also mark one move as reachable from any status.
What else can a rule check?
A move can require certain fields to be filled, including your own custom fields, a written comment of a minimum length, a minimum number of days in the current status, a particular role, or Git activity such as a linked issue, a branch, a commit, an open pull request, or a merged one.
Can I control who moves work to a status?
Yes. Transition permissions let you allow a move for named roles or named individuals. The check runs when the record is saved, and it applies to owners and administrators too, so there is no quiet way round it.
Can I limit how much sits in one status?
Yes, in the Self-Hosted edition. Set a minimum and a maximum per status, then choose soft enforcement, which highlights a full column, or hard, which refuses the move.
Can it tell me work has gone stale?
Yes, in the Self-Hosted edition. Give a status a maximum age in days and anything that overstays is flagged, or moved automatically to a status you nominate.
Can different projects use different workflows?
Yes. You can run a detailed QA workflow on one project and a simple three stage flow on another within the same workspace. A project can also run a separate workflow for defects, and a workflow can be attached to a project template so new projects start with the right process.
Do custom statuses affect reporting?
Yes. Each status carries a progress percentage and a type of New, In Progress, or Closed, so charts, progress rollups, and the closed date all reflect the real state of the work.
Is anything recorded when a status changes?
Yes. In the Self-Hosted edition every status change is written to the task history with the old and new status names in plain words, so an audit does not have to decode raw values.
Is this available in the open source edition?
Yes. The free Community Edition lets you create, reorder, and delete your own task statuses with colour and progress, and they become the columns on your Kanban board. The visual workflow designer with transition rules and permissions is in the Self-Hosted edition.
Make the tool match your process
Custom statuses are in every edition, including the free Community Edition. The visual designer is in Self-Hosted.